A little over a year ago, I had a fun fieldtrip to Knit Dallas. One of the goodies I picked up there was a Curly Cable Needle, distributed by NNK Press. Since then, I've used it in multiple projects, as you might have seen on Wordless WIP Wednesday posts.
In addition to being pretty, I love the concept of using a spiral as a cable needle, and it mostly lives up to my expectations. Since it is a spiral, I can put as many stitches as I want, in any gauge I want on this cable needle, and I don't have to worry about the stitches slipping off the opposite end. I can even use it as a small stitch holder. When between cables, I can hook the cable needle onto my project, and it doesn't fall out. I also like that it's width makes it easy to hold between my fingers if I have cables close enough together that I don't want to put the cable needle down.
As for downsides, I've only encountered a couple, and they aren't really specific to this cable needle. First and foremost, I wish I had a slightly thicker one for thicker yarns. While this needle can hold on to thick yarns, it is a bit fidgety to use with them. The other issue is that, as with any single-sided cable needle, the stitches need to be slipped onto it from left to right. With a double-sided cable needle, you slip the stitches one at a time onto the cable needle, as though it were the right hand needle. With a single-sided cable needle, if you need to move, say, three stitches, you start three stitches back on the left hand needle, and slide all three stitches on to the cable needle, from left to right, at once. It's not really a problem, since a single-sided cable needle has its advantages, but it does take some getting used to.
The other issue I've encountered is one that's never been an issue for me before. In one of my current projects, some of the cables require a double-sided cable needle, because you put five stitches on the cable needle, work the next three stitches from the left needle, work two stitches from the LEFT HAND side of the cable needle, and then work the remaining three stitches from the right hand side of the cable needle. Since the cable needles I currently own are single sided, I just have to use two cable needles at once to make this pattern work. It's an interesting, if somewhat inconvenient, technique, but this is the first pattern I've encountered with cables like this in my almost thirty years of knitting, so it's not really an issue.
My only complaint about this cable needle that is specific to it is that the working edge is blunt. I wish it were a little more finished and tapered on that point, but the wire is narrow enough that this has only been a very minor issue with sock yarn.
Overall, I really enjoy using the Curly Cable Needle, and I love how it looks. It makes me happy, and it is a novelty notion that is both attractive and practical. It was definitely a worthwhile purchase.
This post has been linked to Busy Monday, Senior Salon, Inspire Me Monday, WITS, Wonderful Wednesday, The Stitchin' Mommy, and Thursday Favorite Things.
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