Knit Simple Holiday 2015: A Review

Knit Simple has released its Holiday 2015 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?





Ten bootie designs. Cute but basic.

Bunny, Mouse, and Bear. Not bad, but I've seen much cuter knitted toys.

Bobble Cowl. Please do not try to cut back on your holiday decorating expenses by putting a mini Christmas tree skirt and Christmas lights on your child. What money you save on a Christmas tree now will be more than negated by the therapy bills later.

Woven Lines Cowl. This cowl isn't bad, but I would forego the contrast yarn that's woven through it as I don't think it's adding anything.

Bows Cowl. This looks a little too thrown together for my tastes, but it isn't terrible. The bows are kind of working. I do wish the body of the cowl looked a little more finished.

Marled Cowl. Nice on the whole, though I am not liking those colour transitions, which makes the cowl look it's wrong side out.

Striped Cowl. Not bad. I like the stripes and the colour combination. The decorative pom poms are working better than I would have expected.

Cat Blanket. Move over, Grumpy Cat; Malevolent Cat has come to town. Not a bad child's afghan though. It is cute and fun.

Knitted Mice. These knitted mice are more than a little trigger-y for me right at the moment because I a) live in an old house with a chronic mouse problem, which means I sometimes have to deal not only with live but dead mouse and watch my cat Trilby crunch down his latest hunting trophy in under 30 seconds. So yeah, my reaction to the idea of a knitted mice pattern is basically WHY THE HELL WOULD I ADD MORE RODENTS OF ANY KIND TO MY LIFE. I know a reviewer is supposed to be more objective than that, but you see how it is.

Cat Scarf. The idea of a cat scarf for a kid is kind of cute but I don't think it got the execution it deserved here. Those cat paws look a little too disturbingly like teeth.

Cat-Motif Mitts. These will do. They're cute and easily whipped up.

Cat Bag. The pouch isn't badly made at all, but the eyes and the nose could be much more attractively done.

Cat Bed. Not a bad plain crocheted cat bed.

Cat Hat. The autumnal colour is making this present more like a Leaf Hat.

Cabled Turtleneck. Classic cabled sweater and therefore it's fine, though I suspect it could do with some waist shaping.

Cabled Cowl. Basic, but it's definitely presentable and quite wearable.

Basket. Basic as it gets, but if you can use a knitted basket, go for it.

Ribbed Pullover. This could be a sample shot from the 1980s, but (at least in this case) there's nothing wrong with that. A classic shaker knit sweater is always a nice thing to have in one's wardrobe. I will say I'm not crazy about the colour and that I'd neaten up the fit a little.

V-Neck Cardigan. I'm liking this one more than anything I've seen in this issue yet. Nice texture and detailing. It does deserve a better yarn choice though. What's with the pinkish yellow yarn choices?

Cropped Jacket. If you have been looking all your knitting life for a design that will make the wearer look as though she's mushroom-shaped, the search is over.

Cabled Afghan. It's hard to go wrong with a classic cabled afghan.

Textured Cowl. I like a cowl, but cowls can sometimes stray into that unfortunate "inner tube around the neck" territory, and this one has not only gone there but has also set up shop there.

Crocheted Squares Afghan. This one has a nice graphic appeal.

Knit Blocks Afghan. Quite nice. The chevron pattern is simple yet striking and effective.

Snowflake Mittens. Cute. Though I'd be more inclined to put these on a child than on a grown woman.

Knit Simple Fall 2015: A Review

Knit Simple has released their Fall 2015 issue. Let's have a look at the simple knits therein.

Pumpkin and leaf cardigan. This is... okay. It's not great design, but it is the kind of thing that little kids relate to and look cute in. However, those leaf and pumpkin stems bear a most unfortunate resemblance to green worms and I'd go with instarsia stems.

Pumpkin and leaf scarf. Not a bad scarf for a kid. Again, though... green worms.

Pumpkin pocket pullover. The pumpkin pocket is really badly shaped and again... a green worm, this time with a really... ill-advised... placement. If you don't feel up to the task of designing a better pumpkin pocket, just leave it off entirely as this would be a perfectly nice striped pullover without it.

Pumpkin purse. This looks slapped together and the colours don't work.

Pumpkin bag. This is a bit better than the previous design, but not by terribly much. The pumpkin appliqué needs work. I'd be inclined to leave it off altogether and embellish the bag some other way.

Owl sweater with matching scarf. This is kind of cute but it does look a little on the roughly constructed side.

Owl toy. There must be better designed owl toys than this one.

Pumpkin hat. Cute and wearable.

Pumpkin.. cushion?... hassock? I don't know which. I suppose it's big enough for a small child to sit on. I don't think I'd care to have something like this sitting around my house all year, and it seems like an odd thing to make for Halloween decorations when it's neither especially attractive nor of much practical use.

Jack o' Lantern Scarf and Mitts. Basic, but cute and wearable.

Afghan. Basic, but it looks attractive enough and very cozy.

Sport pillows. Not a bad decorating touch for the sports obsessed. One could customize them to display a favourite player's or team's number or logo.

I... don't even know what this is. It looks like a knitted representation of Professor Kitzel's time machine. Are we supposed to make this thing, put it on a hassock, and watch entranced as we imagine it telling us all about Charlemagne and the elephant, or the California Gold Rush?

Afghan. Not a bad-looking piece, and it's reversible. This would be a nice one to do in a variety of colourways, or in a hand-painted yarn.

Orange and white cowl. Not bad. A more interesting and higher end yarn and button choice would do a lot for it.

Orange and white cowl with cables. I liked the previous one better. Those cables give it the look of a foundation garment that has wandered away from where it was supposed to be.

Triangle afghan. This is a little too grandma's parlour for me, but a better colourway could do a lot for it.

Tasseled afghan. Again... not a bad design, but a very uninspired colourway.

The granny square goes big and goes home. Not bad.

Simple striped cap. This is rather a nice basic piece, though I bet most male wearers would prefer it sans pom pom.

Basic striped hat and scarf set. It'll do.

They've done something a bit different with the stripes here, to good effect.

Dead basic shaker knit cap. Which many men would prefer to wear because it'll keep his ears warm and doesn't make him feel like an idiot and that's all he asks of a hat.

Interesting texture on this one. I'd go with a better integrated colourway and omit the pom pom.

Rather a nice-looking hat with a bit of visual interest.

Simple ribs in two colours. Nice, though again the pom pom seems like a bit much.

Basic hat in two greens that don't quite work together.

Simple striped sweater. This is wearable, and a more interesting colourway would really elevate it.

Classic cabled pullover. I'd fix the slightly dropped shoulders and add waist shaping to give it a little more style.

What I can see of this looks promising.

I like the chevron texture, but this needs waist shaping and the dropped shoulders should be fixed.

Cute, wearable, nicely textured hat for either gender.