Winter is Coming — Have You Started Knitting an Afghan Yet?

I recently started a project, which will be done really soon if I just keep working on it, using three strands of yarn held together to knit a blanket. It’s going to be huge and super warm and use a lot of yarn (probably about 15 balls that have been in my stash for years), so I’m really excited about it. There’s nothing like a big knit blanket to cozy under when the days are cold.

If you haven’t started an afghan for the winter yet, let me direct your attention to this free ebook from Knitting Daily full of 7 Free Afghan Knitting Patterns. You do have to be a member of Knitting Daily to download it, which involves subscribing to a free daily enewsletter, but I’d say it’s worth it for more great ideas for keeping warm.

There are lots of great skills represented here, too, including mitered squares, entrelac, cables, mosaic knitting, lace and textured stitches.

Another great pattern that crossed my screen recently was the Striped Garter Throw from Plymouth Yarn (via Noble Knits). This is a super easy and fast project that even a new knitter can complete with ease. And it has tassels!

Are you knitting a blanket or afghan for winter? I’d love to know what you’re working on!

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.

Next Pattern:

Have you read?