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Posts Tagged ‘cables’

In perusing the ravelry.com cable knitting groups I found a thread “defending the lowly cable needle”. I have no doubt each of us will have our preference for working cables. Some are adept and doing it with an old fashioned cable needle as instructed in the patterns, to “let the cable needle hang to the front/back” while knitting the other stitches. Some people are scared of cables, but I’ve found there are other ways that may be easier and a lot less scarier. I really like the look of cables so was very frustrated trying to do it the more common ways, so I kept looking and thinking, with good results.

One way I came up with recently is outlined in the post A New And Better Way To Knit Cables. It uses a crochet hook in the right hand along with the right needle, and can be used with any knitting style. While posting to groups about this discovery I found the thread mentioned above and in it Lynne from Great Britain, who goes by the ravelry.com name Mini-mum, tells about her way of doing cables. She has been knitting for over 40 years and is quite adept at cables. Her techniques is also great, and it will work fine for English and Portuguese styles of knitting but it won’t work for continental or eastern/combined knittiers as it requires you to hold a third needle in your left hand while knitting, and that’s where they hold their yarn. If you use continental or eastern/combined (or English or Portuguese) then try my way with a crochet hook, or try the pinch methods.

Lynne says,

“I normally use slick nickel plated needles for knitting with. I love them. However, I find it helps to use a bamboo (third needle) as it clings to the knitting better and doesn’t slip around ‘without permission’.

Definitely use a bamboo needle. Lynne uses a spare dpn herself. I went to Joann’s and got a set of #4 straight knitting needles by Clover for use with most of my cable knitting. I figure that size will be easy to get into loops for several sizes upwards of that, and the smaller size doesn’t matter relative to the needles you are knitting with as your right needle determines your gauge. I’ll probably get a set of #1s for when I do socks, now that I see this method works fine, although considering the tight workspace of sock knitting I may go with my crochet hook method. I’ll have to do some tests.

HOLDING THE THIRD NEEDLE

Lynne writes,

“The (third needle) is not exactly parallel as my left index finger is in between the two needles to keep them apart, otherwise it would get in the way of knitting.”

“The (third) needle is held in my left hand, parallel to the left hand needle. I don’t move it unless it’s to roll it over the LH needle to the front (for a right twist cable) rather than the back (for a left twist cable). I don’t drop it, I don’t put it down, I just flick it out of the way, between other fingers, but bear in mind that I enjoy cable projects that have a lot of cables in them, not just every few rows.”

This pic shows how I tried holding the third needle. It also shows Max noticing the bamboo needle.

Experiment with holding the third needle while knitting. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been learning to knit over the last two months. When I first really looked into knitting and found some great books at the stores I was very excited about cables, for one thing. Cable knit garments looked so odd – not that I had never seen them before. It was just cool that you could do that with knitting, what with all the patterns you could make moving the cables left and right.

Then I tried doing cables. Not so much fun. Using a cable needle was a bit cumbersome. A couple of times, with my slippery nickel plated Options needles I have lost loops off my left or right needle in the process and had to restrain my panic as I prayed to the knitting angels that I could retrieve them. Maybe cables should be done on bamboo by default, I thought. No.

Then I discovered, as in a recent post, that you can do cables without needles in a sort of pinch and switch method. I’ve experimented with this and while it sure looks easy on video, and maybe is easier with larger needles, for a tighter knit on smaller needles it is more precarious than using a cable needle. I thought there had to be a better way.

I had come across a cable thimble on another web site and wondered if that would be a useful tool, but found no instructions on how to use it. I tried making one myself with wire, but still couldn’t figure it out. Plus, the little cable thimble sells for about 10.00 USD and that wasn’t worth it.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am starting my Fountains pattern scarf in red superwash by Cascade. Well, after all the above experimentation, struggling with the pinch and switch method, I just about quit last night. I all but ripped it out. I even decided on another pattern called “lighted torches” that doesn’t have any cable crossovers.

Then an impression came into my mine, and image from the Angels of knitting: use a crochet hook held in the right hand along with the right needle to temporarily hold the outer loops while doing the swap with the inner loops. So I tried it this morning with a crochet hook and it worked! It was much easier to manage the switcheroo of the loop sets. No struggling with the tightness of the loops, no fear of losing loops, and it seemed quicker to do.

Here’s how to do cables this way. You are ready to do your crossover. Let’s say it is a three plus three crossover. I chose a crochet hook to give me the extra security for the loops in limbo, and it keeps the loops from closing down. Use a crochet hook that is a size or two smaller than your knitting needle – this makes the loop transfers a bit easier. I used a size 5 hook with a size 6 needle. Hold the crochet hook along side the right needle. If your instructions say to hang the cable needle in the back, then put the crochet needle in back of your right needle and in front if it says to hang the cable needle in front.

