Some of my favorite designs like my newest Montadale and it’s kissing cousin Poe have a lot of little cables. And if you are using a cable needle to work all these cables it is sometimes time consuming. So today we’re going to do a quick and dirty tutorial on the no-cable-needle cable!

If you want to play along cast on 20 stitches and work the following rows:

Row 1: K6, p2, k4, p2, k6.

Row 2: K2, *p4, k2; repeat from *

Rows 3-8: Repeat Rows 1 and 2.

We’ll start with the easiest one the c4f – or cable 4 front. When you work these with a cable needle, you slip 2 sts to the cable needle, hold in front, and then knit the next 2 stitches, and knit the 2 sts from the cable needle. But we are gonna do it the no-cable-needle way! Before you begin knit the first two stitches on the needles, and then do this:

1. Slip next 2 sts to the right-hand needle with yarn in back.

2. Knit the next 2 sts.

3. Insert the left-hand needle tip into the two slipped stitches from front left as shown.

4. Pull the right-hand needle tip out of all four sts, leaving the two worked sts loose. Be gentle. They won’t go anywhere.

5. Insert the right-hand needle tip back into those stitches.

6. Then knit the two slipped stitches.

And then we’ll continue this across the row, by working a p2, and then following the 6 steps for the cable twice more, and then ending k2.

Repeat row 2 from above, and then works Rows 1 and 2 once more. Then you are ready to try the c4b – cable 4 back. Again with a cable needle, you put stitches on it and hold them to the back. But now we’re going to knit the first two stitches and then follow these 5 steps:

1. Slip next 2 sts to the right-hand needle with yarn in front.

2. Knit the next 2 sts.

3. Bring the yarn to the front and insert the left-hand needle tip into those two stitches from back left as shown.

4. Gently pull the right-hand needle tip out of all four sts, leaving the two worked sts loose.

5. Insert the right-hand needle tip back into those stitches.

6. Bring the yarn to the back and then knit the two slipped stitches.

And then we’ll continue this across the row, by working a p2, and then following the 6 steps for the cable twice more, and then ending k2. And now you can add cabling without a cable needle to your mad list of knitting skills!