Plymouth Yarn Cabled Afghan Blanket Knitting Pattern

Plymouth Yarn Cabled Afghan

Project Overview

The Aireado Cabled Afghan (Pattern No. 3284) is a knitted blanket and throw designed by Lainie Hering for Plymouth Yarn Company. This seamless, bottom-up construction project creates a finished blanket measuring approximately 44 inches wide by 50 inches long, making it an ideal size for draping over furniture or using as a lap throw.

Materials and Gauge

This afghan is crafted using Plymouth Yarn's Aireado yarn in color 22 Brown, requiring five 100-gram skeins for completion. The recommended gauge is 16 stitches over 4 inches when worked on US Size 10½ needles. Knitters will need US Size 10 and US Size 10½ circular needles with a minimum 29-inch length to accommodate the 178 cast-on stitches, allowing for comfortable flat working without crowding the stitches.

Construction Technique

The afghan is worked flat from bottom to top in a seamless construction method. The piece begins with a smaller needle size for a ribbed edge, transitions to the larger needle for the main pattern body, and concludes with a matching ribbed finish. This bottom-up approach allows knitters to try on or measure the blanket as it grows, providing flexibility in the final length.

Stitch Patterns and Techniques

The Aireado Cabled Afghan features three coordinating stitch patterns that work together across the width of the blanket:

• Garter Stitch Borders: The first and last 5 stitches of every row are worked in garter stitch (knitting every row), creating clean, textured side edges that frame the central design.
• Rib Pattern: A 2x2 rib variation is worked over 18 stitches in alternating sections. This pattern alternates knit and purl stitches in a structured sequence (P3, K2, P3, K2, P3, K2, P3 on wrong-side rows), creating vertical texture and elasticity.
• Cable Stitch Pattern: The focal point of the design, the cable pattern is worked over 12 stitches in a 10-row repeat. The cable cross occurs on Row 3, where four stitches are slipped to a cable needle and held to the front while the next four stitches are knitted, then the held stitches are knitted from the cable needle. This creates a classic twisted rope effect that repeats vertically throughout the blanket.

Pattern Sequence

The afghan's width is organized with garter stitch borders flanking a repeating sequence of rib and cable sections. After establishing the pattern on the set-up row, knitters work rows 2 through 10 of the stitch patterns, then repeat rows 1 through 10 continuously until the blanket reaches approximately 48 inches in length, ending on Row 4 of the pattern repeat. This structured approach ensures consistent cable placement and visual rhythm across the entire throw.

Finishing

Once the desired length is achieved, the knitter switches back to the smaller needle size and works 8 rows of garter stitch to match the cast-on edge, creating a balanced, reversible finish. All ends are woven in securely to complete the project.