Tuesday Needlework: Cabling without a Needle

Based on a True Story

The scene: You are in a coffee shop and have just set down with your most recent knitting project and a
steaming hot cup of your favorite brew. You have worked hard all week for these few free minutes and
you are going to enjoy them. You are working along and you get to the beautiful cable section and you
reach for your cable needle. Oh, no! You've left it at home in your other bag. Suddenly your day has
gone from a relaxing, self-indulgent day of knitting to a tragic horror. It is all ruined. Or is it?
No, my friends, it is not. You can still work that cable! Do not give up hope! Relax and I will show you
how.

The first step is to decide if your cable is a front cross or a back cross. In other words, do the first set of
stitches cross in front of the others or do they cross in back? If they are front crossing, this is what you
will need to do.

Notice how the first set of stitches crosses in FRONT
of the others in previous rows

Front Crossing Cables 

Slip the first set of stitches purlwise to the opposite needle, in this case four, keeping your working yarn
in back.

Work the next 4 or set of required stitches.

With the yarn still to the back, take the left needle and slip the 4 slipped stitches onto it, keeping all of
the stitches on the right needle. Now pinch all of the stitches (8) and pull out the right needle from all of
the stitches, making sure you have dropped your working yarn so it does not pull out from your worked
stitches.

Don't panic! Your 4 slipped stitches should be on the left needle still, but the 4 worked stitches are kind
of hanging out there. Calmly take your right needle and place it back into the worked stitches, making
sure they are slipped on purlwise and aligned properly on the needle.

Now the hard part is over! Your four slipped stitches are crossed in front of the worked stitches. Simply
work them off of the left hand needle and carry on enjoying your project!

Rear (Back) Crossing Cables 

I tend to have a little more difficulty with rear or back crossing cables. The process is basically the same,
but to begin move your working yarn to the front as if to purl, then slip your 4 stitches onto the right
needle.

move working yarn to front of work

slip stitches, then move working yarn to back of work 

 Move the working yarn to the back and finish work your 4 remaining stitches.


 Here I like to drop my working yarn and turn the project around. Slip the left needle purlwise into the slipped stitches on the right needle and remove the stitches off the right needle as before.

Turn work so back is facing you to slip stitches, leaving working yarn in the front

Turn your work back around and slip the four loose stitches onto the right needle and work the
remaining 4 stitches off the left needle. Before you work the remaining four stitches, though, make sure that you move your working yarn back to the back and between the two needles.

Loose stitches

Pick up and work remaining four

Stitches worked, cable crossed to back

Your cable should be perfectly crossed as long as you remembered to move your yarn front to back and to work the slipped stitches from the back of the work. There you go! Take a well-deserved sip of that coffee/mocha/latte and smile. You, my friend, have been freed from the cable needle. It is a little more difficult if you have a large number of stitches in your work, but not impossible. Just remember to take your time, breathe deeply, and know that you CAN do it. Knit on sister!