Color Wheel Knits: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Color Wheel Knits: Knits for Hand Dyed Yarns, written by Veera Välimäki and published by Cooperative Press. Cooperative Press has authorized me to give away an e-copy of the book to one lucky reader, so if you're interested in possibly scoring that copy, please visit this blog's Facebook page for details.

Concrete pullover. Nice one! As someone who can't wear a turtleneck, I do love a cowl neck. Between the cap sleeves, cowl neck, and waist shaping, this pullover has some good, flattering lines going on. Good use of texture too.

Spruce Cap. Cute, and the use of a two-tone chevron stitch to evoke the shape of spruce needles is really inspired.

Tin Soldier. Not so taken with this one. It looks awkwardly proportioned and unfinished.





Green Cables Cardigan. Adorable! It's simple yet has lots of style and would look just as good over a dress as it would over jeans or leggings.

Fine Jacket. Not liking this one much. The front "pleats" look more like poor workmanship than like a successful design.

Ground Vest. I'm not a big fan of this style, but if you like the open front, long, sleeveless vest style, this isn't a bad example of it. It has decent lines and the quality of the yarn used here really upgrades it.

Little Miss Frill top. This looks both baggy and rumpled.

Classic Cables Hat. Cute basic hat.

Little Red hooded cardigan. Very basic, but it has good lines and the yarn choice makes it.

Wonder Stripes pullover. Not thrilled with this one. The broken stripe pattern is interesting, but the neckline is a clumsy shape and the colourway could have been better. Something higher contrast would have done more for this design.

Afloat in Red Cardigan. This looks like someone's old, stretched out "around home" sweater. It's unflattering and frumpy.

Stripe & Cable Mittens. Cute. The two-tone effect used here works really well.

Bric-a-Brac Hat and Cowl. This is a handsome and not unstylish set.

Color Block top. This piece has good lines and a finished look, but the patch of yellow at the hem has that "I ran out of yarn as I was desperately trying to finish this piece on Christmas Eve and grabbed a random skein from my stash" look. I'd forget about this sad attempt at colourblocking and instead add stripes or some sort of other repeating design in a contrast colour.

Button Back Pullover. I like the idea of bridging two colours with a two-tone garter section, but am not sure about the back buttoned effect, which when viewed from the hindside makes this young boy look as though he might be wearing a girdle.

Knit & Purl Mittens. These look well-shaped, and a simple use of stockinette and reverse stockinette stitch gives them some texture.

Skyline sweater. Simple and sleek. I'd be inclined to lengthen this one and turn it into a dress.

Freezing Point sweater. This is pretty wearable. If the intended wearer is less hipsterish than the model, a change of buttons would turn this sweater into something suitable for the more conservatively dressed man.

Grid Plan Cowl. Lovely and simple and really sits well.

Be Mine Cardigan. Nice piece with some distinctive lines.

Cable Scarf. Lovely classic piece that any man would be glad to wear, unless he's one of those cave men types who insists on going out in sub-zero weather half-dressed because he believes his manly chest hair will keep him warm. Yes, there are several of those men in my family, why do you ask?

Beetle Cap. Very cute. The herringbone stitch and the visor really set this cap apart from the run-of-the-mill knitted cap.

Gauge This

One of the most useful tools a knitter has is the knitting needle gauge, which is a tool for measuring the size of a knitting needle. There are various styles of gauges available for sale, and in this post we're going to have a look at some of them.

The Knitter's Rule handcrafted bamboo gauge above is probably one of the cutest I've seen, but sadly for those of us who might want one, the Etsy seller who made the Knitter's Rule gauges has retired from Etsy.

This is the utilitarian and widely available Susan Bates needle gauge. It's the one I have, and though it may be unexciting aesthetically, it could hardly be bettered in terms of its utility. The built-in rulers and gauge measure are very handy, and besides providing both metric and U.S. knitting needle sizes, it also measures crochet hook sizes, and as it's made of metal it's extremely durable. My one quibble is that it doesn't have U.K. needle sizes on it, but then no gauge that I've seen has all three.





These owl and Dr. Who-themed gauges are made by the Etsy vendor Tangerine Designs, who also makes gauges in sheep and hedgehog shapes. They aren't quite as useful as the Susan Bates gauge because they only have either metric or U.S. needle sizes and have little measuring capacity, but they are undeniably adorable.

This laser cut plastic Swift needle gauge was made by Etsy vendor Hipstrings. There are a lot of handmade and vintage gauges for sale on Etsy, so it's worth a browse through their listings if you'd like a gauge that is styled like your spirit animal or favourite theme.

