Can Cable Lengths Be Changed?

#1

Forgive me if this question has already been asked and answered, I looked around quite a bit and did not see this particular problem dealt with.

I have a pattern that calls for circular needles 16" long and 32" long. I just bought the Boye NeedleMaster set and there are only 20", 24", 29" and 36" I guess?? What do I do? Do I need to buy new needles and not use my Boyes? I have seen where some people asked questions about knitting on cables an inch or two longer than the cable called for in the pattern - but is 4 inches too much of a gap? (To use the 20" in place of 16" and 36" in place of 32") I am planning on knitting a very bulky weight yarn for a sweater. I would appreciate any suggestions you experienced knitters have on this matter. I was all excited to get going with my brand new needles and yarn and pattern :frowning:

#2

[color=blue]Are you going to be knitting in the round, or back and forth?[/color]
:frog:

#3

Unfortunately, you can’t make a 16" circular out of the boye needlemaster set. The smallest you can make is a 20" and I personally have a difficult time working properly on that length. The knit stitches are okay but the purl stitches are difficult.

Sorry I need to run, I’ll try to post a bit more later. Also you might want to check out the thread in the general knitting section with ‘everything you need to know about interchangeables’.

Gotta run… :XX:

#4

This is a sweater knit in the round, not back and forth. Is that impossible??

#5

To substitute for the 16 inch (which I’m guessing you use for the sleeves?), you could knit on two circulars (with needles the same size) and buy an extra set of the KnitMate tips since they are relatively cheap, I think like about 3.00 a pair. Check out the video under Advanced Techniques to see how that’s done. Magic Loop would be another option.

You could probably get away with using the 29 inch instead of the 32. It’s easier to “smoosh” stuff together than try to stretch it out over a longer needle.

#6

[color=blue]What Kristen said. :thumbsup:
The other alternative would be DP needles for sleeves and neckline.
I can’t imagine how they expected the cuffs of the sleeves to be knit in a 16" circular. :?? [/color]

#7

[color=blueviolet]I agree with Kristen too except for the Magic Loop suggestion. It is near impossible to do it with the Needlemaster. The cables are too stiff.[/color]

#8

I also was going to suggest the circular knitting on 2 circs method as shown in Amy’s videos AND the great part about the needlemaster set in this situation is that you don’t have to have another set of needle tips the same size. You can use the size you’re going to be actually knitting with on one side of the circular and on the other side use the needle tip one size smaller. It’s hard to describe but Amy describes it in the video on circular knitting on 2 circs.

#9

I have attached the pattern for the sweater if that helps at all. I am a new knitter and I watched the videos on magic loop and using two sets of circulars. If I want to use the method of two circs I need to get another set in the size I am using right? I was sort of hoping to not have to buy anything else since the needle set and yarn has dipped into my knitting budget for a little while. :frowning: Does anyone thing magic loop would work? Will I end up cursing the sweater and chucking it? Or is magic loop easier once you get the hang of it?

I appreciate all of your suggestions already. Thanks to everyone for being so helpful and quick with your answers. You obviously know I am chomping at the bit to get started over here…and once I looked at the pattern I was bummed to think that I might have to rethink the pattern or have to wait and purchase more needles.

#10

Ooops I cannot get the pattern to link. It is a sweater pattern from Knitty called Top Secret and I found it on this site…so it is easy to get to here if that helps anyone to check it out.

Where does one purchase extra Knit tips as suggested by Kristen? Online? Stores??

#11

You wouldn’t need to buy anything extra to do the two-circ method, because the two circs don’t need to be the same length. You can do it with two different needle sizes (like knitqueen pointed out) or you could buy an extra set of tips in the size you need. (like at Hobby Lobby)

IMO magic loop might be frustrating because the boye cables aren’t the most flexible.

#12

So using the two different size needles will not throw off the gauge? I end up using one set and one set smaller…do I need to have one needle of each set on opposite ends, or do you make each cable with the same size needles on them??

#13

You have to have, for example, a size 5 tip on one end and a size 4 tip on the other end of the SAME cable. In this example, you need to make sure that you are always knitting ONTO the larger needle, that is the size 5. Same for the second circular. As long as you are always knitting ONTO the correct sized needle for the pattern, your gauge will not be thrown off. And another bonus for doing it this way if you are a tight knitter, is that since you are knitting OFF of a smaller needle, the stitches will be looser and easier to get the needle into.

Does this help?

#14

This absoultely helps. Thank you all so much. I think I will work the body first and just use the slightly smaller cable and smoosh them on. Then when I get to the arms and start using this fancy dancy method…I may have questions, but it looked fairly easy in Amy’s video…but then again it all looks easy when she does it. :wink:

#15

If you are knitting the body of a sweater in the round, and the pattern calls for 32" circs, I think you could easily sub the 29" length without any problems. The stitches will be a little more squished on to the needles than if you had the 32", but not enough that you would need to use 2 circs or what have you… just my 2¢ {CAN of course}

#16

I could be wrong, but I think the suggestion for the 2 circ method was for the sleeves???

Anyways, yes, you can definitely use a circ a bit shorter than the one suggested, you will just have squished stitches which is a lot better than having a circ that is too small.

#17

Yes the two circ method was for the sleeves. I was just verifying one last time what I was going to do in case I had something mixed up. But thank you all for your suggestions and help. I posted another question about this pattern about knitting the gauge swatch for a piece knit in the round. I promise this will be my last question on this pattern (at least for a little while hee hee) let me know if you guys have any more insight about the gauge issue. I did not know if I was supposed to post it here under this different topic so I posted a whole new question…hope that was the right thing to do.