Try This Stitch: Classic Cable and Rib

The swatch shown uses New Basic 175 and a size US 8 (5mm) knitting needle. Two repeats of the pattern are worked across the row flanked by 4 garter stitches on each side. The garter stitch border was added for swatching purposes and is not included in the multiple of 16 + 4 required. (Swatch is 44 stitches wide.)

Multiple of 16 sts plus 4
Rows 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 (RS): *K4, p2, k8, p2; rep from *, end k4.
Row 2 and all WS rows: P4, *k2, p8, k2, p4; rep from * to end.
Row 13: *K4, p2, 8-st RC, p2; rep from *, end k4.
Row 14: Rep row 2.
Rep rows 1–14 as desired to form pattern.

8-st RC (8 stitch Right Cross)
Slip 4 stitches to a cable needle and hold to the back of your work. Knit 4 stitches. Knit the 4 stitches off the cable needle.

Stitch directions reproduced with permission, from Vogue Knitting Stitchionary: Volume Two, Sixth & Spring Books, 2005

Work in the Round

When working flat this pattern is a multiple of 16 + 4 stitches. The “+4” is to balance out the right and left sides of the design. These 4 stitches are the stockinette columns, which create part of the “rib” of “cable and rib”. When you work in the round you don’t need these balancing stitches. If the first 4 stitches of the round are “knit 4” then the last stitches of the round are the “purl 2” (the last 2 stitches of the 16-stitch repeat).

Change the Count

It’s easy to play with the stitch count of the cable and rib pattern. Experiment with a 6-st cable cross (3 over 3) or a smaller 4 stitch cross (2 over 2). The knits and purls in the ribbing section can also be altered. Make it a classic 2×2 ribbing by decreasing the knit section to just 2 stitches. Or reverse it for a 4-stitch purl section and a 2-stitch knit section. There are many possibilities to make this pattern fit the style you’re after.