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Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches

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Red Scarf Project Connections Scarf

(Try saying THAT title three times fast!)

It's true that the Connections Scarf I designed for the Red Scarf Project was my first cable-knitting project ever. I've managed to avoid cables until now, thinking that wrangling the cable needle was just too much fiddly knitting for this gal, thank you very much. Then my husband Nicholas asked for a cabled pullover for Christmas. When I started in about my distaste for cable-needle wrangling, he raised his eyebrows and pointed at the knitting I happened to have in my hands at that very moment: a sock being knitted with five very tiny, very fiddly, dpns.

I hate it when he's right.

So that's when I decided to design my red scarf pattern as a cabled scarf. I used the designing process as a way of getting to know the whole process of knitting cables: how they worked, how they fit together, how to incorporate them into a pattern. I learned a few tricks along the way, so I thought I would share those with you.

Use the cable needle that is right for you. I found that I kept dropping the little short/straight needles made specifically for cabling, so I tried a regular sock-sized double-pointed needle. Worked like a charm, because my fingers already knew how to wrangle that one. But that's just me. There's many different choices out there when it comes to cable needles. Try a few until you find the one that works for you.

Corollary: Try cabling without a cable needle. It sounds impossible, but you can learn to manipulate the cable crossings without the extra needle. There are many cable knitters who swear by this technique! I did the first end of the scarf with a cable needle, and then I tackled the second end without one. The effort it took to learn which stitches went where was well worth it, because now I feel as though I am understanding cables instead of just knitting them by rote. We have a list of online tutorials in our Techniques section.

Don't pull on the "held" stitches too hard. When you are holding the cable stitches off to the front or back of your knitting, don't pull them too far away from the rest of your knitting! Too much pulling will distort the stitches in the area of the crossing. Keep them as close to the main knitting as possible in order to help keep the tension and texture of your cable stitches even.


What The Back Looks Like

Watch what you are doing. Until you are comfortable with cables, cable knitting is not the time to multitask! I made several whopping mistakes because I was trying to knit the cables in a restaurant whilst talking with friends. Bad idea. (Lots of ripping out ensued.)

Steam-block Cables wrong side up. This may seem obvious, but just in case: If you are using a steam-iron to block your cable knitting, do it with the WRONG side of the cables facing upwards, or you will flatten all your nice intentionally-bumpy cables. Don't press down--keep the iron just a little bit above the fabric! And try using a pressing cloth to further help minimize the flattening factor.

You asked for it...Lynn G. asked if I would be willing to post a photo of what the reverse side looks like. There you go, Lynn!

What are your cable-knitting tricks?

C'mon, don't be shy. If you have tips on how to work with cables, leave a comment! After all, if I'm going to be knitting Nicholas an entire cabled pullover for Christmas, I'm going to need all the help I can get!

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? I am working out customizations for the Husband Sweater so I will be ready to cast on when the yarn arrives. What is the Husband Sweater? It's my nickname for the pullover my husband requested I make him for Christmas.


