Review: iKnit Intrepid Cables Off the Beaten Path

The iKnit series from Leisure Arts is more magazine-like than the company’s usual pattern booklets. It’s also a bit more fun, with projects that are more heavily styled and that have a bit of a story behind them.

The latest in the series, iKnit: Intrepid Cables Off the Beaten Path focuses on intermediate-level patterns using lots of cables, and all knit with Caron Simply Soft yarn.

In all there are six projects, including:

a cropped sweater with cabled sleeves, collar and button band worked in a contrasting color
a maxi skirt with a bevvy of cables and colors (shown on the cover
a roomy carpet bag with cable and beaded accents
a sleeveless cowl neck vest worked in self-striping yarn with a cable running up one side
a classic sweater with a center cable and cables running down the sleeves
a cabled collar that looks like the beginning of a circular yoke sweater

The projects are presented with big, fun photos, while the back of the booklet contains the patterns. It’s a fun little collection if you’re a fan of cables (and if you are, look for this one in a giveaway soon).

Are you a fan of cables? I’d love to hear how you like to use them.

[Photo via Leisure Arts.] Looking for more Cable-styled knitting patterns? Check out these Cable Knit Patterns on Etsy

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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