no cable tutorial

I was working on the summer braids (www.cabinfever.ca/P403.html) in my knitting class on Wednesday and one of my knitters asked how I could stand to fiddle with a cable needle to do the braids. Well, I don't. I wrote the pattern using a cable needle for the crossings in the braid because it is the standard way of doing it but I don't practice what I wrote in this case.

No cable needle please: All of these photos were taken in the evening because it's too d*&% humid to knit in the daytime now.A litle fuzzy but you can see that this is a braid (as opposed to a cable), one stitch is moving (crossing) from the outside of the 5 sts into the centre position, like braiding (plaiting) hair.

The Braid is 5 sts wide and counting from right to left, stitch#1 has been slipped in the last 2 rows and now is ready to be crossed over.

I drop st#1 off the needle and it sits where it was knit last (it was slipped in the last 2 rows so there is nothing to hold it near the needle). The Cotton Tweed isn't slippery so doesn't run at all and this is pretty safe. Safety Tip: After you drop stitch#1 off the needle you can give the loop a pull and make the loop nice and big.

I then knit the next 2 sts (sts#2 & 3) carefully so not to disturb the waiting loop.

I stab the waiting loop (st#1) and knit it. It is now in the centre of the 5 sts. Knit the last 2 sts (st#4 & 5).

Ta Da. One crossing finished.
Give me a minute here to get to the other crossing. Talk amongst yourselves .....

Here we go. I have worked 2 rows slipping stitch#5 and am ready to do the crossing.

Can you see that st#5 on the left is slightly elongated from slipping? This braid crossing starts with Knit 2 sts, to get into the centre of the braid.

Stitches# 3, 4, & 5 are sitting on the Left needle. We are going to cross st#

5 into to centre position by knitting st#5 next.

Insert your needle into the front leg of st#5 and move your needle tip in front of sts#3 & 4 so that it's in front of them all and knit the stitch. You can't slip the finished stitch off at this point so just leave everything there. Knit sts#3 & 4 and slip everything off the needle.

There it is. Give it a little tug. No safety net required for this one. It's very smooth. You don't have to worry about elongating st#5 because it has to be long to cross over.

It's as easy as that.

-Deb