Malojos.com offers those of us who feel married to our knitting this sterling silver needle gauge ring, which measures knitting needle U.S. sizes from 0-8.

Of course, if knitting needle gauges are too old school for you, there is an app for that.

If any sort of needle gauge isn't in the budget right now, here's a free needle gauge chart from Twisted Angle. Just print it off their web site at 100% and you'll be in the needle gauging business.

Knitscene Fall 2015: A Review

Knitscene has just released their Fall 2015 issue, which also happens to be their tenth anniversary issue. Let's take a look at it.

Canted Pullover. This isn't bad, but it's not great either. The slightly asymmetrical design looks more like poor workmanship than a design. This piece does have some good points though, as the yarn used here is lovely and the neckline and sleeves have very graceful lines.

Solitude Jacket. Not bad. It has a certain dependable, comfortable appeal. I find the name appropriate, because this really does look like something a woman would wear on a day when she's alone in the house and is able to either get down to work on some sort of important task on which she needs to concentrate, such as writing a dissertation or a sonata, or just put on a favourite album, sip her favourite hot beverage, and watch the snow fall outside the window.

Allatrope Pullover. Lovely! The lines are good and the diamond motif is fantastic.

Pennant Cardi. Can't say I care for this one, but the problem seems to be the colourway, which isn't pulling together. When I imagine the sweater done in, say, charcoal gray with the shoulder detail done black, white, another lighter shade of gray, and one bright colour such as crimson or purple, it looks much better.

Caen Cowl. Nice, slightly offbeat piece that'll be a fun finishing touch for a basic outfit.

Bayeux Scarf. Attractive and simple yet polished piece with good texture.

Tourlaville Shawl. Well designed, and visually eyecatching and enlivening. This one's a real focal point.

Orne Cardigan. Will look sad and baggy on most women. I said above that the Solitude Jacket looked like just the thing to wear when concentrating or relaxing, and this sweater by contrast looks like the sort of thing one would wear when binge eating a box of Choco-Puffs, binge watching hours of the Desperate Housewives of Wherever, and binge crying.

Bessin Scarf. Love this one. The unexpected circular patches look like an especially adult and sophisticated take on the polka dot pattern.

Argentan Pullover. The dropped shoulder and the lack of waist shaping make the lines of this sweater unflattering, and though ordinarily I usually would just add a blithe, "That's easily fixed," after such a criticism, I can't in this case as the side ribbing that is this sweater's only design feature would make it very difficult to correct for those things without changing the look entirely. Also, this has a mullet hem.

Cormac Sweater. Another dropped shoulder and (possibly?) lack of waist shaping, this time fixable. Though you may not want to. Airy layering pieces like this are one of the types of clothing that make it easier for a woman to carry off a larger, looser fit. I would neaten up the fit at least a little, though.

O'Connor Cowl. Nice, sensible cowl with a pleasing texture. It makes for a nice pop of colour on this outfit.

Faulkner Hat. Hey, I like this one. It's dead simple except for that cabled band, and it's so striking that it's all the hat needs.

Caldwell Pullover. I want to like this one, because the simple garter stitch and yarn over detailing is appealing, but that is one wonkily shaped sweater, especially in the sleeves.

Williams Cloche. The designer of this knit cap managed to give it the style of a twenties cloche, which is no mean feat. One of the pictures shows the model wearing the cap with the twist at the front, but I'd wear it at the side, as it looks a little "Norma Desmond turban" when it faces the front.

Maduri Sweater. Fix the dropped shoulder and add waist shaping, and use a beautiful yarn to make this simple textured pullover, and the woman who wears it won't feel the need to go crazy with her hair styling to keep everyone from looking at it.

Hyannis Port Pullover. Lovely classic, polished turtleneck.

Couturier Jacket. Very cute and smart little jacket. It would be fun to select the yarn and buttons for this one, as there are so many directions one could go.

Oddity Scarf. This is both fun and chic. It looks like something Agent Carter might wear.

Brigitte Headband. Nice, visually striking piece, though when it comes to a headband this wide, I am left wondering why the maker didn't go all the way and turn it into a hat.

Virginie Pullover. A simple v-neck pullover in a beautiful mohair yarn is never to be despised, but if you want to make this one I definitely recommend raising the dropped shoulder and adding waist shaping. As you can see here, the bagginess of this sweater is doing nothing even for the gorgeous model who is wearing it, and it's making her arms look mutant-length.

Prewitt Socks. Really like these. I bet there were men wearing silk socks like these in some of those 1940s-era film noir movies.