Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 13:20:55 -0500 From: 'Katie' C Swanson To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: KNIT: cables w/out cable ndl Hi guys, [...] CABLE NEEDLES I was just about to write in and say that my favorite cable needle is no cable needle at all, when I read Joan Hamer's post! I didn't know it was in a Woolgathering - will see if Meg shows it on the Shawl Collared Vest video as well. Anyway, when I was still a pretty fledgling knitter, a woman from South America showed me how to cable without a cable needle. She said this was the way she was taught as a girl. Now I only use a cable needle if it is a really wide cable or has multiple crossings so that more than 2 groups of stitches are involved. TECH BIT: a simple example, 2-over-2 crossing (i.e. 4-st cable) 1. Work up until the 4 sts to be cabled. 2. Slip the 4 sts from the left ndl to the right ndl (purlwise, i.e. not twisted). Here are the stitches, numbered: ^ ^ ^ ^ 1 2 3 4 3. To cross sts 3&4 to the left in front of sts 1&2: * With left ndl in front of the work, insert its tip into sts 3&4. * Use your left forefinger behind the work to hold sts 1&2 against left needle. * Draw right ndl out of all 4 sts, then re-insert into sts 1&2, pulling them across behind 3&4 and pass them onto the left ndl. * Now all 4 sts are back on the left ndl in the correct order to be knitted (i.e. now just K4) 4. To cross sts 1&2 to the right in front of sts 3&4: * With left ndl behind the work, insert its tip into sts 3&4. * Use your left thumb in front of the work to hold sts 1&2 against left needle. * Draw right ndl out of all 4 sts, then re-insert into sts 1&2, pulling them across in front of 3&4 and pass them onto the left ndl. * Now all 4 sts are back on the left ndl in the correct order to be knitted. Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words. It is really very simple, please don't go cross-eyed over the explanation. Much quicker to just do this operation than use a cable needle, IMHO. [...] *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Katie Swanson "640K should be enough for anybody." ktcarr@u.washington.edu - Bill Gates, 1981.