Review: Norah Gaughan’s Knitted Cable Sourcebook

Norah Gaughan is well known in the knitting world for her geometric feats of knitting. Her projects tend to turn knitting on its head in lots of different ways, so its no surprise that one of her particular obsessions when it comes to knitting is working with and designing cable patterns.

Her book Norah Gaughan’s Knitting Cable Sourcebook includes more than 150 original cable patterns, as well as instructions for 15 patterns to use them in. (See the patterns on Ravelry.)

The really cool part is that each cable pattern is shown in a large swatch, almost always with both written and charted instructions, and the book gives a Stockinette Stitch equivalent rating to each pattern, which tells you how many stitches in plain Stockinette the pattern uses up.

This is really cool because it makes it easy to substitute cable patterns in the projects. If, for example, you love the skirt but want to use a different cable, you know that the pattern used, called macrame, has an SSE of 32, so any pattern or patterns you want to use need to work out to 32 as well for the skirt to come out the same size.

Looking for more Cable-styled knitting patterns? Check out these Cable Knit Patterns on Etsy

The numbers are also helpful if you want to take a cable out of a project, because you know how many plain stitches need to replace it. If you’re designing your own projects you will still need to knit a swatch but you’ll have an idea of how much space the cables will take up before you begin.

I would say this is a book for experienced cable knitters who want to more deeply explore how cables are made and how to develop their own variations. While the basics of cabling are pretty simple, the patterns presented here get complicated pretty quickly, so a newer knitter approaching this book would need a lot of confidence to carry on. Information about which patterns are reversible or look good on the wrong side, how projects look worked in different yarns and variations on different cable patterns will be helpful to knitters of all skill levels.

The sections on getting started, yarn selection, chart reading and troubleshooting are helpful, and the patterns are nice. But looking through the stitch patterns is sure to inspire you to want to knit your own projects, whether a giant cabled sampler made out of a bunch of swatches, a slouchy hat with a giant cable or a delicate baby blanket with cables inspired by flowers. This is a msut have for cable lovers and might just turn some people who aren’t wild about cables (like me) toward the cable knitting camp.

About the book: 276 pages, hardcover, 15 patterns, 153 stitch patterns. Published October 2016 by Abrams, retail price $29.95.

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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