Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2015: A Review

The preview pictures of Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2015 is up. Let's have a look at them, shall we?

Pattern #1, Shoulder Cowl. Simple but pretty and wearable. This would be a good pattern to showcase a beautiful yarn in your favourite colour.

Pattern #2, Fair Isle Hat. I think I'd like to see this one in a more defined colourway. The pattern looks more muddled than muted here.

Pattern #3, Tubular Scarf. Nice, but I'd make this a bit longer. That sample is an awkward length that won't stay put.

Pattern #4, Relaxed Cardigan Top. This design seems like a nice compromise between a shawl and a sweater. It sits well and will stay in place.

Pattern #5, Open Front Cardigan. This isn't a bad little cardi, but I do have my reservations about its proportions. It looks as though it was designed not to meet in the front, which generally makes a sweater look skimpy and/or too small.

Pattern #6, Two-Color Raglan Pullover. A bit basic for my taste, and the cropped length and lack of waist shaping aren't helping.

Pattern #7, Fair Isle Vest. Like this piece. The colourway is subtle and muted without being muddled.

Pattern #8, Cabled Wrist Warmers. Attractive and useful.

Pattern #9, Oversized Cowl. Good piece. It's very effectively styled here on this classic navy blue pea coat and on a model who can rock the red.

Pattern #10, Brioche Rib. This isn't bad. I'd leave the pom pom off if the intended wearer is over 25.

Pattern #11, Cocoon Coat. This coat looks very sharp here, but I would like to see it on a non-model who isn't striking a carefully angled pose, because I have my suspicions about how well it would play in a more realistic viewing.

Pattern #12, Square Scarf. Beautiful piece, though I think I would be tempted to let my couch wear it.

Pattern #13, Fur Jacket. This one has a bit of a "headless Muppet" look to it, and even the model can't lend it much style or grace.

Pattern #14, Cabled Pullover. Classic cabled design. Add waist shaping if it doesn't have any (and it doesn't appear to) to help counteract the bulky effect.

Pattern #15, Breton Pullover. An impeccable classic.

Pattern #16, Pullover with V-Inset. This isn't terrible or without interest, but there is a certain off-putting roughness to its stitchwork.

Pattern #17, Crew Neck Pullover. This reminds me of a stitch sampler. And it's a good, carefully finished piece, but I would be inclined to knit the front and the back in the same stitch to keep the look simpler and cleaner.

Pattern #18, Lightweight Pullover. Can't say I care much for this one. All those holes aren't pulling together thematically. And the dropped shoulders, lack of waist shaping, and oversized fit aren't helping.

Pattern #19, V-Neck Cardi. Nice little cardigan for summer wear.

Pattern #20, Boat-Neck Pullover. Quite like the stitchwork employed here, which has a very sharp overall effect. I'd raise the drop shoulders and neaten up the fit a bit though.

Pattern #21, Belted Cardigan. This has some good features — the sleeves and the upper back look terrific — but I'm not liking the shape, which will be difficult for a non-model to carry off, and that limp little collar just looks sad.

Pattern #22, Ballet-Neck Cardigan. Very appealing, wearable piece with good shaping and just the right amount of detail. Any woman would look good in this sweater as long as it fit her well.

Pattern #23, Multi-Directional Cardigan. I'm loving what I can see here (that lace across the back and sleeves looks fantastic), though I do have reservations about the sit of the front collar and whatever's happening in the lower front, which we can't see, though the back view shows that the sweater gets longer in the front.

Pattern #24, Fringed Cardigan. I'm a very hard sell on draped front cardigans, but this one sits so well and has such great texture and shaping that I have to applaud its designer.

Pattern #25, Deep V-Neck Cardigan. This one's nice on the whole, but I would run the buttons all the way to the bottom and alter the neckline. The sweater looks too unfinished this way.

Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2015: A Review

Vogue Knitting has released their Spring/Summer 2015 issue preview, so let's have a look at it. Before we do, I note Vogue Knitting seems to have stopped posting the 360° videos on YouTube, where formerly we could view a neutrally styled model in a neutral setting showing us every aspect of each item. However, VK has improved their preview pictures, making them quite comprehensive, so I at least hardly miss the 360° videos.