Posted Sep 17 2007, 12:00 AM by KD Sandi
Filed under: ,

Comments

JacquelinT wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 1:31 PM
Elsbeth Lavold states in Viking Knits that a knitter with loose tension can knit 2 stitch cable crosses without a cable needle! So I know I have lots of practice to go to that level.
JuliaM wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 2:02 PM
good luck with the X-mas sweater Sandi! I promise that when you are done with it, you will love working cables. I know I do! And you'll learn to read the pattern after the first repeat or so, which means you won't have to pack your pattern around with you. Best of luck!
Lapetitetricoteuse wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 3:06 PM
I really enjoy working with cables, especially the intricate celtic knot types. For the first cable project I ever worked on I realised that I did not own a cable needle. Never fear- there were toothpicks in the cupboard- I thought I would try it out. It worked like a charm. I have made several cable projects since then- always with my trusty toothpics. They are small, sturdy, not slippery, and if you loose one you are sure to quickly run into another.
Gauss wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 3:55 PM
I've never needed a cable needle. You just have to be careful not to pull on stitches...
LesleyM wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:19 PM
I'm a cable junkie. I find that the only time I use a cable needle is when there is a strange convoluted cross or when the cable has 6 or more stitches.
NinaT wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:37 PM
I love cables, too, so I'm going to have to try doing them without the cable needle to see if it's any easier.
Stephanie wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:43 PM
For some projects that I don't want the cables to tighten the fabric and stick out too much, putting one column of purl stitches in the middle of the cable and using it as part of the cable that goes behind (using the stitch as the first knit stitch and then purling the stitch that will make up the center of the cable "set")makes for a nice, flatter cable.
MerilynT wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:47 PM
My tip for knitting cables: because I am left-handed but knit right-handed I struggle sometimes with movements that are strictly right sided. So, I use a stitch holder, pushing the stitches onto the holder with my left hand and then knitting them off just as you would with a cable needle. I can keep up with stitch holder by closing it onto my knitting with not in use. Right-handed knitters that watch me are always afraid I will twist the stitches but for whatever reason it works for me. Good luck with your husband's sweater. Merilyn Tilley
Sschus wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:50 PM
I love knitting cables and still remember the second sweater I ever knit (made during the Nixon-Kennedy debates when I was in high school), which was a cardigan with all-over honeycomb cables - chosen BECAUSE THEY HID THE FACT THAT MY KNITTING WASN'T ALL THAT EVEN. That was always one of the reasons I appreciated cables and suggest that others use them as well, if one is concerned about how their stockinette efforts look. Making up one's own Aran sweater patterns with a mix of cables is also great fun.
CarolynW wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:52 PM
Gorgeous, classy and simple. I just love it. Can't wait to get knitting on it!

My cable tip: Use a needle close or the same size as the one you're knitting with. I may knit more tightly than most (OK, I do) but I found this helps keeps the needle from slipping out when using the short straight cable needles. The thin U shaped ones worked best for me if using a thin cable needle since the U keeps the stitches from coming off. I found I liked the straight thicker ones, with a job in the middle best.
MarinU wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:52 PM
Just for the record, with my first cable project I used DPNs simply because they were readily available in my collection. I kept setting them down at home, though, and found that a plastic coffee stirrer and a bar straw (when I was stuck at Starbuck's and my neighbourhood watering hole, respectively) worked just fine too.
Tephra wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:53 PM
What I would like to know about cables is what sort of yarn 1) shows them best and 2) is not wool or another animal fiber. I recently tried out a snowflake cable pattern with acrylic (since it was just a technique swatch and it was handy) and it's very obvious that that particular (very untwisty and splitty) yarn is NOT what I want for cables.
JenniferR wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:54 PM
Thanks for this post, Sandy. The one cabling tip I have to share is for those who like to use cable needles: I try to use a cable needle that is the *exact* size of the needles I'm working on--that way, when it is time to slip the stitches back onto the left hand needle, I just knit them directly off the cable needle, thus saving a step. Can't wait to see Nicholas' sweater when it's all done!
Knitwhit wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 4:55 PM
Thanks sandi, you have inspired me to try my first cables - maybe next week! as a newbie I realy appreciate your efforts and the comment from your readers
GailD wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:00 PM
I work best with the short wooden cable needles they sell--the stitches don't slip off. And that from a gal who doesn't like knitting with wood because it's too slow.

