Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59: A Review

Rowan has released Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59. Let's have a look, shall we?

Gifu. Well shaped and has a pretty lace pattern.

Hiyama. This one is crocheted. It's a rather graceful-looking piece that would dress up simple summer clothes.

Kushiro. While I like the lace stitch used in this piece, it has some truly unfortunate and weird proportions which even this model isn't able to carry off.

Miyagi. Good shaping and some truly impressive stitchwork.

Osaka. Lovely. I especially like the delicate colour palette used here.

Oshima. Rather a nice combination crochet and knitted piece. I'd shorten the knitted ribbing on the sleeves to just a few inches as those awkwardly long sleeves are visually dragging down the look.

Gunma. This one's more than a little too slanket-like for my liking.

Saitama. Lovely and polished little classic cardi.

Iburi. A very successful marriage of traditional lacework with modern shaping.

Mie. This one looks like it's straight out of Dorothy Zbornak's closet.

Tokachi. I like the design of this, though that colourway is not an especially happy choice.

Memuro. This one looks to be in a style vein that my sister always refers to as "old lady", and by that I don't even mean the Golden Girls style of dress. I mean this sweater belongs in the same category as girdles, black lace ups, and blue rinses.

Yamagata. Not bad. The colourway is very good, which is not surprising given that this is a Kaffe Fassett design.

Niigata. Fabulous piece. Check out that artistic pleated diamond stitchwork and beading!

Yamanashi. This looks quite a lot like the curtains that were in the mistress bedroom of my house when I bought it. And that I used as drop cloths for painting.

Tochigi. This isn't bad, but I'd fix the drop shoulders and add some waist shaping.

Nemuro. Simple yet polished kimono-style cardigan. I'm imagining it in some higher impact colourways. Not that this subtle one isn't attractive, but this a piece that would look very sharp in, say, black and ivory or some other high contrast pairing.

Ibaraki. A lovely combination of lace and silk/mohair yarn.

Corton. Not thrilled with this one. The concept of combining nautical stripes and cables in one sweater has potential, but it didn't get the execution it deserved and looks tacked together, like some sort of Frankensweater.

Briston. Attractive, wearable, useful piece for summer.

Burnham. This isn't a bad example of a spencer, and it isn't badly styled here. This is what, in reviewer terms, is known as "damning with faint praise". Spencers are hard to wear.

Watton. These two models, one garbed in a bulky-looking, oversized design, and one in a wee spencer, are clinging to one another while they gaze off into a middle distance future in which they shall wear garments proportioned to best suit their figures.

Cottishall. Classic textured cardigan. I do love outfits composed of denim and chambray blues for summer.

Ludham. It never fails to amaze me that regardless of how many thousands of classic cabled sweaters there are out there, designers are still able to come up with little twists on the design. This one has a diamond motif, and it's a good look.

Darsham. The stitchwork in this pullover creates some very flattering visual lines. Excellent work.

Glaven. Bulky and oversized. It would look better if the fit were neatened up a bit.

Felbrigg. This one's so nice it almost makes me feel like going out somewhere to get myself a man for whom I could knit it. Almost.

Leiston. Call me hidebound, but my rule is never to make any knitted garment that sleeps more than two.

Kelsale. An excellent take on the classic gansey style.

Thursford. I wish I could see this one better. From what I can see, it looks like a decent piece.

Bodham. Solid classic cardigan.

Binham. Not too taken with this. The "sweatshirt detail" at the neck has a rather crude look to it.

Egmere. Some striking texture on this one.

Morston. So heavy and oversized looking.

Reydon. The large scale diamonds on the front of this classic sweater give it an updated look.

Heacham. This open shouldered top wouldn't ordinarily be my type of thing, but I think it works. It sits well and has a certain breezy, "sexy without trying too hard", style to it.

Rowan Knitting & Crocheting Magazine 58: A Review (Part 2)

In this post we're going to look at the second half of the patterns in Rowan Knitting & Crocheting Magazine 58, the first half of the review having been posted yesterday.

Blizzard. Gorgeous tapestry-patterned coat.

Frosty. There's some great detailing on this one.

Frozen. Another beautiful intricate pattern.

Windy Scarf. The cables on this scarf really stand out.

Snowy. How elegant!

Brisk. This one isn't very flattering. It would look better if the body was striped vertically rather than horizontally, and fit a bit more neatly.

Shivery Wrap. Beautifully lacy wrap.

Crisp. Love the stitchwork used here. It's popcorn knit gone sophisticated.

Wintery. If you'd described this one to me (i.e., as a tunnelneck pullover with ruffled elbow sleeves), I probably would have expected to dislike it, but this is actually quite cute. Though I don't know that I care to see it worn with a long-sleeved under layer.

Chilly. I wish I could get a better look at how this piece is constructed. I suspect it's too unconstructed to sit well in the front without the aid of the brooch. The texture is lovely but sweaters that flop open in front aren't so appealing worn in other places than a carefully styled photo.

Enya. This is very "early eighties elementary school teacher", and not in a good way.

Noelle. This is a good rendering of the classic cable and rib pullover.

Brannagh. Not bad. This one maybe calls for a more interesting yarn choice.

Cleona. I would have gone with a more interesting and intricate centre design here, such as a Celtic knot.

Dervla. Very basic ribbed sweater. The shaping is very good, and I think this design would benefit from being knitted in a non-oatmeal coloured yarn.

Bevan. The squarish lines of the yoke give this piece a clunky look. I'd be inclined to omit the orange section and knit it in stockinette in the main colour. The first two bands of the yoke frame the face so well and add enough visual interest that the sweater doesn't need anything else.

D'Arcy. I like the "lacy sleeve with a solid body" look. I'd just fixed the dropped shoulder.

Sheenagh. Gorgeous intarsia on this pullover.

Brona. Not a bad simple sweater, but I would do some reshaping. As you can see here, all that extra material around the model's waist is doing her no favours.