Knitty Deep Fall 2013: A Review

Knitty has produced its Deep Fall 2013 issue. Let's have a look, shall we?

This is the Spice Trail from the East pattern. And I like the pattern, which has a lot of interesting details (love the leaf pattern) which follow the lines of the sweater well. A deep v-neck spencer isn't for everyone, but if you like the details they should be easy to render in a standard fit cardigan.

I may not love the Double Rainbow pattern, but I like it. The sleeves-only stripe concept is a bit different and more flattering than the usual striped midsection, and I like the roll neck as opposed to the usual turtleneck. It's wearable, it's cute, it's rather eye catching, and it isn't something that will take months to knit.

I really like the Hopwood pullover, with its cowl neckline and simple yet telling detail. This designer has really pulled the colour scheme together by echoing the flecks of apricot and purple in the main colour in her border colours. I'm adding this one to my favourites on Ravelry, and my Ravelry favourites are always projects I intend to knit at some point.

This is the Flippant cardigan. It's a nice piece of work and I like the detailing up the sleeves. It is a little small on this model, which is detracting somewhat from the whole.





This is the My Favorite Color Cardigan. It's a nice, simple piece of work with enough detail to keep it from getting boring and excellent construction. Great idea to hide the waist shaping in the back garter stitch panel.

The Sophia Loren pullover. I like this one too (am I not going to get to make fun of anything in this issue, Knitty?). It seems like a slightly updated take on the Fair Isle, with its fitted shape, face-framing yoke, and stripes.





The Annabella pullover had me at the placket and lost me at the muffin top. That deep waist band in twisted rib would be hard for any woman to wear, and the blousing effect where the top transitions into stockinette just makes it impossible to pull off. If you want to make this sweater, I'd cut down the twisted rib to no more than a few inches deep.





I'm not usually a fan of oversized sweaters, but I can't dislike the Agata cardigan. It was designed to be a way to showcase the jewel-like handpainted yarn, and it certainly does that. I suspect I wouldn't have been sold on it if it were in say, oatmeal yarn, or on the wrong person, but this yarn is beautiful and this model can carry it, so I'll give it a pass.

Quite like the Plum Rondo a la Turk pullover, with its vibrant colour and striking detailing.

The Deflect socks are a very serviceable pattern. I like that the author has been able to incorporate some cable detail without bulking up the sock.

The Circinus sock is kind of cool. The cabling on this design weaves in an out so that you see something different and unexpected from every angle of the sock.

Can't say I care for the Ridley knee socks. They're a mish-mash of too many elements, like they belong to a teenage girl who can't figure out if she wants to be one of the jocks, one of the yearbook editors, or one of whatever the clique of well-coiffed, confident girls is called at her high school. Honey, you can be all those things without trying to indicate it through your socks. Or at least not in a single pair of them.

The Hatters Gonna Hat design doesn't do it for me either. It looks like something that belongs on an elf from the Island of Misfit Toys, and specifically, one called Patches who is into recycling and saving the environment and made herself a hat from discarded doll sweaters.

The Hybrid Hat, which as you might expect is both knitted and crocheted, is a nice little piece. Very simple and pretty.





I like the Whorled hat too. I find the winter winds in Toronto tend to blow through a loosely knit or lacy hat like this, but of course you may live in a climate with milder winters, or have a warmer hat for the really cold weather. This is, after all, a Deep Fall issue.

Love the Dreaming of Shetland tam, with its bright, fresh colourway and floral motifs. I also love that in one of the sample shots, this hat is being blocked over a dinner plate. You never see such nuts and bolts realism in Vogue Knitting. Not that I want it there. I do like that the different knitting magazines all have their own slant.

The Pussywillow mitts are a fun use of gradient yarn, though that yellow does give me retina burn.

The Warm-Hearted mittens are richly ornate. The use of purple and gold combined with a rich pattern always looks rather royal to me in a rather archaic way, as though if Queen Elizabeth I were alive today she would demand mittens like these.

I can't analyze this pattern on its aesthetic merits the way I normally do, but I will say the Beer Mitt made me laugh, and that if you're going to be attending a lot of outdoor frat parties this winter, you might as well make this Beer Mitt, and then keep it close to you during said parties, because someone will be likely to steal it from you.

If you have a beer cooler like this one at your house in mid-winter, you definitely need a Beer Mitt.

The Theobroma stole. It's pretty, though those pink beads are not the beads I would have chosen to go with the yarn used here. A yarn this sensible looking needs a less delicate-looking bead.

The Neauveau cowl is less a pattern than a way to display some textured handspun yarn.

The Empire State cowl takes its inspiration from Art Deco design, and I think it's a worthy successor, as it's sharply graphic. It looks much better worn doubled than single, though.

The Nymphalidea shawl really takes me aback — it's so unusual and beautiful in its own way. It's more like a piece of wearable art than a practical item, but that's fine. Sometimes beauty is its own justification.

The Leaves of Grass scarf is another really striking pattern. This scarf will be more noticeable than your coat. It does look to be of a rather unwieldy length and weight here, but of course you can make it in whatever gauge and length you wish.