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.

Knitty Spring & Summer 2014: A Review

Knitty's Spring & Summer 2014 issue is online! Let's have a look at it, shall we?

This is the Regenerate shawl, and it's quite gorgeous. The fabulous yarn used here really adds a lot. There's a picture of another sample knitted in a solid colour on the pattern's page, and although it's still a very nice item it isn't anything like as stunning as this one.

The Sweet Tantalate shawl has a clever and striking design.

The Havina shawl is an attractive piece that seems to drape well.

The Naga Fuji shawl. This one is a lovely item in itself, but doesn't seem to drape as well as the previous shawls in this issue. The rectangular shawl shape seems to be a difficult one to carry off, as it tends to look awkward.

The Sunday Sunrise shawl is well named. For me it's a happy reminder of the way the sun looks in children's drawings. It's a pretty item, looks good on, and is small enough to be used as a scarf if the wearer wishes.

The Anthi pattern is very similar to the 1930s Beehive pattern I wrote about in my very first post on this blog, and later made for myself. As I compare the two of them, I find I much prefer the vintage version, which looks so much more polished. I think the main problem with the Anthi is that I wish it had a better designed scarf tie. This one looks just too rough and ready.

The Carousel pullover is made perfectly symmetrical. The sleeves, the hem, and the neckline are all exactly the same size and this sweater can be worn any which way because there isn't a top, bottom or sides. I'm usually disapproving of gaping sleeves or armholes like this, but this pattern is so inventive and original that I just have to admire it. It's a reasonably wearable, attractive piece, though it's perhaps not for every woman (i.e., not for me as the last thing I need is excess material in the chest area) and it will probably require an underlayer as the open sleeves will otherwise show everyone an excellent view of the wearer's brassiere/sideboobs.

The Rosarian pullover is another atypical design that takes some especially careful thought to assess. I normally don't like a batwing sleeve, but I think I like this one. The openwork texture of this item gives it an airiness that makes it more like a shawl than a top, which means it's subject to different standards. That is to say, rather than being a top that will have excess rolls of knitting under the arms, it's a shawl that will stay in place and look charmingly cute and off-beat.

The Kali vest. I quite like this one. It has a good shape and the honeycomb pattern is sharp and modern.





The Icarus tank is a nice piece on the whole, but if I were making this one I would definitely do something about that rough-looking neckline and hemline, such as adding a crocheted edging. It makes this piece look so unfinished.





The Fifty Fifty tank is a nice piece, though I would do something a bit different with that eyelet triangle just below the back of the neckline, such as putting a version of the lace motif used below in it, or omitting it altogether. It looks out of place as is.

The String Theory Socks. There's a debate among knitters as to which method of knitting socks is preferable: top down or toe up. I hate to think what these socks will do to that conflict, as they are "knitted from the heel on upwards and sideways". They are cute and they look like a great way to showcase a good variegated yarn.

The Octopodes socks. I like the tweedy toe and ankle and the band of striking stranded colourwork of this design, but I'm not crazy about the stripe running along the side. The designer describes it as "creating a strong visual line", but to me it looks too much like visible seaming.

Coming up: Look for the review of knit.wear's Spring/Summer 2014 issue on Friday.

Knitty Winter 2013: A Review

Knitty has published its Winter 2013 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?





The Superduper megacowl. This larger-than-life cowl won't be to everyone's taste, but if you like a certain element of playful exuberance in your wardrobe, you can probably carry it off. It can be worn as a shrug, and possibly also as a hammock. And with a gauge of 3 stitches to 4 inches, this will be a very fast knit.

The Princess Franklin cowl. In the accompanying text designer Franklin Habit tells us that the cowl is based on a recreation of an antique "Princess Mary" plaid scarf pattern and talks about how he chose the colours. I very much like this piece. The technique is an interesting one (it's knitted in garter stitch with the vertical lines woven in during the finishing stages) and replicates the look of a woven piece admirably well.

The Zaria shawl is attractive in an offbeat, modern way.

The Moebius Braid cowl. I quite like this piece. It's designed to be reversible, has an appealing texture and is oversized in a way that'll be easy to scale with the rest of your outfit.

The Streymoy cardigan. Love this one, with its elegant air. It's like a modern take on an Edwardian waistcoat.

The Henry Tudor pullover. Quite like this one with its terrific cable treatment. I'm not completely sold on those clasp fastenings. They don't quite accord with this sweater. I think maybe they're too high contrast colour-wise and would work better if they toned in better with the sweater.

The Galanthus tunic. This is quite pretty and wearable for women who suit the empire cut.

The Lempster pullover. This one is quite nice and wearable. My one quibble is with that front centre panel, where the cable panel looks a little randomly plopped amid the honeycomb stitches. If I were to knit this, I'd consider continuing a two-cable pattern throughout the honeycombing above and below the larger cable pattern.

The Key and Knot jacket is a nice classic piece. If you knit this one, be sure to make it big enough that it won't be pulling open a little between the buttons as it is here. Cabled patterns can be tricky to size because they're so dense.

The Whiteleaf pullover. This is ever so pretty, and so classic and go-anywhere that you'll be able to wear it until it falls apart.

The Parhelion pullover is another solid classic piece.

The Armande cardigan. This is a plain, retro-style cardigan which relies on good overall lines to work. And it has them. This collar sits very well. Do make sure to knit the sweater large enough for the wearer, as gaping at the button bands always detract a lot from the overall look.

The Vintersolverv is a classic pullover is based on the traditional Norwegian ski sweater pattern, and has the dropped shoulders that are usual with the style. Tradition or no, I'd raise the shoulder seam to the shoulder as a standard fit shoulder is so much more flattering on most women.





The Skullcracker cap. This is a pleasant enough little cap. I'm not crazy about the two-tone version. I think it looks better in single colour, or if you want to use two different colours, perhaps a more analogous colour scheme might work. The high-contrast colours look too tacked together.

The Duplice cap. I quite like this design, though again I don't think this is the pattern where a high-contrast colour scheme is the best choice. I'd go for two colours that nearly blend together, such as blue and lavender.

The Contempt headband will allow you to broadcast your stance on winter, whether that's love, hate, or both (in which case you could knit one expression on each side and reverse the headband as desired. I have to admire the wit of this concept, and for a woman putting a slogan on a headband definitely beats sporting it on your chest, since it will be stared at.

The Roses socks are very pretty. Love the line of leaves that blossom into a rose at the top. I'd just have to knit these in red or pink or apricot.

The Wraptor socks are very cool, if not quite the socks you'll want to wear the morning after the night before. Love the visual effect that makes them seem to move when you look at them.

The Olla mittens. These look more than a little clumsy to me, but if you don't mind that, they're otherwise fine, they will be warm and practical, and I do like the embroidered leaf designs.

The Sssstarter mittens. These aren't too exciting but they're wearable and pleasing enough.

The Peko cats egg cozy. I'm not exactly sure why this "cat's" whiskers are springing from its forehead, but this isn't a bad pattern if your tastes run towards the cute and whimiscal and/or you're trying to make breakfast time more fun for your children. Or if you just like your eggs kept piping hot.