I call this design “Back and Forth” because cabling occurs on both sides of this scarf, making it reversible. Rope cables, crossing in both directions appear on one side of the scarf; undulating snakes travel up the other side.

All cables are 4 stitches wide and easy to execute. That they occur on both sides of the knitting complicates matters, so I wouldn’t recommend this project to knitters who haven’t previously knitted cabled articles. But, in truth, it is not all that difficult--the knitting is easy to “read” on the needles once you have a couple of repeats completed.

It is easy to alter the length of this scarf--just knit to the length you want. The full repeat is 8 rows long, but there are two places where you can stop your knitting, so you can be quite precise in your measurements. Width is more difficult to change because cables on odd-numbered rows travel in pairs, and to maintain the symmetry, you would have to add 4 rope cables, which would add over 8 inches in width. That would make a cozy wrap, however!

Part of a curated collection of colourful designs published in 2018.