Knitty Deep Fall 2013: A Review

Knitty has produced its Deep Fall 2013 issue. Let's have a look, shall we?

This is the Spice Trail from the East pattern. And I like the pattern, which has a lot of interesting details (love the leaf pattern) which follow the lines of the sweater well. A deep v-neck spencer isn't for everyone, but if you like the details they should be easy to render in a standard fit cardigan.

I may not love the Double Rainbow pattern, but I like it. The sleeves-only stripe concept is a bit different and more flattering than the usual striped midsection, and I like the roll neck as opposed to the usual turtleneck. It's wearable, it's cute, it's rather eye catching, and it isn't something that will take months to knit.

I really like the Hopwood pullover, with its cowl neckline and simple yet telling detail. This designer has really pulled the colour scheme together by echoing the flecks of apricot and purple in the main colour in her border colours. I'm adding this one to my favourites on Ravelry, and my Ravelry favourites are always projects I intend to knit at some point.

This is the Flippant cardigan. It's a nice piece of work and I like the detailing up the sleeves. It is a little small on this model, which is detracting somewhat from the whole.





This is the My Favorite Color Cardigan. It's a nice, simple piece of work with enough detail to keep it from getting boring and excellent construction. Great idea to hide the waist shaping in the back garter stitch panel.

The Sophia Loren pullover. I like this one too (am I not going to get to make fun of anything in this issue, Knitty?). It seems like a slightly updated take on the Fair Isle, with its fitted shape, face-framing yoke, and stripes.





The Annabella pullover had me at the placket and lost me at the muffin top. That deep waist band in twisted rib would be hard for any woman to wear, and the blousing effect where the top transitions into stockinette just makes it impossible to pull off. If you want to make this sweater, I'd cut down the twisted rib to no more than a few inches deep.





I'm not usually a fan of oversized sweaters, but I can't dislike the Agata cardigan. It was designed to be a way to showcase the jewel-like handpainted yarn, and it certainly does that. I suspect I wouldn't have been sold on it if it were in say, oatmeal yarn, or on the wrong person, but this yarn is beautiful and this model can carry it, so I'll give it a pass.

Quite like the Plum Rondo a la Turk pullover, with its vibrant colour and striking detailing.

The Deflect socks are a very serviceable pattern. I like that the author has been able to incorporate some cable detail without bulking up the sock.

The Circinus sock is kind of cool. The cabling on this design weaves in an out so that you see something different and unexpected from every angle of the sock.

Can't say I care for the Ridley knee socks. They're a mish-mash of too many elements, like they belong to a teenage girl who can't figure out if she wants to be one of the jocks, one of the yearbook editors, or one of whatever the clique of well-coiffed, confident girls is called at her high school. Honey, you can be all those things without trying to indicate it through your socks. Or at least not in a single pair of them.

The Hatters Gonna Hat design doesn't do it for me either. It looks like something that belongs on an elf from the Island of Misfit Toys, and specifically, one called Patches who is into recycling and saving the environment and made herself a hat from discarded doll sweaters.

The Hybrid Hat, which as you might expect is both knitted and crocheted, is a nice little piece. Very simple and pretty.





I like the Whorled hat too. I find the winter winds in Toronto tend to blow through a loosely knit or lacy hat like this, but of course you may live in a climate with milder winters, or have a warmer hat for the really cold weather. This is, after all, a Deep Fall issue.

Love the Dreaming of Shetland tam, with its bright, fresh colourway and floral motifs. I also love that in one of the sample shots, this hat is being blocked over a dinner plate. You never see such nuts and bolts realism in Vogue Knitting. Not that I want it there. I do like that the different knitting magazines all have their own slant.

The Pussywillow mitts are a fun use of gradient yarn, though that yellow does give me retina burn.

The Warm-Hearted mittens are richly ornate. The use of purple and gold combined with a rich pattern always looks rather royal to me in a rather archaic way, as though if Queen Elizabeth I were alive today she would demand mittens like these.

I can't analyze this pattern on its aesthetic merits the way I normally do, but I will say the Beer Mitt made me laugh, and that if you're going to be attending a lot of outdoor frat parties this winter, you might as well make this Beer Mitt, and then keep it close to you during said parties, because someone will be likely to steal it from you.

If you have a beer cooler like this one at your house in mid-winter, you definitely need a Beer Mitt.

