Martin Storey is known for his great classic British designs, which include a lot of cables and rustic, tweedy yarns.
These loves of his are combined in the book Martin Storey’s Easy Cable & Aran Knits: 26 Projects with a Modern Twist.
The title may leave you asking yourself, what’s the difference between cable knits and Aran knits? I don’t know that there’s a definitive answer to that, but Storey seems to put cable crossing that happen with both knit and purl stitches into the second category, while cables worked entirely of knit stitches are in the first.
Each section of the book includes three easier patterns for people who are new to these techniques, and then there is a gallery of the other projects followed by the pattern instructions. There are pillows, cowls, mitts and scarves, and of course classic sweaters. The projects are photographed in natural and home settings (Storey and his niece are two of the models, which is fun) and they are really classic cable patterns that mostly seem less daunting because they aren’t all over the project or there’s only one cable type in the project.
A couple of my favorite patterns include the Garter Twist Cowl pictured on the cover; the Links Cable Cardigan, with panels of cables on each side of the sweater opening; and the Aran Wrap, which features long strips of cable patterns paired with Seed Stitch.
I just looked and only a couple of the projects from the British version of the book are on Ravelry, but you can see many of the patterns (including those I just mentioned) in a book trailer on the American publisher’s website.
About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 26 patterns (they have a star rating; 13 are 1 star, 11 are 2 star and two are 3 star), paperback, published by Trafalgar Books, suggested retail $22.95.
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