Cable Confidence by Sara Louise Harper is all about cables. Nothing more, nothing less. Subtitled “A Guide to Textured Knitting,” the focus, pure and simple, is cabling. All the patterns featured in this book are pretty basic, straight-sided pull-overs with a handful of scarves, hats, and cardigans. However, the intricate cable designs are exquisite.
The patterns may look complicated, but this book is a great place to start for knitters who are ready to move from flat knitting to cables. It gives a thorough description of the tools necessary for cabling, and it teaches you how to read cable charts - it even teaches you bobbles. All different sorts of cable patterns have a tutorial: basic two-stitch cables, multiple stitch cables, diamond cables, braids, and more. The “helpful techniques” section gives additional tips, from special bind offs, seaming, and edging for cabled projects, to other basic techniques that are used in the book’s projects, like single crochet and blocking.
Many of the projects in this book are unisex. The Alastair pullover features rows of cables grouped into threes. The Sinead pullover is a more complex braided cable pattern. The Lucy v-neck pullover features a honeycomb pattern bordered by Xs and Os. The Dymphna v-neck pullover features a basketweave design, and the pattern promises it “looks much more difficult than it really is.” The Nellwyn cardigan is a very traditional cable design, and the kids aren’t forgotten, either. The Bridget pullover and matching scarf are simple, unfussy designs that are largely ribbing, with a simple, double-strand cable shooting down the center. The Robin pullover is sized for kids as young as six, and women up to size extra large. Honeycombs and bobbles decorate this sweater – and include a matching tam pattern. The felted Skylar bag is cute, but felting cables that I knit with painstaking care scares me.
Remember, this book is not for beginning knitters. Get yourself familiar with flat knitting first. Most of the patterns are marked “easy” to “intermediate” on the difficulty scale. I think the hardest part of the more difficult patterns is simply keeping track of the intricate cabled patterns.
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