The switcheroo with the loop sets on the right needle and hook, ready to be moved back to the left. And Max makes an appearance as well at the upper right. I was using his needles.

Use the crochet hook to pick up the first three (outer) loops off the tip of the left needle. Then slip the next three (inner) loops from the left needle to the right needle. Now slip the outer loops from the crochet hook back to the left needle, and lastly use the left needle to pick up the three loops you slipped to the right needle. Now you are ready to just resume knitting.

Summary of the switcheroo:

1. Slip first set of loops from left needle to crochet hook at the back or front of the right needle per your pattern instructions.

2. Slip second set of loops to the right needle.

3. Slip first set of loops from crochet hook to the left needle.

4. Drop the crochet hook when it’s empty.

5. Slip second set of loops back to the left needle. All loops have been returned to the left needle.

6. Knit the loops.

7. Get up and dance around.

As you can see, it’s a good bit different from using a cable needle. The hook is used to rearrange the loops before knitting them and is not let go of until the loops are rearranged. Then you drop it and knit all the loops for the crossover without interruption. With a cable needle you transfer the first half to the cn, knit the other half, knit the first half off the cable needle. In any case, this way seem less clumsy and more secure as I don’t ever loosen my grip on the left needle. I’ve had my left needle slip out of loops while working with the cable needle.

So now the world is a better place. We can cable without fear. I just knew that scarf was not going to be fun until this idea came to me. I just hope it makes cables easier for some as it has for me.

RE-EDITED ON 8-28-2009

Hi there,

The other day I was pleased to find out how to do cables without a cable needle, but the more I experiment with it the less excited I am about the technique. The rest of this post introduces that technique and there is a link to a video that shows how, but I have a better way that came to me this morning, a gift from the knitting angels, Knitatron and Perlael. (You can take that tongue in cheek.) Read the post A New and Better Way to Knit Cables.

When I first got into knitting I discovered that cables were strangely exciting to me. I had to restrain myself from buying cable pattern books. (I was unable to do this with sock books). I still long for the gray cable vest I saw in one book. They just look, well, “hot,” not just warm.

I’ve only been knitting a couple of months now and after learning and practicing the basics I’ve settled on my first two real projects. On is a practice sock, primarily to test the Sock Wizard software, and the other is a scarf in dark red super-wash wool by Cascade. The pattern I picked is called Fountains, and I got it out of the Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns by Sterling Books. It’s a complex mix of little cable crossovers and lace (a guy would say it has holes in it. It’s NOT lace!). The pattern doesn’t look feminine to me, and has a great multi-level effect. Here’s a picture.

Yeah, I know it’s pretty advanced for a beginner, but one reason I’m doing knitting is to develop concentration. This should about do it. Anyway, on my first attempt I didn’t know how to do a cable without a cable needle and it was very clumsy working with and around the cable needle and left needle. It also introduced the risk of my left needle slipping and me losing some loops from it.

The fountains pattern has a twenty stitch wide repeat by twelve rows. In that block there are nine crossovers! Trying to do it with a cable needle I gave up after the first three. Then on the very next day I was browsing around the web and found a video on doing cables without a needle in Portuguese knitting style. The no-needle cable technique is better watched than explained, so I won’t bother here. And even though it is Portuguese style the trick works for all styles of knitting. Here’s the video:

Portuguese Knitting Lesson – Left Twist

So, that video is useful in demonstrating this method, but in practice it’s not much easier than using a cable needle. I’m sure with more practice I would get better, but honestly it wasn’t fun to work this trick. I tried this on worsted weight wool with #8 needles and it was very precarious. I nearly lost loops a few times, and the tightness that is inherent in the process of crossing stitches like this made it more difficult.

I almost gave up on my Fountains scarf again. Then this morning I tried an idea that came to me when I was trying this no-needle trick, and my idea was much easier. It uses a crochet hook. I have complete instructions in the post A New and Better Way to Knit Cables.

So I’m back to the fountains pattern and very happy to see I’ll be able to work cables with greater ease in the future. For a while there I thought I would just have to give up on them again. I’m saved!

By the way, I have a book called Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch that has some cool patterns of cables with the cable winding around yarnover holes! Very cool. Built-in ventilation! And like I said, I’m starting my first sock. I will have a post or three on that soon. I’m using the magic loop technique with one circular needle, which is great. After a test sock I will try something with cables or something.

Thanks again.

Eric