• Home
  • Suggest A Craft
  • DIY Newsletter

Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

  • About CraftGossip
  • Our Network
    • Bath & Body Crafts
    • Candle Making Ideas
    • Crochet Ideas
    • Cross Stitch
    • Edible Crafts
    • Felting Patterns
    • Glass Art
    • Home & Garden Ideas
    • Indie Crafts
    • Jewelry Making
    • Kids Crafts
    • Knitting Patterns
    • Lesson Plans
    • Needlework
    • Party Ideas
    • Polymer Clay
    • Quilting Ideas
    • Recycled Crafts
    • Scrapbooking
    • Sewing Patterns
    • Card Making
    • DIY Weddings
    • Not Craft Ideas
  • Giveaways
  • Roundups
  • Store
  • Search

Book Review: Knit Fold Pleat Repeat

June 22, 2023 by Sarah White

Norah Gaughan is a master of interesting shapes and outside-the-norm construction techniques, and she brings decades of design experience and creativity to the designs in Knit Fold Pleat Repeat: Simple Knits, Gorgeous Garments.

Gaughan says she was interested in looking at non-traditional ways to cover the body with knitting, whether by working with rectangles or other simple shapes, or joining different geometric shapes together. This naturally led her to look at origami as a further source of inspiration for manipulating knit fabric to make simple shapes both more interesting and more wearable.

The book is divided into chapters that play with different concepts. There are patterns made entirely of rectangles that are joined in various ways or shaped with surface treatments. Polygons eventually join the mix, with shapes being joined and manipulated to make other shapes. As the book goes on, more shaping is added, and eventually there are garments with more traditional construction methods joined to techniques for ruching, pleating and otherwise adding texture.

Each pattern has a little description of the thought and design process behind the garment, as well as further thoughts that might inspire you to design a similar garment taken in a different direction.

The patterns are all so different it’s a little hard to describe them or to pick favorites. You really need to look at the projects yourself to see if they are things you would like to make (you can see all the patterns on Ravelry). Some of my favorites include Hussar, a boxy jacket with rolls of pleats at the center fronts; Kite, a short-sleeved top made of bias-knit squares, triangles and rectangles (it has a really cool neckline); and Tilt, a gigantic rectangle fashioned into a pleated skirt with a yoke-like waist.

These patterns are all interesting, and will get you thinking about knitting in different ways and wondering about different options for constructing and embellishing garments. Because so much of it is simple stockinette squares and rectangles, there’s actually a good bit of mindless knitting on offer here with a big payoff after the manipulation you do after the knitting is done.

This is the book to get the knitter who knows every technique, to remind them there is always more to learn, or for your fashion-forward friend you’ve been wanting to teach how to knit.

About the book: 224 pages, 36 patterns, hardcover. Published 2022 by Abrams Books. Suggested retail $29.99.

Next Pattern:

  • Book Review - Last-Minute Afghans Knit Pattern Book
  • Book Review: A First Book of Knitting for Children
  • Book Review - The Knitter's Book of Socks
«
»

Have you read?

Knit a Linen Stitch Hot Pad

Linen stitch is one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns that, every time I use it in a project, I think about how I don’t use it often enough. 

It’s an easy stitch to make, with slip stitches done with the yarn held to the front of the work on the right/front side and to the back on the wrong/back side, which makes the strand of yarn a visible part of the pattern. 

It also makes a fabric that is thick and looks kind of like a woven fabric.

I recently used linen stitch to make a double-thick pot holder, which I worked in a kind of interesting way. I didn’t want to have to do any sewing on the project, so I started it from a crochet cast on and picked up stitches from the side of the cast on to make the hot pad all in one piece in the round with the edge sealed. 

This requires working on two circular needles, which is another technique I don’t use that often and am always reminded how much I like it when I do. 

The combination of double thickness and the stitch pattern makes for a hot pad that’s already pretty thick, but I also added a bit of old towel to the inside before I closed up the end to make it super thick and extra protective for your surfaces. 

I found the engineering challenge of this construction method to be a lot of fun, but you could also just knit it as a tube (casting on twice as many stitches as I did) and sew up the ends by hand when the knitting is done. Either way you’ve got a useful and pretty addition to your kitchen, whether you work it in a solid color, stripes or as a stash busting project will all your cotton odd balls. 

You can grab the pattern over at Our Daily Craft, or check it out on Ravelry. 

40+ Hot Pads You Can Sew For The Kitchen [Sewing]

A Cozy Knit to Calm Your Mind

Double Knit an Infinity Scarf

Categories

baby hat Baby Patterns Beginner Book Reviews cardigan Christmas CraftGossip Giveaways Craft News and Events Free Kntting Patterns Giveaways! Hats Knitting Articles Of Interest Knitting Patterns Knitting Technique & Ideas mittens Quick scarf shawl patterns socks Sweaters

RSS More Articles

  • Book Review: Merry Stitchmas
  • Etsy Spotlight – Sew the Dress of Your Dreams with This Romantic Puff Sleeve Pattern
  • Vacation Pocket Mini Album Project
  • DIY Soda Bottle Cloches – A Clever Way to Shield Your Seedlings
  • Crochet Pattern Review: Aura Pullover
  • Scrappy Pineapple Block – Quilt Pattern
  • Learning about the Moon for Kids
  • Free Crochet Pattern – Battenberg Blanket
  • Book Review – Big Thrift Energy
  • How to Make a Summer Drinks Shaker Card

Copyright © 2025 · CraftGossip | Start Here | Contact Us | Link to Us | Your Editors | Privacy and affiliate policy