A Simple Lace and Cable Stitch Pattern

My love for learning new stitch patterns is well documented (I even just recently wrote a book review about a fun new book full of knitting stitch patterns, The New Knitting Stitch Dictionary).

Lilia Craft Party likes learning about, knitting up and sharing different stitch patterns, too. This one is called knitting stitch no. 19 on her blog, but to me it looks like little candle flames.

It’s made with easy eyelets for the bottom part of the flame and some traveling stitches (also known as cables, though these don’t twist together like cables normally do) that make what you could consider the outside of the flame or even like a little lantern holding the flame.

The trickiest part of this stitch pattern is the knit three together that’s worked at the top of each little flame section. It’s not actually hard, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. If you know how to knit 2 together, a knit 3 together is the same, just worked with three stitches into one instead of two. But it can be a little fiddly, especially on heavier weight yarn.

The sample of the stitch pattern shown above was worked on sock yarn, and this actually would be a fun pattern to add to the leg and top of a sock. The stitch pattern requires a multiple of 10, which would be perfect for me because I tend to use 60 stitches for my socks. You can always make a little swatch to see if the math works out for you, or add a couple of stitches to the back of the leg to make a faux seam that also helps to make the sock a bit bigger.

Lilia Craft Party has the pattern on her website, both written out and as a chart, so you can practice it and then add it to an upcoming knitting project. If you try it I’d love to know what you use it for!

[Photo: Lilia Craft Party]

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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