Things That Make You Go…. “Awwwwwww…”

Imagine if every baby was this happy wearing hand knit garments!

This adorable set is from Red Heart and uses Heart and Sole with Aloe yarn from Red Heart.

For sock lovers looking for an affordable sock yarn with something special, Red Heart “Heart & Sole” yarn is a terrific option. Infused with all the wonderful properties of aloe vera, “Heart & Sole” can soften your hands as you work with it, and you’ll notice your needles & hooks gliding even more smoothly along each strand of this fiber gem. Effortlessly create socks, scarves, gloves, shawls, tops, sweaters and more with auto-striping & faux Fair Isle patterning. Also with a higher nylon content than most sock yarns, easy-care “Heart & Sole” has incredible snap-back features for excellent shaping & long wear. Beautifully crafted in Italy of 70% superwash wool & 30% nylon.

The pattern for the baby vest and socks is free here: http://www.bargainyarns.com/yarn/Heart_Sole-Babys_Holiday_Vests_Socks_WR1960_Free-5151.html

Next Pattern:

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.

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