What looked like cables in Weldon’s engraving weren’t cables! They were actually strategically placed yarn overs and decreases that look like cables. The pattern from ca. 1898 Weldon’s Practical Needlework, vol. 11, p.5, has an 8-row repeat. There are 36 stitches in the strip + 3-garter-stitch borders on each side. The strip can be widened in 24-stitch increments. This pattern could be an entire project or an accent strip in a project. Feel free to use just the cable pattern or just the lace pattern, if you like!
The 42-stitch swatch is 5 inches wide at gauge. Although they’re a bit inconvenient, there are just 2 purl-2-tog-through-the-back-loop in the entire 8-row repeat and they help create the illusion of cables. It took me about 1 hour to knit 3 inches of a 42-stitch-wide swatch.

Skills needed: cast on, slip, knit, purl, YO, k2tog, SSK, p2tog, p2tog tbl (see note in pattern) and bind off in knit stitch.

Gauge is not important in this pattern. Any block-able yarn/thread will work. Make a swatch to check gauge and appearance.

72 yards of #10 crochet thread will make about 10 inches of a 42-stitch-wide strip in the stated gauge.