Knitting

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I’ll Admit I’m Intrigued

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a fun, roomy tank top for summer from Norah GaughanI’ve been a little obsessed with knit tank tops lately, because I’ve pretty much been living in tank tops for the past couple of weeks and that trend is going to continue.

If you need another tank for your to knit list, check out Admit from Norah Gaughan for Berroco. This roomy top is actually a pretty easy knit, worked from the bottom up in the round in stockinette before dividing front and back and working this fun eyelet pattern that adds interest in knitting and wearing without being too frilly.

It’s worked in a cotton-rayon blend that’s easy wearing with a little more shine and drape that cotton by itself, making this a great choice for casual days or when you want to look a little more pulled together.

[Photo via Berroco.]

Comments

  1. I’m intrigued by this one, too! It looks fast enough to finish this summer, and the yoke shaping is so interesting.

  2. I really don’t like the way the arm hole section slouches. The pattern could be altered to have a more fitted arm hole opening up to the eyelet pattern & then increase out from there. Still be easy without the slouch. Close but not close enough.

  3. I like it and agree with Peta – but I’m thinking this top is about 3 sizes too big for the model, hence the bunched up armholes.

Have you read?

Book Review: Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.