How to Cable without a Cable Needle

I’ve been working on a lot of cable knitting projects lately, which is not something I normally do. I don’t know why, but I don’t typically use a lot of cables in my designs or choose to knit things that have cables. They’re actually pretty fun.

Especially when you can perform the magic trick of making cables without having to pull out a cable needle or spare double pointed knitting needle to use as a cable needle.

Once you understand how cables work and which way the stitches need to go to make the cable turn the way you need it to go, it’s actually really easy to do. It does involve temporarily having some stitches hanging loose from a needle, so if your yarn is really slippery, you might not want to use this technique.

But if you’re working with wool or another fiber that is relatively grabby this is a great technique that feels really clever and like it saves you time having to pick up, use, and put down your cable needle as you work across the row. (In the video I’m using Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, which has long since been discontinued, but like the other Wool-Ease products its a blend of wool and acrylic, and it worked just fine with this technique).

I like doing it this way when you’re only slipping one or two stitches to make your cables. If they are much wider than that it’s easy to get your stitches twisted or out of order when you pick them back up.

Have you ever worked cables without a cable needle? Do you have other cable knitting tricks to share? I’d love to hear about it! (And hopefully I can share with you why I’ve been making so many cable knitting projects soon!)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDcDn3StOuA]

Next Pattern:

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

Next Pattern:

Have you read?

Leave a Reply