Tip of the week: Use your previous cables as a guide

Once you have decoded your cable instructions and established the first few rows of your project, you have already knitted yourself a quick cheat sheet.

If you reach the next cable in your pattern and have a sudden blank about whether your cable needle needs to be held at the front or the back, look down your work at the cables below to find an equivalent one. Look at the cable you are about to knit - if you have the cable needle at the front, will your stitches cross in the same way as before? If yes, your cable needle is in the right place. For visual learners, this can be a lot more help than reading the cable instructions again.

In general, look at the patterns you cables form at you knit - they make a clear picture on your work, so it should be easy to spot a mistake like the one picture above. Also once your cable pattern is established compare it to the pictures in your pattern. 

This idea of stopping, from time to time, and looking at how any pattern is developing is a good idea for any project. If it doesn't look right, it may well not be.