And my cable story--on a beautiful Aran I knit, the big cable on the sleeves ended up as mirror images. Looked wrong somehow. So I dropped down the stitches of the cable only, and knitted them back up twisted properly. A lot of work, but not as much as ripping out the whole sleeve!
Jennifer H wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:01 PM
Your first cable project AND you designed it too! Beautiful scarf.
Lynn G. wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:01 PM
Wow, I can't believe that I made it into your post today! Thanks very much for posting the reverse-side scarf photo--very helpful! Also, did you find that you had a strong preference either for working the cables WITH a cable needle or WITHOUT after trying it both ways? I ask because I've never made a cable despite being a decent knitter and crocheter, so I'd like to know if I should force myself to try the no-needle method right from the start or if I should use either my new wooden-notched cable needles or my Grandma's old-fashioned metal cable needle. Clearly, many experienced cablers have a strong preference for the no-needle method, but I'd like to hear what's best for the average beginner. I knit continental style, in case that matters. Thanks again for replying directly to posted requests and to e-mailed comments. You and your Knitting Daily team are amazingly responsive and make each one of us feel like important members of your community.
JoAnneW wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:03 PM
I prefer the cable needle which approximates a very tall U over the straight cable needle with a dip in it. The tall U cable needle doesn't fall off, but the straight cable needle needs babysitting.
SusanL wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:13 PM
I kept having trouble with my cable needle sliding out. So my dad took a small wooden dowl, cut it to a 4 inch length, angled the ends, sanded the ends to a very dull point and I have the most wonderful cable needle. He used a stationary belt sander so it took him about 3 minutes to craft it.
MaryW wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:14 PM
A couple years ago I decided to knit an afghan that is all cables - looks like a bunch of yarn strips all interwoven - and I couldn't find my cable needle. While hunting for it, though, I came across a 4-pack of golf tees. They've turned into my new favorite cable needle. When you think about it, a golf tee is really just a knitting needle in miniature, so it makes sense it would work for knitting. And if I happen to lose all of them, it's easy to get more, usually free! The only thing I have to check is to make sure there aren't any cracks or splinters in the tee. Golfers don't care about those too much, but for knitting they cause snag issues!
BethR wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:14 PM
I find cotton yarns make nice cables, but beware of the weight.

Second, fixing a miscrossed simple cable is no different than fixing a misplaced knit or purl in ribbing.

Drop your cable stitches down to the wrong row, pick them up on a DPN, re-cross correctly, then hook up your stitches one by one with a crochet hook.

I did this on the very first cable sweater I was knitting, figuring that if I really blew it, I'd have lost nothing in the rip and re-do. Worked like a charm!
MaryM wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:24 PM
My best cable tip is to make small cards (3" x 3" or so) with each row's pattern written out. If there's an unfamiliar stitch sequence, I put the instructions for that abbreviation at the bottom. I fasten them together with a binder clip. When I'm done with the row, the card goes to the back of the stack. A row counter tells you what number row is next, and matches with the card (row) number. It helps me to have the wrong side rows written out as well - if there's a knit or purl stitch out of place, I know quickly that there's a mistake on the front!
Mary
GeniaP wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:25 PM
Don't know if this would work with steaming a cabled scarf, but I early learned to iron a monogrammed object with the right side down into a towel, so it wouldn't go flat on the right side.
Would that work with steaming knit cables?
RebeccaW wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:31 PM
I prefer cabling with a needle than without... usually with a DPN. I just knit off of it. No big deal. And fast!
VickiB wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:44 PM
I, too, hate those slippery metal cable needles. But DPN's are too long for my taste, so I make my own cable needles out of wooden dowels. I buy a dowel about the same diameter needle I am working with and then cut it off so it's about two inches longer than my index finger. Sharpen both ends with a pencil sharpener and sand the entire rod, not just the points, with fine and extra fine sand paper. Sometimes, I sand the center a little more so it's slightly smaller.
AnnR wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 5:48 PM
I have never done cables, but am going to knit a vest for my husband for Christmas with a cable pattern. Thanks for all these tips, they will come in handy.
AnnaD wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 6:22 PM
I use one of those U-shaped cable needles, but I open the bend to about 50 degrees. That seems to help manipulate it back and forth. My biggest problem with cable needles is keeping up with them!
BarbaraP wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 6:24 PM
Hi, I am adept at cable stitches, but am currently doing one that is 8 rows in length and 12 stitches across. It leaves quite a "hole" when I bring those 12 stitches over the 8 rows. Any way to minimize those holes? Thanks! Babs in Chicago.
Theresa wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 6:24 PM
My favorite tool for cables are those plastic locking stitch markers that look like big safety pins. I just slip the stitches in question onto one and let them hang there until I need to knit them. The stitch marker is so light it doesn't pull the stitches at all, and if I'm really worried about them falling off I can close the marker. The best part is that when I'm not using it, I just hook it into the side of my work, so I'm never without it. Unfortunately, this only works with fine yarns or smaller cables, since there are only so many stitches I can fit onto it. I may have to go find a big safety pin next time I do larger cables, since I'm guessing it would work just as well.
PatriciaB wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 6:30 PM
I find a crochet hook easier to handle than the little cable needles and the stitches don't slip off!
AmyP wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 6:35 PM
Timely, timely.....
I am planning my next project now, which is my first:
1. Cabled piece
2. Wrap/large garment
3. Personal design. As in no pattern. At all. Saw one at Nordstrom that I liked but was scratchy and I thought I could make it more interesting in the stitch selection department so....... My sister (a Knitter with a capital K) is so proud.

