I'm afraid that the second chapter of Something New To Learn About Cables is of no use if you've slipped with the hedge trimmers and cut the flex (we've all done it). Instead it covers what to do when you look over your project with horror as you realise that some way back in your knitting you have got a cable wrong. It may be blindingly obvious, or it could be one of those things that only you notice and but you absolutely can't un-notice it. Either way, once you've thrown your knitting to the floor and stamped and screamed for a bit, you can calm down and not have to worry about ripping back to the point of the mistake. The tutorials in chapter 2 offer you a range of ways of fixing, or at least disguising the source of your despair. From dropping stitches down through the knitting, to embroidering a fix, to actually cutting into your knitting (if you're really brave), there is a fix for every problem. And as you would expect from us, there are clear photo tutorials to guide you through every step of the processes involved.
The Otrera pattern comes in two versions, mittens and fingerless mittens (or mitts for short!). Image ©Jesse Wild.
Jen's Otrera Mittens and Mitts are the patterns at the end of the chapter and feature a more challenging cable motif. It's not as complicated as it first looks - if you think of it as cables in columns, it is eminently doable. Hopefully you won't need the fixing mistakes tutorials when you make them, but if you do notice something wrong, you'll know where to turn.
Both mittens and mitts are worked in the round, starting at the cuff. The rib at the cuff grows into the cable panel, with plain stocking stitch worked on the palm of the hand. Increases are added up the "spine" of the thumb, until there are sufficient stitches to be left on waste yarn in order to complete the thumb later. The rest of the hand is then worked according to either the mittens or mitts instructions to give a closed top, or in the case of the mitts a matching rib edging.
The cable panel on left and right hands is mirrored at the central cable. Image ©Jesse Wild.
As with the other patterns in Something New to Learn About Cables, both the mittens and the fingerless mitts are made in Socks Yeah! DK. This is such a great yarn for cables, as you can see from the photos, they really pop! Otrera also comes in 3 sizes, so if you have extra-large hands, or if you are sensitive about your small hands, they can be made to fit.
Many thanks to Katherine for knitting the mittens sample for Jen. She writes a beautiful blog over at Fiber and Sustenance, which if you haven't already, you should definitely check out! Katherine is also one of our brilliant Ravelry group moderators, and she is generous with her expertise, so if you've not joined the group, please do come on over!
The first opportunity to get your hands on a copy of Something New to Learn About Cables will be at Edinburgh Yarn Festival from Thursday 15th March 2018, and we will be shipping all pre-orders containing a print book from Monday 19th March 2018, on our return from EYF. If you purchase an ebook, it will initially contain just a welcome PDF, and the complete ebook will be uploaded by Monday 19th March to coincide with shipping of the print copies.
The print + ebook costs £14.00 plus shipping, kits start from £12.00 and include yarn and a project bag, and the ebook only option is £13.99.
March 2022 Update: We are now managing whoelsale distribution in house. Our books are currently available from Purlescence (UK), Modern Daily Knitting (USA) and Strickmich (EU).