The Theobroma stole. It's pretty, though those pink beads are not the beads I would have chosen to go with the yarn used here. A yarn this sensible looking needs a less delicate-looking bead.

The Neauveau cowl is less a pattern than a way to display some textured handspun yarn.

The Empire State cowl takes its inspiration from Art Deco design, and I think it's a worthy successor, as it's sharply graphic. It looks much better worn doubled than single, though.

The Nymphalidea shawl really takes me aback — it's so unusual and beautiful in its own way. It's more like a piece of wearable art than a practical item, but that's fine. Sometimes beauty is its own justification.

The Leaves of Grass scarf is another really striking pattern. This scarf will be more noticeable than your coat. It does look to be of a rather unwieldy length and weight here, but of course you can make it in whatever gauge and length you wish.

"I wish you had taken up stamp collecting."

According to Franklin Habit, if Albert Einstein and Queen Elizabeth were married, they might have had this conversation about Albert's intended Christmas present. Or this conversation about Queen Elizabeth's birthday present.

The Mary Maxim Sweater

When I did a special Canada Day post last July 1st, a commenter pointed out that I'd missed the most iconic Canadian knitting pattern of all, the Mary Maxim sweater. She was quite right, and I replied that I planned on doing a special Mary Maxim sweater post at some point. Well, here it is.

Mary Maxim is the largest privately held craft and needlework mail-order company in North America. The company was founded in the 1950s by Willard and Olive McPhedrain, who had been running a company called Sifton Wool Products Ltd. which sold wool blankets and socks. Willard saw possibilities in the hand-knitting market, and set his designers to work creating sweater patterns. The patterns sold well, and Willard derived a new name for his company that had a more homely, relatable appeal from the name of the McPhedrains' maid, Mary Maximchuk. Sixty years later, Mary Maxim has store locations in Paris, Ontario, and at Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto, Ontario, as well as an American office in Port Huron, Michigan. Most of Mary Maxim's revenue is derived from their catalogue and online sales.

Mary Maxim can definitely count me among their customers. They are one of the three companies from which I generally buy yarn, and are my main source for needlework supplies. I very much enjoy shopping at their Toronto store, I occasionally order some items from Mary Maxim online, and I can never forget how much I loved getting a parcel from them as a teenager. I grew up on a farm, the only craft store I ever got to visit was a good hour's drive away and wasn't exactly up to par anyway, and being able to buy anything I wanted from Mary Maxim's comprehensive catalogue was the best thing ever.

My catalogue lands in my mailbox at regular intervals and I still read it with enjoyment, though also with some bemusement. Besides the craft kits, patterns, needlework tools, and yarn you'd expect, they've branched out into offering oddball household gadgets such as an electric dog treat maker, an expandable back scratcher, a "detoxer" foot bath, pajama jeans, and other products of the kind one sees advertised on TV infomercials.

Tucked among all these items is the best-known Mary Maxim product ever — the classic bulky weight cardigan patterns based on the Cowichan sweater. Their reindeer cardigan is the first pattern Mary Maxim ever produced, and they still sell it. There are many of these patterns now and they feature quite a variety of images, which are usually either some type of animal or sports figure. To be honest, I find most of these bulky cardigans hideous. But there's no denying the Mary Maxim sweater's iconic status in Canada. The Mary Maxim sweater is familiar to most Canadians. If you didn't have one yourself when you were growing up, at least one of your friends did, and you didn't hear them complaining about being cold or uncomfortable.

The most appealing of the Mary Maxim sweater designs are those which are most similar to the Cowichan sweater. (Some are, indeed, nearly indistinguishable from an authentic Cowichan sweater.) This is a picture of Bob Hope sporting his Mary Maxim totem pole sweater.

This is a screen cap of Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in episode two of the first season of Murder She Wrote, staying warm in a Mary Maxim fish sweater while on the cold trail of a murderer.

Mary Maxim sweaters aren't really city wear. One sees them much more often in small towns or in rural areas. But of course they can always be worn anywhere if worn ironically, as they are here on the cover of the Barenaked Ladies' 2004 Christmas album. I remember reading at the time that Mary Maxim sweaters were a hot item in Toronto's vintage clothing stores, as hipsters had gotten into them. Literally.

"When I feel low, I just knit another row"

"The Knitting Song" is a 1964 Parlophone Records number by Bill Oddie, and it must be the only song in the history of pop to include instructions on how to knit in the lyrics.

