Creative Knitting Autumn 2014: A Review

Creative Knitting is celebrating its tenth anniversary with the release of their Autumn 2014 issue. Congratulations to CK, and let's have a look at the patterns in this issue.

The Alabaster Cardigan. Quite like this one, but then I have a weakness for this sort of warm, comfortable, textured cardigan. There's a certain casual elegance to them.

The Argentine Cowled Tee. I'd like this one if it weren't for that drapery hanging randomly off the front. It looks like some sort of dressing room mishap.

The Hinterland pullover. I don't usually care for the mullet hem, but I actually kind of like this one. Because it and the black panels are the only distinctive touches on this otherwise basic sweater and they work together, it has a certain smartness.

The Ocher Shell. I do like this one, which has both a good shape and eye-catching stitchwork, though the colourway isn't appealing. An attractive solid tone yarn would be a better choice here, because the design is so interesting on its own.

Simply Cozy Sweater. This is dead simple, but the woman who owns this sweater will probably get more use out of it than she would out of three or four fashion editorial-type designs combined. For very basic designs like this, go with a really beautiful yarn in a luscious colour. It'll elevate the resulting sweater into something special.

Trio of Cables pullover. I like this one on the whole, but my one quibble is that the edgings used here at neck, hem and sleeve aren't quite working. They make the sweater look unfinished. I'd maybe work up some sort of lace pattern similar to that used within the cable motifs to use instead.

The Uncommon Cabled Cardigan. I'm wishing we had a full frontal view of this cardigan, because I don't feel I can really be sure it looks good until I've seen one. It might look gracefully draped, or it might look sad and bedraggled. The yarn used here is a lovely colour and looks soft and delightful.

The Balla Vest. Not liking this much. It's square and bulky in a way that is going to do most women no favours.

The Bobble Fun Scarf. Good texture in this piece.

Double Triple Cowl. This one's fine when worn doubled around the neck instead of worn single as it is here, where it looks like a sad flat tire.

Levin Cowl. This also looks nice when worn doubled around the neck.

The Serendipitous Stripes pullover is the cover design from the very first issue of Creative Knitting. It is an appealing piece and an easy, flattering way to wear horizontal stripes.

The Sestina Tunic. This design looks less than half-baked and that dreary yarn choice is not helping. This would not be flattering on most women.

The Sugar Maple Hat is quite cute.

The Vortex Necklace. Not too impressed with this one. The shape is good but rendering it in yarn makes it look too clunky and more like a bit of sweater appliqué on the run than a piece of jewelry.

The Fabiola Cowl. I very much like this cowl, which is pretty and simple and wearable. I wouldn't make it in green or red, though, as that might occasion some Christmas tree skirt jokes.

The Loughmore Cardigan. This one's lovely. The shape is good, the collar sits well, and I like the use of the graphic style cables instead of a more traditional curved cable design, which gives it a welcome modern twist.

The Lyrical Lace cardigan. Quite like this one too. That lace block pattern is actually something quite fresh. I don't recall ever seeing anything just like it.

The Windsor Cardigan is the cover look from this issue, and I think deservedly so. It's very pretty and graceful and yet so wearable.

The Outland Throw. I don't care for this one. I can't see a coherent design in this picture of it, and I don't like the colours.

Wheatland Basket. Cute baskets.

Wyoming Set. These are a little too 4-H beginner knitting project for me.

The Arvada Cardigan. This is very pretty. I love the colours and the shape is rather stylish.

Eme's Dress. This screams "I just wanted to use up some scrap yarn any old how". Scrap yarn projects are not supposed to look like scrap yarn projects. This would be cute in a more unified colour scheme.

Irresistably Darling Cardigan. This is VERY cute, fresh, bright, and pretty. This designer knows how to work with colour, because all those different colours work together so well and the design is so integrated.





A collection of five baby hats. I don't like the purple ruffled one at top right, because the ruffle is just too exaggerated and overscale, but the rest are cute. These are projects you can use some scrap yarn for.

Creative Knitting Summer 2014: A Review

The Summer 2014 issue of Creative Knitting is up. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

This is the A Welcome Contrast pattern. I like it. The colour blocking is well balanced and eye catching and the lines of the top are good.

The At the Beach design. This one doesn't work for me. I like the stripes, but then the top went all "granny's afghan and macrame plant hanger" in the top band and straps, and that's not a happy effect for what should be a youthful summer camisole.

