diff --git a/limmutable.c b/limmutable.c
index 2a547ca..1837ac8 100644
--- a/limmutable.c
+++ b/limmutable.c
@@ -257,8 +257,9 @@ static int Lcreate_instance(lua_State *L)
     int num_args = lua_gettop(L)-1;
     lua_getfield(L, 1, "__new");
     if (! lua_isnil(L, -1)) {
+        lua_insert(L, 2); // move __new
         lua_pushvalue(L, 1);
-        lua_rotate(L, 2, 2);
+        lua_insert(L, 3); // make cls the first argument to __new
         lua_call(L, num_args+1, LUA_MULTRET);
     } else {
         lua_pop(L, 1);