This may not seem big to y'all experienced folks but this is a huge deal to me. So any continuing advice/posts on this topic would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
LeslieE wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 7:20 PM
If the stitch size is appropriate, I use a wooden pencil as a cable needle. It never slips out.
LeslieE wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 7:22 PM
And it's always handy.
CelticQueen wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 7:31 PM
Tip for blocking cables. Get yourself one of those scunci steamers. Works great for all sorts of knitting, but especially the cables. Lots of steam without the urge to press down.
DeborahH wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 7:32 PM
You may want to try the cable needle that looks like a fish hook--holds the stitches and takes up less space while in use than a dpn. The round part of the hook holds the stitches, and if it is the same gauge as the needles you are using, you can knit off the cable needle, instead of transferring back and forth.
Merryl wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:04 PM
I want to express a great, big "THANK YOU" to you, Ms. Wiseheart, for creating such a fun pattern for the Red Scarf Project. I made a scarf for the project last year, and I was in search of a new unisex pattern for this year when I received your latest newsletter. I can't wait to get started on this year's scarf, thanks to you!

Best regards,
Merryl
Merryl Rosenthal
Brooklyn, New York
Becca wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:11 PM
I'm knee deep in cable obsession lately. I'm working on my first pair of socks that I designed myself, full of twisted stitches. I've got 2 other cabled socks on the needles, and I really want to knit Norah Gaughn's Turbulence sweater.

I usually knit cables without the cable needle because I can never find one handy.

Here's my silly trick. For a right cable, you hold the stitches to the back of the work. In my head I tell myself "I'll be RIGHT BACK." That helps me remember right cable = back of the work. Somedays I can't tell my left from my right, so I need all the help I can get.
ReginaF wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:27 PM
I took a class a long time ago with Carole Wulster (sp?) who wrote Cable Needle Freedom....so I don't use one! I just manipulate stitches instead!!
Hannahmac wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:41 PM
I once made an allover-cable sweater, where the short sleeves were knitted in as part of the sweater body. I had a hard time working out where in the cable pattern I was once I started having to increase sts at each end of the rows. The best advice I can give in such a situation is to put a marker in at the start of the first full cable pattern of that row, then you can count back from that marker to the beginning of the row to see where, in the cable pattern, you would start.
NatashaH wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:42 PM
Cables are practically the reason why I started knitting in the first place!! I remember as a child, looking through my grandmother's pattern books and being fascinated by the curves and twists in the aran sweaters. It's like some part of the fabric was alive and had grown and rooted itself through the stitches. I couldn't wait to learn how to make them and most of my first knitting attempts had cables involved. Today I still find it hard to pass up a cabled item - the more twisty the better! My method of dealing with the "moving stitches" is to actually just pinch them together with my finger and thumb on my left hand until I need them. Only works on 5 stitches at a time or less, and isn't great when you're travelling in the back of the bus through town, but given the fact that I'm not always organized enough to bring a spare needle, or just plain too lazy to go find one, it works fine for me!!
JuliaE wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 8:58 PM
I've found that cable needles are like knitting needles: use a slippery one with yarn that is sort of sticky (plastic-y cable needles+aran or coarse wool), and not-so-slippery cable needle with slippery yarn (wooden cable needle+smooth fine wool, soy-silk, etc). And maybe everyone else already knows this, but I was really proud of myself when it dawned on me that if I put stitch markers at the start and end of cables and other textural things it helped my distracted mind keep track of where I was in the pattern!!
ZippyZ wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 10:52 PM
I have arthritis very bad in my hands so holding the cable needles was a challange that I was determined to make work for me. What I did was I took one of my double pointed needles and I bent it into a wide U shape it now holds to the cable and I dont have to hang on to it with my hands while I work the other part and then I knit it off of the large U needle ...works great for me and hopefully other arthritic people. Eva
NildaP wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 10:54 PM
I make my own cable needles much the same way you can make knitting needles out of chopsticks. I especially like the thick chopsticks because it allows me to make a fairly deep groove in the middle to hold the little stitches, I then sharpen the other end in a sharpener at the length I'm comfortable with, and sand and buff the entire piece with a nail buffer which is ridiculously convenient as it has the three or four degrees of smoothing all in one handy tool. This way my cable needle is the length (and sometimes the width) I'm most comfortable with. You can also use those bamboo skewering sticks which can come even thinner than chopsticks and you can sometimes buy them 100/$1.
JanO wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 11:41 PM
Sandi,

