Pattern Tutorial, Tips & FAQ: Orinoco

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This is a tutorial for the Orinoco pattern, a cabled shrug designed by Anne Kuo Lukito.

General

Why did you choose to double strand this yarn instead of finding a bulky yarn when writing this pattern?

I just loved the way this yarn felt and knit up, and I wanted to show it’s versatility.

Can I substitute 1 strand of bulky yarn instead of double stranding a worsted weight yarn?

Of course! Just make sure that you check your gauge.

What types of yarn might be a good substitute?

Honestly, I think almost any fiber content could work with this shrug. It’s not such a large project that you’d really tire of doing cables on yarns with less elasticity. However, if you have hand problems or arthritis, you may want to use something with more elasticity (animal fibers). As far as yarn texture and color, you’d want to select something that will give you good stitch definition and in a color that won’t detract from the textured pattern in the shrug.

I’ve never seen something written in the way that you wrote for the different sizes. How do I read it? For example, I don’t understand what you mean when you write p2 (0, 0, 2, 2, 0). Does it mean that I do p2 the number of times indicated in the parenthesis?

No. The sizes are XS (S, M, L, 1X, 2X/3X), so p2 (0, 0, 2, 2, 0) means that you work p2 for XS (p0 for S, p0 for M, p2 for L, p2 for 1X, p0 for 2X/3X).

Similarly, if the instructions say k1tbl (0, 1, 1, 1, 0), it means that you k1tbl for size XS (k0tbl for size S, k1tbl for size M, k1tbl for size L, k1tbl for size 1X, k0tbl for size 2x/3x).

p0 and k0tbl means that you don’t do anything — there’s no stitch there.