Cables on the knitting machine? YES!

Hand manipulating cables on the machine is similar to using a cable needle by hand. By changing the order that the stitches are knit we can create fabulous texture for our knitting.

Some considerations:

As machine knitters we are viewing the knitting from the purl side. So we need to "translate" in our minds left cross and right cross cable stitch charts that are written for hand knitters.
Most hand knitting cable patterns incorporate purl stitches to give the cables more depth. Purl stitches that will show on the public (right) side of the knitting need to be hand manipulated
Because the knitting is stretched across the needlebed, crossing more than 1-2 stitches can be a bit tricky. But there are many ways to ovecome this and create beautiful cables on the machine.

Crossing "backward"

If your pattern tells you to knit a right or a left cross cable, the challenge is to picture the cable from the knit side of the work (which is hidden when you are knitting on the machine)

Take time to envision the finished direction of the cross on the public side of the work.