One thing I've learned about cables: stitch markers are your friends! Buy some metal jump rings used for jewelry and use them as markers. You can usually buy them in bulk and they are relatively inexpensive. Don't knit without them! :)
DeniseW wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 11:42 PM
Hi, Tephra. As you can probably guess from your ordeal with the splitty yarn, a smooth, firmly-twisted yarn works best for cables. As for non-animal fiber, I've had good experiences with acrylics as long as they were not too loosely twisted. A doubled strand of cotton crochet thread has also behaved well for me.

A cable needle was handy when I was first learning to work cables. It let me watch where the stitches were going without having to worry about them getting away from me. Now I generally cable without the extra needle so I don't have to worry about that getting away from me!

When I do use a cable needle, I just knit the stitches directly from it. The size doesn't matter much since it is only the size of the right needle that affects gauge. You just don't want it so big that it stretches the stitches or so small that it falls out too easily.
CharleneM wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Mon, Sep 17 2007 11:45 PM
Markers, Markers, Markers. Those little wonders have saved many a cable. I love the idea from Vicki B.. My husband modified an electric pencil sharpener to make wooden dpns for me and it'll work great for these cable needles and the slight dip should work out great. I've seen some wooden cable needles with dip type indentations along the body of the needle but I have never tried them. My hang up is the stupid row counters, and I'm always geting interupted so its usually hash marks on paper. My husband jokes that I need a counter that sits on the floor that I can tap with my foot or something that sits on the table top that can be lightly tapped, any Ideas folks.
Islandgirl wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 12:14 AM
I'm a huge huge fan of knitting cables without a cable needle. The concept may seem a bit scary at first (you have to pinch the stitches that are off the needles together so they don't get lost!) but once you get the hang of them they are a priceless trick!

In a pattern that is constantly requiring you to cable, it is just a lot more fluid to not have to pick up the cable needle and use it for some reason. That's just my personal feeling anyway.

Please see grumperina's and wendy's tutorials for cabling without a cable needle :)

