Cable Crochet Made Easy

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Have you ever tried crocheted cables? About 10 years ago one of my crochet students mentioned crochet cables to me. She was also a knitter but was fascinated with how you could replicate the look of knitted cables with crochet stitches. She peaked my interest and I began a search for books on how to do this neat technique. I found one book and started to learn how to create crocheted cables by using post stitches. There weren’t many books to choose from at the time but I gradually experimented with the stitches. Now I can recommend 3 great books on the subject and they are by my friend, Bonnie Barker.

I have reviewed two of her other books before on my blog (click here and here to read those ) and I think this one, Crochet Cables Made Easy, is my favorite because Bonnie published it on her own! This means she made all the decisions about which designs to include, which photos to take, how to word the patterns and more – you can really see her heart for crocheted cables and teaching crochet shining through every page. What is even more impressive is that Bonnie has also made both right and left-handed video tutorials to go along with each project and stitch. From the very first page and her great introduction, Bonnie works hard to make the crocheted cables easy.

The photos are excellent – I love how Bonnie’s friends and family were her models and I enjoyed seeing a variety of Ireland photos, too. The photos, in addition to being beautiful, are also instructive in that you can see the stitch definition and where each cable is located in the project.

Overall, the layout of the book is very clear and easy to read with a large clear font and simple headings.

Here are some of my favorite projects – there are a total of 17 in the book – so hard to choose favorites!

The sock yarn used for this off-center scarf shows off the side cables well and compliments the lightweight style of this accessory.

I love how the cables are so big on this Branaugh Barley Poncho – Bonnie picked the perfect yarn for it, don’t you think?

I enjoy working on smaller projects and I’m glad there are a few included like this one – One Size Fits All Cabled Bottle Cover. The way the cables and yarn stretch around the bottles makes for a unique look – very clever I think!

This is probably my favorite design – I love how it can be worn as a shawl across your back or wrapped around your neck like a scarf – the Abigail Scarf. The cable stitches are worked along the triangular shape of the project and are very flattering near your face. It is impressive how Bonnie can come up with so many different combinations of Front Post and Back Post stitches!

I decided to try out the Bottle cover – I ordered some of the Cascade Fixation yarn but will need to wait until it arrives to use it for this project. So, I used Lily Sugar n Cream yarn with a larger hook. I was able to complete several rounds in less than an hour and I love how the cables look. Even though the yarn I used does not have the spandex in it that the Fixation does (which makes it stretchy), the cables pull apart when the cozy is stretched over my water bottle and give it the neat affect I like. The written instructions are very easy to follow so I didn’t need to watch the video . . . . but, I decided to watch the video anyway so I could rave about how well it was made. ? Bonnie does a great job of leading you through each step of the project. The video quality is excellent – you can clearly see all of her stitches.

Here is a photo of my finished project on my very large water bottle. I simply added 4 stitches and an extra round to the bottom circle of the design so it would fit. Since it is the Christmas season, I decided to add some surface sl sts in between all the columns of the pretty cables with the color white. I also added a fun holly leaf motif made out of cables (check back for a post about those) since I love Christmas.

So, if you have always wanted to learn crochet cables but haven’t taken the time to, now is your chance – Bonnie really does make the cables easy with all of her instruction and photos. Click here to order the book and be on your way to making these beautiful designs – Remember, with this purchase you get special access to all of the videos for each project.

Jennifer