Play with Cables and Lace in this Wrap Knitting Pattern

You already know I have cables on the brain from my post the other day about making cables without a cable needle. It’s funny that when you start thinking about a particular genre of knitting you start to see it everywhere, so it makes sense that the little braided cables on the edge of the Twisting Vines wrap caught my eye.

You can tell by the name of the pattern, which was designed by A. Palmatier, that the lace is really the star of the show, but I do love the combination of a sort of intricate lace with a simple cable as a frame. And honestly the lace isn’t difficult, either, but it might take you a couple of repeats to get the logic of it.

The pattern includes written instructions and a chart if you’d rather (which is a great way to practice reading a chart if you’re new to it because you can always check your work if you aren’t sure what a symbol means or your project isn’t looking quite right).

This wrap uses DK weight yarn and is a big rectangle, so it’s easy to adjust the size if you want yours to be bigger or smaller, or if you’re using yarn from your stash and don’t have the same yardage as the pattern calls for.

The Twisting Vines wrap is available as a free download from Ravelry, or if you don’t do Ravelry you can get it on the designer’s website.

Looking for more shawl patterns? I recently collected a bunch of sock yarn shawl knitting patterns, which are great because they each only use about a skein of yarn, so you can pull that special skein out of your collection and actually use it for a lightweight shawl you can wear throughout the year.

[Photo: A. Palmatier]

Not too long ago I did a test knit for another designer that was for a cabled cardigan. It’s really cozy and nice but it just about broke me in a ton of different ways. I couldn’t get gauge, which I suppose is my own problem, but mainly I was somehow both bored and forced to pay attention at the same time.

Because it used the same cable all over, I always had to know what row I was on, but nine out of ten of those rows, nothing in particular was going on. So I couldn’t stop paying attention, but what I needed to attend to was boring.

It may have ruined me for knitting cabled sweaters, but maybe I just need something that’s more engaging. Like this Modern Aran Cardigan pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

This is a reworking of an old pattern from their archives, and you can tell that form the classic look of the cables and the oversized feel (nothing cropped about this one!). It has allover cables, but like a classic Aran sweater it’s not the same cable, so you’ll have to pay attention to what row you’re on and what cable turns happen for which cables on that row.

Because of this, it’s considered an intermediate knitting pattern, but if you’re comfortable working from multiple charts at once it shouldn’t be a problem for you. There are three different charts and seven different cable moves.

Also because the pattern is so big and boxy there are only two sizes available, with a finished chest measurement of either 49 or 63 inches (that’s 124.5 or 160 cm). It’s up to you to decide how much ease you would like and whether that will work for your body.

The pattern uses worsted weight yarn (and calls for another classic, Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool). It calls for six buttons and includes pockets to make it extra cozy.

This one looks like a great winter project to make and to wear if you’re up for a bit of a challenge. You can grab the free pattern or buy a kit with the yarn needed direct from Lion Brand Yarn.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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