While I have been more preoccupied with colourwork lately, I have always loved cables: the sinous movement of stitches moving across the fabric. It is a marvel how displacing one or more stitches in different combinations can create such a wide range of patterns and textures.
Norah Gaughan published the Knitted Cable Sourcebook* in 2016 as a treasury of cable knitting, opening up her design process and sharing insights about the relationships between different knitted fabrics, as communicated in her innovative “Stockinette Stitch Equivalent System”. Norah also demonstrates the application of different cable combinations in 15 gorgeous, original patterns.
The instructions are clear and accompanied by well-sized charts and swatches, the latter photographed by Jared Flood. The projects are inspiring and innovative, featuring unique silhouettes and garment types: there’s a pullover with flared sides; there’s a pattern for a balaclava and a skirt.
While it has been almost a decade since this book was published, the designs are still incredibly fresh and there has not been another book of this calibre on cables to surpass it. So if you are looking to add this to your library or gift this to a friend who loves knitting, I did a quick google and you can still purchase hard cover copies from a range of Australian yarn stores and online book stores like Amazon*, or if you have a kindle*, that’s an option too.
*contains affiliate links