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]

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.

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