Tutorial: Left Cabling Without a Cable Needle
Over the years of teaching I’ve amassed a collection of step-by-step photos and text and I think it is time to share them with the wider world. First up, is how I do left twisting cables without using a cable needle.
I always tell my students who are new to cabling that it is nothing more than an organized way to knit stitches out of order. Most commonly one uses a cable needle to aid in working the stitches in a different order, but anyone who has done long term cabling projects knows those pesky cable needles like to run away and hide! Even if you do not wish to embark upon a full project dedicated to cabling without a cable needle, knowing how can get you out of a bind if you happen to loose a cable needle while out and about. Today I’ll share how I like to cable without a cable needle to make a basic 4-stitch left twisting cable sometimes called “Cable 2 Front (C2F).”
Step 1: Take your right needle tip and bring it behind the left needle and pass it into the third and fourth stitch on the left needle as if to purl.
Step 2: Take your right thumb and place pressure on the first two stitches on the left needle and kind of pinch them to keep them from dropping. Then slip all four stitches from the left needle.
Step 3: Insert the left needle tip through the 2 loose stitches you are pinching with your right thumb. The tip should enter them from left to right so they are mounted normally onto the left needle.
Step 4: Slip the 2 stitches on the right needle back to the left needle. It looks kind of disorganized and the stitches may be somewhat distorted. They may also seem quite tight. This is normal.
Step 5: Now knit the newly reordered stitches normally. You should be able to see that two stitches cross to the left in front of two stitches. This forms the left twisting cable.
While I demoed a very specific cable, the same process applies to left twisting cables of any size. I used this technique in many of my designs with varying types of cables, including Buttercream gauntlets, Challah socks, Cornucopiacowl, Laridae mittens, and Three of Diamonds socks to name a few.
Come back next week for Right Twisting Cables Without a Cable Needle!