The Helios Wrap isn't bad as to texture and shape, but that is one muddy and unappealing colourway. But of course you can knit this in whatever colours you choose.

The Take My Breath Away tank. The graphic design on this bugs me. It looks wonky rather than balanced, probably at least partly because that solid double bar just below the neckline seems out of step with the graduated steps below it. I don't care for the colourway, either. Black and pastels generally don't work well together — they tend to drain each other.

The Woven Scrubby pattern. I have to admit, this does look like a neat loofah that came from some trendy, spendy bath accessories shop.

The Zoe design. This looks like a work smock worn by some downtrodden, depressed movie heroine who works in some sort of gruelling, ill-paid job (chicken plucking at a factory farm? litter detail at Disneyland?), and whose audience will cheer when she finally gets to discard her foul smock after receiving a better job and a makeover — not necessarily in that order.

The Celeste design. I wish I had a better, or even just complete, picture of this one. The description says it's cropped, which doesn't tend to be a flattering length, but of course that's easily to fix. I'm not liking the lace detail at the neck much. The designer has clearly tried to do something different with the standard lace collar but this just looks gimmicky and awkward.

The Cirrus design. I'm not thrilled with this one, though I suppose it works in its way if you like asymmetrical draped styles. To me this looks a little too much like it has a lace curtain half-heartedly tacked on the front. I'd want to turn this tank into the elegant, clean-lined, delicately lacy design it seems to want to be.

The Dayflower beaded lace scarf is very pretty.

The Ocean Breeze shawl looks a little too much like it should be called the Ocean Fishnet shawl.

The Shimmering Shoulder Wrap's description says that its "ends are split so that the lower portion can drape down, while the upper end can wrap over the shoulder or vice versa". I'll have to take Creative Knitting's word for that, and withhold judgement as to how successful that design feature is, as I can't see it. All I can say is that this shawl does have an interesting texture.

The Summer Skies pattern. This has some pretty components, but the whole is a little too fussy. The buttons, the waist tie, and the two different patterns of lace are a bit much in the altogether. I think I'd omit the tie.

The Whisper Shawl. Again I wish I could see the whole thing. What I can see does look promising, at once elegant and modern.

The Beachcomber Headband does indeed look like something that washed in with the tide.

The Breakwater tank is rather pretty. The texture is interesting and the lines are good.

The Little Sailor Boy top is cute, but I can't imagine putting a neckline this low cut on either a little sailor boy or a little sailor girl.

The Little Sailor Girl dress. Again, this is a cute design, but that neckline does look a little low.

The My Bonnie Lass sweater's stranded colourwork is very effective, but those I-cord ties look really awkward, and the neckline looks unfinished. Those are easy fixes, though.

The Nantucket vest is rather pretty. I'm not particularly liking the way it lies in front, but if you feel the same way it will be easy to add some more buttons.

The Safe Harbor cowl is very pretty and just the right weight to look right on cool summer days.

The Amazing Grace shawl. I wish I could see the whole thing, but what I can see does look promising. I love the leaf patterned border.

I love the stitchwork of the Linen & Lace Shawl, but am much less taken with the colourwork (what will this go with?) and the shape is pretty awkward even here, where it's been professionally styled and modelled.

The Midsummers Night's Dream shawl is quite pretty and is a one-skein project.

The On Pointe design. The description calls this a "necklace" — and those quotes are Creative Knitting's, not mine. When even they don't believe this to be an actual necklace, no one else should either.

The Periwinkle design. Like the On Point pattern above, this pattern is in the "Shawls, Wraps & Collars" section, so I suppose they are supposed to be considered collars. If I didn't know there weren't better patterns out there, I'd forswear knitting forever and take up arc welding.

The Plum Dandy shawl is something different, a lace shawl with a bit of a modern twist.

The Slip Into Summer shawlette. Not crazy about this one. It looks like it's a half-finished something or other in an uncertain colour.





And we wind up the review with this collection of skinny scarves. The Chain Link Fence (top left) and the Peapod Cabled Scarf (bottom left) are definitely my favourites owing to their striking stitchwork. The Everyone's Lace Scarf (centre left) and the Trellis Scarf (bottom right) are also very presentable. The Cocklshell Lace Scarf (top right) and the Favorite Blue Jeans (centre right) scarves look a little muddled here and might benefit from being knitted with a solid colour yarn.