http://www.grumperina.com/cables.htm

http://wendyknits.net/knit/cablelesson.htm
Stitch-ayWoman wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 1:31 AM
When I knit without a cable needle, I do a couple extra slippings-of-stitches in order to ensure against accidentally pulling my work too tight and REALLY dropping the "dropped" stitches. For example, to knit a simple left-crossing cable over four stitches, I slip two stitches to the RH needle, knit the next two stitches on the LH needle, then slip the two stitches I just knit back to the LH needle. Then, I "drop" the next two stitches on the RH needle (the first two I slipped), slip the next two (already-knit) stitches back to the RH needle, pick up the "dropped" stitches with the LH needle, and knit those stitches.
This method contains a little more slipping-of-stitches than others I have seen, but one big advantage is that the dropped stitches are off the needles for only the amount of time it takes me to slip two stitches behind them, and therefore I run less risk of accidentally dropping them while working the cable. This is especially helpful with working with plant fibers that don't hold onto the dropped stitches as well as wool.
Stitch-ayWoman wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 1:35 AM
Oh-- and someone asked about a non-animal-fiber yarn that shows stitches well: I am currently making the Cables and Os cardigan with the recommended yarn, Queensland Collection Cotolino, and I love the yarn so much I have become a Cotolino disciple. It's 60% cotton and 40% linen and it absolutely pops your stitchwork! The fabric looks a little open before you wash it, but one run in the washing machine and the linen relaxes-- and you have one heck of a beautiful, fluid fabric that really showcases your fancy stitching. LOVE IT.
BirgitS wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 2:10 AM
Hi! for cables with more than two stiches crossing I use a cable needle that I thought was "th unoversal tool" to cables. Well, I'm living in Austria and everyone I saw knitting here used it, so I thought the rest of the world did too... My needle is approximatly 2.5mm in diameter, it is about 4 inches long but not completely straight. In the iddle there is a u-shaped dent where the stiches lie and (almost) never slip away even tought it's made out of the same material as the metal addi-turbo needels! I hope you can find something like that over at your place! (I read in another post that someone twisted a u-shaped needle open, i think that's about what my tool ,ooks like!)
HomeS wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 2:33 AM
Like Joanne I use a cable needle in a hook shape that is called a cable hook. When I taught someone to do cables I told them that the very first thing they needed to do was get a cable hook. It makes doing cables so simple. Like you all I just love cables and the scarf is gorgeous. Can't wait to recover from my carpal tunnel surgeries and get started.
FayeL wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 3:49 AM
I love cables! I haven't tried without a cable needle, but now I need to do that. I use the curved cable needle and the straight wooden needle. Both work for me.
JessicaH wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 4:33 AM
I have used a variety of needles over the years for making cables. I find that a double pointed wooden needle works best for me. It holds the yarn without being too slippery yet the stitches don't get caught in the needle (as they do in a cable needle with a bend). Using a needle about the size of your regular needle also helps to minimize the stitches sliding off before you are ready to have them do so.
PamelaP wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 4:58 AM
If the last knit stitch in your cable (the leftmost stitch when facing you) tends to be a bit loose you can make it tighter by wrapping the following purl stitch the wrong way. Just remember on the return row that you need to knit into the back of that stitch to reorient it.
DavidA wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 6:18 AM
I also recommend using dpn's for cabling. But, I have learned that using a dpn two to three sizes smaller than the main working needle helps to keep the tension correct and does not stretch the stitches being held (and subsequently keeps the tension correct).
FrancieO wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 6:55 AM
I use a small stitch holder for cables. The one that looks like a big safety pin. When I come to a cable, I slip half the stitches onto the stitch holder and drop it to the front or the back. Knit the other half of the cable stitches and then slide the stitches from the stitch holder back onto the left needle. I hook the stitch holder onto my left pinky to hold until the next cable. When I finish a row of cables, I hook the stitch holder through some stitches on the front of the work for safe keeping until I need it again.
Creatrlvr wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 7:17 AM
I thought this was too cute not to pass along.. a Friend of mine has a cute name for when you have to tear out stitches.. she calls if "Frogging" because you have to " rip it, rip it, rip it, rip it out"
I just love Sandy's cabled scarf. Good job, keep it up!! Thanks alot, Sincerely, Beth Morche'
Tmills wrote re: Tips & Tricks For Twisted Stitches
on Tue, Sep 18 2007 7:41 AM
I just love the red scarf pattern. I am new to knitting...just a few scarfs so far. The cables are very intimidating. Can this be done by a new knitter? I am still learning the knitting language for patterns. I am bored with the one stitch patterns but don't want to tackle something too advanced. Thanks for any advise you can give.