Tangled Holiday 2012: A Review

The webzine Tangled has posted its Holiday 2012 patterns. Let's have a look, shall we?

This hat and cowl has a kind of sad, defeated look, like baked cake and bread taken out of the oven too soon. I like the buttons, at least the ones on the hat, and I like the stitchwork on the hat and the idea of using it on the cowl, but the cowl looks thin and limp and as though it won't actually keep your neck warm, and the hat looks like it's collapsing on top. The set just doesn't have that polished, finished look good design has.

Very nice Christmas stocking. I like the finished look of the picot edging on the top.

These fingerless gloves are crocheted, not knitted, but there are only four patterns in this issue, so I included them anyway. They'll catch on everything you touch and probably won't keep your hands warm in cold winter weather, but if you're crocheting anything in a lace weight kid mohair, you're probably not aiming for practicality anyway. However, even if you are knitting light, lacy fingerless gloves purely for their looks, you could surely find a better-looking pattern than this one. The lace pattern doesn't show well on this pair and they just look like they're all holes and snags.

Classic and practical hat and scarf that you can wear anywhere and, judging from the last hundred years or so, that will never look out of date.

Tangled Fall 2012: A Review

Tangled is another knitting magazine I have discovered thanks to my research for this blog. It's a webzine and its patterns are available via download for $6(USD) per pattern. Let's take a look at their most recent batch of patterns, shall we?

The designer of these socks comments that she wanted to use "striped yarn to the max". And did she. These are a lot more fun and more eye-catching than the usual horizontal striped sock.

This is... okay. I very much like the concept but something about it isn't quite working. Maybe it's that a solid colour yarn, or at least one without a horizontal variegation, would have shown the buttoned princess lines to better advantage. Maybe it's the styling, that it looks more like it should be worn over a blouse than by itself — it's a bit heavy-looking to be worn with a summery outfit. And it doesn't help that it's definitely too small to fit this model — see how it's gaping between each button?

I got all excited about this waistcoat when I saw the beautiful back view, and then an "air hissing out of all four tires" feeling when I saw the front. I'm not a fan of the draped-front style in cardigans, let alone the side-wing effect. It's not terrible, but it just looks impractical and kind of sloppy to me.

I haven't seen too many cowl patterns yet, because it's still a relatively new concept, but this one is definitely my favourite so far. I love the ruched pattern and I love the idea of making it long enough that it can be worn either as a scarf or as a cowl. This item is both beautiful and practical.

I really don't like this "military jacket". The neckline looks awkward (one side is pulling up higher than the other). The mismatched buttons are too kitschy and the shade of brown too understated for an item that's aspiring to a military-style smartness. And the jacket just doesn't look flattering on the whole, although that may be because it's a size too small, which is enough to sabotage any design. I would have made this jacket single-breasted (the double breasted look isn't the most flattering on women at the best of times and doesn't look good at all when worn open), and in a sharper colour, and reworked that collar so that it sits right.

I'm including this cardigan pattern even though it's crochet because it's too pretty to be left out, and anyway there only were six patterns in this issue. It really is lovely, though again... it's a half-size too small on this model. And I'd make the sleeves full-length. Elbow or three-quarter sleeve lengths can look good on some women, but they tend to create a horizontal visual line in places where such a line may not be desirable: a woman's midsection or bustline. Before you decide what length to make the sleeves for your next sweater, think about where the line will fall and whether you want it there.