Wedding Waistcoats Wanted

Having done a tie post as part of my series on knitting for weddings, the next logical step seemed to be to do a post on waistcoats for the groom and/or groomsmen. I was looking forward to this post as I expected to find a number of nice waistcoat or vest patterns. Alas, they don't seem to exist. There are quite a lot of waistcoat patterns available, a number of which are nice enough to wear to the office with a shirt, tie, and trousers, but not really any that looked stylish enough for a groom.

The one above is the only readily available pattern I could find that looked like it might do. The design is called "The Waistcoat He Wants", it was designed by Feature Knitting Designs, and it's a free pattern.

If that waistcoat pattern doesn't do it for you, there are two routes you might take. One way is to track down a vintage waistcoat or vest knitting pattern that you like, and use that. Old style vests were much smarter than the casual, relaxed fit vests you see now. I'd recommend looking for a sharp cut, some detailing such as welts, and a shaped bottom, as these things elevate the design.

The other possible way to make a waistcoat fit for a groom is to pick out a waistcoat sewing pattern that you like, make a rectangular length of knitting in a fine gauge but in any colour and pattern you like, then take it to a tailor to be made up. I'd consult with the tailor about the project before doing any knitting or even buying a pattern to make sure s/he is able and willing to do it and to get advice, unless you are a very good sewer, in which case you might tackle sewing the waistcoat yourself. When I was researching patterns for the first post in my series on twentieth century knitting patterns and I hoped to find a great waistcoat pattern, this is what all the Edwardian waistcoat patterns I found said to do.





And I'll just throw in about the only item of wearing apparel I found on Ravelry that was specifically designated as groom wear, Groom's Socks to Prevent Cold Feet, by Eline Oftedal. It is kind of a fun idea for a gag gift, but I can't imagine any man of my acquaintance actually being willing to wear these, and it seems like a lot of work to do just for the sake of a joke. However, if you know a prospective groom who could use such socks, the pattern is available as a $5.99(USD) download.

Up a Tree, into the Gingerbread House, and Under the Sea

Perhaps you're familiar with the work of knitter and textile artist Alison Murray because you've contributed to one of her projects. After all, her annual projects are so large and ambitious they've come involve the work of hundreds of knitters, not only from her native U.K. but from abroad.

In early 2005 Murray began planning the world's largest knitted Christmas tree as a charity fundraiser. The resulting tree was 25 feet tall and involved the efforts of 700 knitters from all around the U.K., and from ages 4 to 102. Murray's next idea was to knit gingerbread house. This project, which you can see above, was completed and shown in 2007.

The next project, "Above and Below the Waves", was the most ambitious yet and took two years to complete. It has toured the U.K. and money it raises will benefit the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The BBC has a selection of photos, and Express.co.uk has more details here.

Murray's current project, which was expected to be completed this past summer, was called "The Big Books" and will involve three large freestanding books, each with a different theme.

Dora's Pet Poodle and Other Knitting Fables

Betty's mother was sure that if all those mean children at school really knew her daughter, they'd stop being so mean to her. So she knitted Betty a sweater with her name on it, to help her get acquainted with the other children. After all, everyone knew how kind children are.

All the other mothers on Sarah Ann's block were satisfied with just making matching mother daughter outfits, but Sarah Ann's mother was always an overachiever.

Sometimes Natasha's parents felt a little afraid of their child. They weren't quite sure why, but maybe it had something to do with how furniture tended to move around by itself, or burst into flames, whenever Natasha gazed at it in a especially intent way, or the way a really high percentage of her babysitters had died in some horrific and statistically improbable way.

When Natasha got older and her parents sent her outside to play, the other children would burst out crying and run home at the sight of her, and their parents would later complain that Natasha was giving everyone in their household nightmares about black mists, maniacal laughter, and distorted faces outside their bedroom windows. Natasha's parents gave up even trying to send Natasha outside when they noticed that the elderly women on the street were crossing themselves as she walked by.

Natasha's parents thought giving Natasha a sibling might help with some of her problems, but things only seemed to get worse after they adopted Lucifer.

Tierney's mother had always known her husband was budget-conscious, but the day he said their daughter didn't need a new sweater because he could make one by stapling their bathmat together was the day she realized he was a hopeless tightwad, and that it was time she took a stand before Tierney started believing her father was normal. Or someone slipped on the bathroom floor.

