Enter Dad to Win a “Cable Knit” Sweater Vest

Dads in cliche are known for their terrible jokes, and their hoarding of cables and other technological bits and bobs that no one really knows the use of or if they’ll ever be needed again.

Staples is giving a few lucky dads a chance to make their dad joke dreams a reality. Through June 10, 2024, anyone who takes cables to a Staples store for recycling can enter to win a cable knit sweater vest, complete with real cables woven in.

Cables, cords and other tech are eligible for this giveaway, and everyone who recycles gets an instant $10 off coupon for a purchase of $30 or more, so you can shop for a less punny gift while you’re there. Or get some new cables. Who am I to judge?

After you do your recycling, head to the Staples website with your receipt to enter to win the vest. There will be a total of five winners.

I know this doesn’t really have a lot to do with actual knitting, but this is a funny idea for the person in your life who loves puns, or to make for a white elephant gift exchange. You could add cables to your cables on all sorts of projects. I also like the idea of this as a last-minute Halloween costume: just add some cables and cords to a purchased sweater, vest or hat to make it “cable knit.”

Also I’ve crocheted with clothesline before, which is almost like a cable, so you could try knitting with some of those cast-off cables and cords, too, to make a full accessory (I’m thinking a bangle bracelet) or even a larger garment. Taking the idea of cable knit vest to a whole different place!

Is this something you would wear? Or try to make yourself? I’d love to hear your ideas for crafting with cables and cords!

[Photo via Staples]

Next Pattern:

I can’t resist a pattern that’s both useful and a little silly, and that’s exactly how I feel about the Rybka pouch pattern from the delightfully named Rat and Sea Witch.

I know you’re going to ask, because I did, too. Rybka means little fish in Polish. (And because you’re also probably going to ask, Rat and Sea Witch comes from people’s attempts to say the designer’s name, Ratasiewicz, which if you say it fast kind of sounds like rat and sea witch.)

It’s easy to make a little fish bag in different sizes to suit your needs. The pattern has specific instructions for an Airpods Pro case and a pencil case, but you could change the length easily to hold more stuff, and change the size in general by working with a different weight of yarn.

The pattern calls for sock yarn and mohair held together to make a fingering weight gauge, but you could try it with heavier yarn and see what size bag you end up with.

Whatever size you make it, this looks like a fun project for holding trinkets or everyday items. The mouth of the fish is the mouth of the bag, and it closes with a drawstring that is also the strap. I wonder, too, if you could make one of these with a small clasp frame that could be the fish’s mouth and then you could just work I cord straps that would attach to the sides of the fish.

I could also see stripes, or fish of different colors to use up your yarn leftovers. How about a sunglasses case with a little loop to attach to your bag? Once you start thinking about all the ways you could use a fish-shaped bag in your life, I think you’ll see that you probably need more than one.

If you make one of these I would love to know how it went!

You can grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Rat and Sea Witch]

Next Pattern:

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