A cable needle can be great, but sometimes it can slow you down. Or you just forget it. Or lose it.
Up-level your knitting game by cabling without a cable needle.
A few things to keep in mind:
Sharper needles will help, especially when you’re learning.
A sticky wool makes it easier not to drop stitches.
Practice on a swatch as a safe way to learn without ruining your project.
Start out with a medium-weight yarn and needles (around a worsted weight). It’s easier to learn this technique when you’re not working with tiny yarn and needles.
Cables that require more than one set of moves aren’t good candidates for this technique. Stick with a cable needle for those.
These pictures feature a 2×2 cable – all knit, but the technique applies to most cables.
Cable Leaning to the Left – 2/2 LC
Cable Leaning to the Right – 2/2 RC
There are lots of designs in Knotions that feature cables. Give this technique a try on one of these projects:
About the Reviewer: Jody Richards
I’m the knitting-obsessed, crochet-loving, math-geeky, web-dev girl behind Knotions. I’m passionate about helping crafters become even better at what they love, whether that means understanding why a stitch works a certain way or discovering their next favorite yarn.
Crafting runs deep in my roots—my mom was an avid embroiderer and sewist, and she sparked my lifelong love of all things crafty. Since those early days, I’ve combined my degrees in Math and Computer Science with over two decades of experience in digital marketing to build Knotions into a place that’s both fun and informative.
My mission at Knotions is simple: to empower crafters to craft smarter. Let’s make something awesome together!
How do you work the wrong side of the cable
you work it just as it’s presented. so, you would knit the knits and purl the purls, as you see them.
does that make sense?
Yes thank you I’m new to knitting and was not sure. I cant wait to try this. I have one more question how do you keep the the ends and edges from curling up? On any knitting.
It really depends. You can block it flat. You could do a garter stitch border. You could have a ribbed border. Or you could also knit it in the round so there’s no edges to curl.
If you have two pieces that you’re seaming, you could either seam it as is, or block it first (steam or wet-block). Again, depending on what it is.
If you have a specific thing you’re worried about, if you give me more details I might be able to help.
That helped a lot I will try your suggestion and if i still have issues I will let you know thank you.
You’re welcome!
And def report back either way. I’m curious 🙂