#1, V-Neck Shell. Classic tennis wear. Which, happily, one doesn't need to play tennis to enjoy wearing.

#2, Deep V Pullover. This is a nice piece too, but do measure the intended wearer to make sure that v-neck isn't going to be too low for her liking. What looks elegant on a tall model can look borderline indecent on those of us who are less vertically blessed.

#3, Dolman Sleeve Tee. Oooh, very much like this crisp, striking little top. It's a contemporary reimagining of sportswear.

#4, Contrast Hem Tank Top. This is nice overall, though I don't know how much the contrast hem adds to it. It's fine here because it disappears into the white skirt the top has been paired with, but might look a little needlessly distracting when paired with jeans. I'd consider either leaving it off altogether, or using an analogous colour.

#5, Colorblocked Polo. Very cute and smart. Vogue Knitting, you are almost making me want to take up tennis so that I have an excuse to make all these tops, and that is saying a lot. I have played tennis exactly once, and it did NOT go well. We're talking "getting hit in the head with my own serve" not well.

#6, Textured Shell. Sleek and contemporary!

#7, Tank Dress. Not so taken with this one. It's a little too afghan-ish.

#8, V-Neck Cardigan. Nice, sporty little summer cardi.

#9, Bateau-Neck Top. I like the stitchwork on this, but that's not the best colourway for it and I would reshape this item to give it a neater, more flattering fit.

#10, Missoni-Inspired Mini Dress. Sadly, this looks less like a Missoni than an afghan.

#11, Stranded-Colorwork Jacket. Oooh, so much love for the stranded colourwork on this piece, which looks fantastic, but not sold on the shape. This jacket is not going to look good worn open. I'd go with a much more structured, standard fit jacket style.

#12, Drop-Shoulder Tee. I'd either raise the dropped shoulders on this, or leave the sleeves off entirely and add an edging to the dropped shoulders, which would turn it in to a cap sleeve. There are also more inspiring colourways out there than this one.

#13, Drop-Shoulder Hoodie. I very much like this one on the whole. The texture, the pattern and the lines give it an offbeat, original style, and it looks wonderfully comfortable. I would fix the dropped shoulders though.

#14, Turkish Tunic. Another strikingly off-beat and original creation. This would definitely catch my eye if I saw someone in it on the street. The back looks especially good. This design may not be for the woman who doesn't care to emphasize her waist, though.

#15, Drapey Wrap. This is a lovely piece, but I'd be inclined to make it a bit bigger so that my couch could wear it instead of me.

#16, Adenium Lacy Stole. The texture of this is something truly different. I have never seen anything like it, and I look at a LOT of patterns. Not sure I care for the shape, though. I think I'd be inclined to either make this somewhat narrower to improve its wearability, or to make it much larger and put it on a couch.

#17, Caterpillar-Stitch Socks. Very fun, clever socks, and best of all, they're fun and clever in an entirely adult way.

#18, Scoop-Neck Top. Nice piece. Like the subtly gradient stripe effect.

#19, Abstract Pullover. I like this piece quite a lot on the whole, but I would totally ditch that bisecting line on the body and sleeves. It's distracting in a bad way.

#20, Kimono-Sleeve Top. Boxy, bulky, and has extraneous "seams" running everywhere. NEXT.

#21, Cardigan. Pretty, but I would reshape this to make it less boxy and better fitting.

#22, Smock Top. This is one of those pieces that are good conceptually, but didn't get the execution they deserved. I very much like the idea of a top with contrast piping, but this item looks askew and uneven.

#23, Bateau-Neck Pullover. Like the texture and the neckline, but again I would fix the dropped shoulders. Those abbreviated sleeves appear to be such an awkward length from the back.

#24, Pullover. This would be a nice lace summer coverup for those of us who don't like having to fuss with keeping a shawl in place.

#25, Kimono-Sleeve Tee. Nice detailing on this one.

#26, Open-Front Cardigan. What we have here is a brave attempt to do something original with the collar and front pieces of a jacket... that didn't end well. The back is good, but the front just looks awry and unfinished.

#27, Haapsalu Lace Shawl. Attractive, old school style shawl.