Knitscene Spring 2014: A Review

Knitscene has published their Spring 2014 issue. Let's have a look at it.

The Shelby Creek Shrug. This is a beautiful piece of work.

The Sugar Grove Shawl. I like this one too. I like that it's trimmed with lace rather than all lace, because lace is so snag-prone.

The Mallory Hills Shawlette. Between the photography and the variegated yarn, I can't see the details of this shawl properly but I think I like it.

The Clayton Mill Cardigan. I like the detail on this cardigan, but not the shape. It just looks as though it's too small, and as you can see it's no friend even to this professional model.





The Field Bazaar Sweater. This one's okay. It's basically a knitted sweatshirt jazzed up with a couple of cut-out details. I don't know that I would want to bother knitting anything this basic but it's wearable enough, and it might be a good pattern to showcase a gorgeous yarn.

The Sign of Four Scarf. I like this scarf. I like the Sherlock Holmes short story name of it, too, though I don't understand what the connection is.

The Boscombe Socks. There seems to be a real cut-out theme in this issue of Knitscene. Using a cut-out detail in a pair of socks isn't a bad idea aesthetically, but I can't help thinking the wearer is going to get really weird tan marks from them.

The J. Watson Shawl. Even Dr. Watson would have rejected the premise of this shawl as faulty. And we are definitely getting too carried away with our cut-out fetish, Knitscene.





The Baskerville Tank. Quite like this one, which actually has a very unusual construction. The bias-knit bodice and draped garter yoke give it a body skimming fit and flare.

The Belgravia Tee. This one's classic and delicately pretty from the front and has a surprise cut-out in the back. It works and should be wearable for a lot of women. Those who don't like the back exposé don't have to include the peephole.

The Van Doesburg Pullover. Not bad. The graphic effect is eye-catching and the sweater itself is well-shaped. Lengthen the sleeves and the body of the sweater if you don't feel the cropped lengths will work on the intended wearer.

The Semper Tunic. When someone's designing something unusual like an asymmetrical tunic, they really ought to put the effort in and give us an interesting, well-crafted piece rather than slapping something together and putting it with a bizarrely mismatched skirt and tights. Though to be fair, this tunic might work reasonably well if it was properly styled.

The Laren Mitts. These are really quite striking, if not my idea of spring wear.

The Oud Tank. Can't say I care for this one. It looks like a mésalliance between a lace blouse and a tank top. That racer stripe of lace up the sides is just jarringly out of place. Updating a traditional lace-trimmed top style into a young and modern style would be an interesting design challenge, but this design wasn't up to the task.

The Rietveld Sweater. A very basic colourblock sweater. This is nothing special, but it's not bad either.

The Alexandrite Tank. I very much like this one. Love the collar and the overall lines. I do have one problem with that openwork front and back strip though: the wearer's bra will show through it. I'd be inclined to replace the stitch used for those centre strips with a solid decorative stitch, such as a cable effect.






The Lazulum Shell. Quite like this one. It has simple clean lines and yet it's stylish and high-impact.

The Amazonite Tank. Very cute and wearable retro-style piece.

The Balas Ruby Raglan. Here we have another bad marriage of lace and modern styling. This lacy stitch just isn't working on a baseball-style top.

The Fire Opal Tee. This is a good piece with good lines and a pleasing texture.





The Sunstone Tee. I don't know why anyone thought that this top ought to be shaped in such a way that it bulges out in front. "Looking pregnant" is not exactly on most women's list of goals for 2014, even if they are (or plan to become) pregnant. And while I do kind of like the built-in necklace concept, but I think it deserves a better and more interesting execution than it got here.

The Verdelite Cardigan. Knitscene really put the Peter Pan collar through its paces for this issue. I actually do rather like this cardigan. It's an interesting and modern take on a staid classic, and it's pretty wearable. I usually say the problem with asymmetrical cardigans is that you can't wear them open, but this one basically is worn open.