Book Review: Knit Fold Pleat Repeat

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.

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Adding eyelets to a project is a great way to make it more wearable in the summer, and these mesh and eyelet sweater patterns are perfect for summer (and beyond!) for layering.

The Inez Summer Sweater from Happy Love Co combines eyelets and dropped stitches (along with some garter and stockinette) to make a casual and fun summer sweater. The pattern is one size (56 inches or 142.24 cm) around, and is meant to be worn oversized. But it’s an easy enough pattern you could alter it to suit you without too much difficulty. It calls for worsted weight cotton yarn.

Another fun project using dropped stitches in the Stella Blouse from Thelma Steimann. It calls for a fingering weight silk yarn and is worked on larger than expected needles and also uses dropped stitches. The pattern includes eight sizes, with a bust circumference ranging from 33.5 to 51.5 inches, or 85-131 cm. You can grab a copy on Ravelry.

The Design Studio Knits has a nice summer cotton tee that uses worsted weight yarn worked on larger needles so it has a mesh effect while still being worked in stockinette stitch. It’s worked in one piece and is another one size pattern, meant to fit an actual chest measurement ranging from 34 to 46 inches (that’s 86 to 117 cm).

A similar look with a cropped shape and four available sizes comes from A Box of Twine. This one is a DK weight yarn knit on large needles and still has an oversized look (for instance the size small is 42 inches/106.68 cm at the bust). It’s worked flat so this is a great one for beginners.

If you want something a little more structured, try the Pip Cardigan from Yoko Johnston. This sport weight cardigan has an allover eyelet pattern and options to close with a zipper or buttons. It’s worked from the top down and has six size options. This one is also oversized, with finished measurements ranging from 51.5 to 64.5 inches, or 131 to 164 cm). You can find this one on Ravelry.

Or check out Endlessly by Amy Gunderson, a free pattern from Knitty. This pullover uses a cable and lace pattern that is easy to knit and to wear. It uses DK weight yarn and has nine size options. The chest measurement ranges from 34.75 to 66.75 inches, or 88.5 to 169.5 cm, and is meant to be worn with a little positive ease.

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