My Cable Needle Guide – What You Need To Know

Knitting cables looks beautiful but complicated! A cable needle makes it easier.

Knitting cables without a cable needle is possible too!

I reviewed and updated this post on August 13, 2022.

Table Of Contents

• What Is A Cable Needle?
• Natural Brittany Cable Needles
• Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Cable Needles
• Clover Cable Stitch Holders
• HiyaHiya Knitting Cable Needles
• Cable Knitting Without A Cable Needle

Best Cable Needles

Natural Brittany Cable Needles

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These are lovely to use and functional.

Combining sustainable, ethical practices and quality materials, these are useful and guaranteed to last.

Features

• Made In The USA
• Pack Of 3
• 3.75″ Long
• Sustainable Birch Wood

Pros

• The stitches stay on the cable
• Long enough to hold the stitches
• They have a slight indent
• Easy to slide the stitches along

Cons

• The straight shape may frustrate

Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Cable Needles

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From the popular Dreamz brand, manufactured by the USA based knitting tools and notions company Knitter’s Pride.

These are great quality cable stitch holders.

Perfect for using with knit needles when you make cables.

Features

• Made In India
• Pack Of 3
• 4″ Long
• Plastic

Pros

• Smooth tapered tips
• Lightweight
• Durable materials
• Great for bulky yarns
• Different colors

Cons

• Hard to work with
• Some found the grooves snagged the yarn

Clover Cable Stitch Holders

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Made by the company Clover, these are simple and affordable

(Note: These are plastic, not Takumi bamboo.)

Features

• Made In Japan
• Pack Of 3
• 3.5″ Long
• Quality Durable Plastic

Pros

• Each is a different color
• Quality materials
• Inexpensive
• Lightweight

Cons

• Not small enough for lighter yarns like fine or fingering

HiyaHiya Knitting Cable Needles

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Made with the simple, affordable, and quality materials you can expect from HiyaHiya.

These have a dip in the middle to hold the stitches.

They’re in funky colors 🙂

Features

• Made In China
• Pack Of 3
• 7.3″ Long 
• Hard, Durable Plastic

Pros

• Range of sizes
• Various colors
• Lifetime warranty
• Easy to knit with

Cons

• Might be too long

What Is A Cable Needle?

It’s a small needle with a bend in the middle to hold stitches.

They’re plastic or aluminum.

How Do You Use A Cable Needle?

Here is how to use a cable needle to do cabling knitting.

• This is a technique when you want to cross the two right stitches over the top of the other two left stitches.
• Slide the stitches to cable with onto the cable needle
• Move them across as if purling the stitch
• Go to the knitting needle in your left hand
• Knit the next two stitches.
• Return to the little cable stitch holder
• Depending on the pattern or method you’re working with, slip or knit the stitches to the left needle.
• Place the cable needle down
• Continue with your project.

Note: This is a basic guideline.

How To Cable Knit Without A Cable Needle

You’ll love or hate this method. See which works best.

Cables Without a Cable Needle

Roxanne Richardson has an excellent tutorial on how to create cables without a cable needle.

What Can You Use Instead Of A Cable Needle?

Use household items instead!

• Smaller paperclip bent
• Straight knitting needle
• Tip of an interchangeable circular needle
• Bent safety pin
• Needle comb
• Fine crochet hook
• Skewer
• Toothpick

Does Cable Needle Size Matter?

Ensure the needle isn’t too big, as it creates saggy stitches.

Do you prefer using a cable needle? Which method was easier for you to learn? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.

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