Jody LongContemporary Cables: Classic Aran Reimagined in Current Styles (Dover Crafts: Knitting)

Loved this book, has great patterns, but it fell apart right away. I had to tape it to keep it together.

I love this book it has patterns for all skill levels. I am a beginning/intermediate knitter and these really walk you though the stitch patterns well. I love the patterns themselves also I think they are pretty timeless which is good you don't want to put all this effort into them and find they look dated 5 years from now. I am working on the pattern on the cover and it is beautiful, I'm thrilled.

I am making my daughter a sweater and the patterns were so beautiful it was hard to decide. The book is wonderful.

I live the pattetns

Great designs

Lovely designs, but the digital version is unreadable. Instructions overlap pictures.

I'm a passionate knitter. I love the process and the structure of building up a fabric stitch by stitch. I'm also a sewist (sewer?) and enjoy that also, but one thing I enjoy very much about knitting is that you can and do shape the pattern pieces as you make them. That's awesome.Anyhow, these patterns really exploit all of the positive things about knitted structure and shaping. Almost all of them are really classic and well fitted (there are a few loose and flowing items, like the oversized wrap (p.40 in my copy) and the buttonless chunky cardigan (p. 72), but most are fitted. There are only a couple of them which I can imagine looking really dated in 20 years and that's really high praise from me. As a contrast, I'm addicted to Rowan magazines and basically buy every book they put out and a LOT of them look, well, quite dated 20 years on.About this book. The patterns are truly creative and use the cables as important structural elements. The cover pullover for example (called Rapunzel! <3 )has a soft peplum (it flares outwards over the top of the hips) and the outward lines are emphasized by the braided cable which splits in two. There's a vent (slit) in the back of this sweater (*swoon*) and it, also, has a cable running along it. There are so many more rich variations than the standard 4 or 6 stitch cable which an awful lot of magazines call 'aran' these days (Vogue Knitting, I'm looking at you!)There are so many of these which are well fitted (no shapeless sacks which, let's face it, make anyone over 80 pounds (about 36kg) look like a bag of lumpy potatoes). That's an exaggeration of course.. but seriously... these pieces are beautifully fitted, with shaped set in sleeves and diagrams. There are also raglan shaped sweaters and a project with a shawl collar. There are some smaller projects as well, a market bag, some shrugs and a beret which flew to the top of my 'next project' list. I will have it before the snow flies, yes I will! The knitting instructions are complete and streamlined and the cabling patterns are both described in the text -and- diagrammed.I've noticed with a lot of project photography that it's devilishly difficult to get a proper picture of projects showing off the entire project whilst it's being worn by an actual human without making it painfully obvious that the model was being posed to the Nth degree ("Ok, I know you're freezing to death and you stopped being able to feel your toes about an hour ago, but move your left arm forward a half inch and your chin up, no down, no up, now HOLD THAT POSE"!). That being said, the photography and models are fine and show off the projects well.The instructions and introductory text aren't overly hand-holding or coddling. I would say if you're a true straight up newbie knitter (good for you!) then have a friend/mentor/LocalYarnShop to help if you get stuck. If you're a bit more experienced, you'll have enough here to get you through. One thing I really loved about this book was that they gave a good explanation of substituting yarns and figuring yardages and skeins needed.All in all, a wonderful book of projects which really called to me.Four and a half stars. Love so many of these projects <3Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

Mr. Long, an internationally known handknit designer, has redesigned 21 classic sweaters and accessories for a modern audience. Mostly this involves knitting his cabled patterns in colored yarns rather than in the traditional white, but he has also changed the hems and bottom fitting details, moving away from ribbing. As with any knitting book I like some of the designs better than others. I quite like the Buttonless Chunky Cardigan, but the color choice for the Oversize Wrap strikes me as unfortunate. Would the thing look better in white? No one in my world wears shrugs. The front closing of the waistcoat is nice but again, no one I know would wear it. The two tunic dresses would look very nice on someone who could wear that style.Mr. Long's designs are for intermediate to advanced knitters. His instructions are detailed and include text and charted patterns. His taste in yarn runs a bit chunkier than mine and I suspect that I would have to spend a bit of time adjusting my gauge. He is spare with is finishing instructions. I look at the cabled scarf and wonder whether it will curl. Some of the hems look a bit raggedy and I wonder if a tiny bit of extra picot work on them will be needed.If you are thinking to run up a nice heavy sweater for the winter, this is a book to consider.I received a review copy of "Contemporary Cables: Classic Aran Reimagined in Current Styles" by Jody Long (Dover) through NetGalley.com.

Book arrived promptly. I am looking forward to knitting these patterns. Thanks.

Good choice of patterns, however didn't realise that the pattern was not written out in full. Had to work from graphs, which I had never done and didn't find it particularly easy, although many people would. Helpful notes and very useful instructions to convert yarns.

There are some unusual patterns for the experienced knitter in this book. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

The patterns appear to be very modern with 'old' twist!

Fantastic book with great patterns for advanced knitters.