Showing posts with label Knitty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knitty. Show all posts

Friday 12 September 2014

Knitty Deep Fall 2014: A Review


The Knitty Deep Fall 2014 issue has gone live. Let's have a look at it, shall we?





The Great Horn-Rimmed Vest. This is pretty cute in a quirky sort of way, and has some nice detailing.





The Cubes Sweater. This is a rather gimmicky little piece, and I keep thinking I would get rid of the gimmicks to make it work: the "cuff mitts", the hard to wear cropped length, and the neon yellow, which is probably a sign that they're not too successful. But then it may just be a sign that I'm over 20.





The Hugga Shrug. A shrug with not only long sleeves but half-mitts? Come on, it's a silly concept, it's bagging at the elbows, and it looks like it's eating the model's hands.





The Krydda Lace Cardigan. This is very pretty, if it is more my idea of a summer cardigan than one for autumnal wear.





The Seattle Pullover. I admire the effort to juxtapose some different textures in a single design, but this particular combination just isn't working. The sleeves and the cable in the front are both lovely, but not together, and the back looks like it's inside out. I'd keep the sleeves and come up with some sort of stripe-like textured stitchwork to use on the back and front.





The Jersey Jacket for a Child. This is an knitting pattern Franklin Habit has translated and adapted from Weldon's Practical Knitter, Tenth Series, published in 1888. Habit also carefully explains in the accompanying article why he enjoys knitting for babies even though he doesn't particularly like babies. It's not a bad pattern, though it's perhaps nothing special either — the interest lies mostly in getting to dress a baby in a bit of Victoriana gone modern, although there's something to be said for how warm, practical, and durable this pattern looks. There is a suggested alternative to the ribbon detailing, if you don't happen to want to include it.





The Venetian Blind Capelet. Can't say I care for this one, which is just too rough and crude looking for my tastes.





The Smashing the Glass Ceiling Stole. I didn't like this piece on first glance, but I kept looking and it grew on me. A colour-blocked lace stole is something fun and different and eye-catching.





The Nyssa Shawl. This one's... okay. It's a little on the heavy and awkwardly shaped side and doesn't seem to lie particularly well in any of the pictures.





The Wild Clover. This is pretty enough, and I do quite like the "clover" motifs, but I would go with a less minimal, plain edge, such as a bit of crochet edging.





The Twist Again Shawl. Very pretty shawl.





The Brindled Hat. Nice piece. I like the variable stripe effect, which makes an otherwise basic hat much more visually interesting.





The Gusto Cowl. This one's not appealing to me. Some of the stitches used here are attractive, but others just look like mistakes.





The Viburnum Cowl. Pretty little lace cowl.





The Two Sides Scarf. Very much like this very polished scarf that looks the same on both sides. Nice work!





The Apiculturalist Scarf. I'm a hard sell on anything granny square as most granny square designs are hopelessly ugly, but occasionally someone does manage to come up with an attractive granny square design. The colourwork is key, I believe. This isn't a bad choice of colours, and the inclusion of knitting helps add to the textural interest. The result is a rather cute scarf.





The Volteado Socks. I like these, and I think if they were in a colourway that was more to my taste, I might quite like them.





The Mirror Sock. These socks show a different stitch from almost every angle. They're like a sock-shaped sampler. This isn't a criticism because the design on the whole is balanced and pulled together.





The Ticklepenny Socks. Love these. I like that they have a plain stockinette sole and foot, because I find textured socks chafe my feet. The ankle detail is very attractive and eyecatching.





The Nachtfalter Fingerless Mitts. The designer of this piece claims the single cable at the top resembles a moth, and I can see that it does, but when I first looked at these fingerless mitts I saw a moustache, and I keep seeing a moustache. If you don't, or can get past the fact that you do, these aren't bad, though I wish they had more finished-looking edges. And perhaps you'll enjoy knitting a 'stache with your stash.





The Connectivity Gloves. These are supposed to be convertible from half-mittens to full mittens, but they only really work in a practical and visual sense when folded back. When extended to the end of the fingers, they are going to be loose and open-ended, like a too-long sweater sleeve, except that as mittens, they won't be able to carry off the look. If you want to make these, I'd plan on leaving them folded back.





This is Opus the Octopus, and it's a nice piece of work and a pretty cool toy, if it does have a slightly chilling look in its black eye. Perfect for the aspiring little marine biologist in your life!

Friday 13 June 2014

Knitty First Fall 2014: A Review


This year, out of all the knitting magazines I review, Knitty was first out of the gate with a autumnal issue. Let's have a look at Knitty Issue 48, First Fall 2014.





This is the Indigo Cones design. It's attractive and wearable and should whip up quite quickly and easily.





The Arlen cowl has good texture and would be a good way to showcase a beautiful hand-dyed yarn.





The Bloc Party cardigan. Oh, I very much like this one. This cardigan is sharp and professionally finished and yet so simple and wearable and not all that difficult to knit. This is one of those designs in which colour blocking has been done right, which is more rarely found than you might expect.





The Dreaming of Ankhesenamun cowl. Not so pleased with this one. The colourway and the design both look a little on the crude side.





The Vermilion Cliffs cardigan is a lovely piece of work. The shape is good, the texture is excellent. One minor quibble, though, is that I would have placed the top button at the top of the front ribbon band. That little open part looks more like a mistake than a design decision.





The Katie cowl. I'm not too enthusiastic about this one. It's just too basic a piece to even seem like a design.





The Briar mittens. These aren't bad at all. It's the colourwork that gives this very basic mittens design a bit of sophistication.





The Carry on Solefully socks. I like these. They've got a very original look and an inventive construction.





The Double Take Shrug. I'm divided on this design. It looks good from the back and the side, but so unflattering from the front. I'd make the front somewhat longer and the sleeves shorter.





The Snowfence Scarf and Cowl. Love this one — the texture is awesome.




The Hidden Gussets Mitts. Not all that taken with these. They're pretty basic. I think using a really beautiful yarn, such as a hand-dyed mohair, would turn them into something special.





The Planorbis Corneus socks. Quite a cute pair of cabled ankle socks.





The Jasseron pullover. Hmm. I like the concept and shaping, but not in this colourway, which is too flat and looks too much like baseball t-shirt styling to work with this pretty design. That's so easily changed, though.





The I Can Knit a Rainbow toy. I would want to size this up and make it into a cushion, because I can't imagine what a child would do with a rainbow toy. Rainbows don't have interesting adventures. It's not like a rainbow ever held a tea party or saved the world from an arch villain.





The Pat Hat, named for Julia Sweeney's Saturday Night Live sketch character, the puzzlingly androgynous Pat, is a witty solution to the old "what do I take to a baby shower when the parents haven't revealed the gender yet" dilemma. Also, it's very cute.





The Reverso socks can be worn inside out or in. Very clever and should save the wearer laundry turning time.





The Rhaeadr Shawl is a very attractive piece. Love the texture and the edging.





The Grantangle shawl employs the crochet stitch used for the ubiquitous granny square. I can't say I care for it. This stitch is just so intrinsically dated.





Delaware is for Cables hat. Standard cabled hat. I think it needs the pom pom or a tassel to give it a little more interest.





Franklin Habit restyles an 1847 pattern for a knitted flower into the Heart's Ease Boutonnière and muses about the frustrations entailed in writing about knitting history in the article that accompanies the pattern.