Despite all the money Rochester and Heathcliff's parents had spent on their clarinet lessons, the boys still had to be forced to attend band rehearsals and to practice. Their mother hoped dressing the boys in some hip, music-themed outfits would help them learn to love making music.

Sometimes Morris liked to take Morris Jr. out for walks and give him pointers on how to be a man. He was gratified to see that Junior had already absorbed some of the finer points of manliness, such as how to dress.

Dora had begged for a pet dog so long that she was thrilled to finally have been given one for Christmas, and she had even gotten matching accessories. But she was slowly coming to the realization that maybe there wasn't something quite right about Loopy the Poodle. Her parents had told her he needed to sleep a lot, but surely he couldn't really be sleeping 100% of the time?

"Remember Barbie, dressing like a little lady means wearing gloves. And hemlines so high you can't sit down without everyone seeing England and France."

Why a Knitter Shouldn't Marry Mr. Spock

A little cartoon, entitled I Don't See The Problem, that pits Vulcan logic against knitting logic.

Advantage: knitting.

Aleksandr, the Very Last Knitter

Aleksandr, a 2010 animated short created by Rémy Dereux, Maxime Hibon, Juliette Klauser, Raphaëlle Ranson and Louise Seynhaeve, is a fabulous tale of yarn and knitting production in a village in the clouds... until the day a carelessly discarded yarn spool awakens their neighbour down below.

The Ties that Bind Off

Today's post was originally intended to be a post about ties and waistcoats for my series on knitting for weddings. But when I researched tie designs, I soon realized that they deserved a post of their own. So although this post may certainly used as a resource for knitting ties for weddings, I've tried to write a fairly comprehensive post on ties for all occasions.

Knitting a tie that looks right can be a bit of a challenge. Many of those I looked at looked too limp, too thick, had rough-looking or uneven edges, were twisted, or just didn't hang right. They looked homemade as opposed to handmade, and I'm sure you all know the difference between those two looks. It's so important that an item that is worn front and centre with a suit in a professional or formal setting looks doesn't look "loving hands at home". And achieving that seems to be a matter of getting the shape, proportions, and weight just right.

The best and most classic width for a tie is 3.25 inches, although any measurement from 2.75 to 3.5 inches is fine. The successful patterns I looked at all recommended fingering weight/4 ply yarn, and though silk was often used, a wool/nylon blend will also work, or a cotton yarn for summer wear. It seems to me that no knitter will ever need a lot of tie patterns, but should just select one good pattern for each shape desired (standard, straight, and/or skinny) and keep using it, changing the colourway and patterns as desired.

The Preppy Tie depicted above was probably the best example of the standard tie that I found. The fact that it is knit on the bias is probably the key to its success, as the usual three or sixfold woven tie that men wear is cut on the bias. It might be a little difficult to get a hold of this pattern, as it was originally published in the January/February 2011 issue of Knitting Today!

Here's another bias knit tie from Interweave Knits. It's very similar to the one above, but this time the pattern is readily accessible as a $4.50(USD) download. It is too short on the model. Make sure the length is right when the tie is on: just touching the waistband of the wearer's trousers. It always looks a little...Freudian...when men get their tie length wrong.

This pattern for Traditional Neckties, also from Interweave Knits, again looks very similar to the two above, but might provide some pattern variations, and is available as a $5(USD) download. I really like the pattern of the tie in the top right-hand picture.

If you'd like to make a straight tie, this basic seed stitch tie pattern from Benyamen Conn might serve you well. It's a free pattern.

The Ed's Tie design, by Sally Melville, has a good texture and seems to hang well. It appears in The Knitting Experience: Book 3: Color.

The Angelus Knit Tie is another straight tie with a great texture and bit of stripe. It's a free pattern.

Here's a striped tie, designed by Christy Pyles for Knitter's Magazine.

This New School Tie is from Knit 2 Together: Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun.

If you'd like to make a skinny tie, the Rustic Elegant Tie is a good textured skinny tie pattern. It appears in Knitting Classic Style: 35 Modern Designs Inspired by Fashion's Archives.

If you like a more sporty skinny tie, the Tsubaki Cotton Necktie might be the design for you. It's a free pattern.

And of course, I can't leave out the bow tie. Here's a pretty good one, the linen stitch Gestrikt design, by Malia Mather, as modelled by Stephen West. It's a free pattern.

Learning to Knit

An animated short called Learning to Knit, from Max Alexander. Some people learn to knit faster than others. And some of the slower-paced knitters have a hard time accepting that.