Knit.Wear Spring & Summer 2016: A Review

Knit.Wear is baaaa-ack, after briefly restyling itself as Knit.Purl, and Interweave has released its "re-premiere" spring and summer issue for 2016. Let's have a look at an especially good issue. I'd be willing to make and wear most of these patterns myself, and it's not often I conclude that after writing a review.

Douillet Sweater. Classic striped sweater. Check out the perfection of the stripe match at the shoulder.

HAT. The perfect gift for the anomic aphasiac in your life! Actually, I rather like this piece. The font used for the word hat pleases me.

Lin Sweater. The unfinished, minimal style isn't my thing, but this is a very decent piece of design in that vein.

Galet Pullover. Very much like this one. The monotone striped effect is very inventive and even cool.

Bande Pullover. Not bad.

Kline Shawl. Rather a nice piece in a contemporary style.

Pollock Scarf. This one looks like it's been upcycled from an old granny afghan.

Escher Poncho. Love this one. The stripes, the accent colour, and the shaping are all so cool and striking.

Julie Pullover. I like this one. The loose twist effect has a both modern and timeless appeal.

Ingrid Pullover. Love this one. The neckline and collar are great, as is the shaping and the entire detailed, polished look of it all.

Veronica Vest. This one's quite different, but it works very well. The front ribbing and the faux fur trim around the neckline and the sleeve openings are nice touches, as is the shaping has a satisfying balance, going as it does from the open neckline to the trim waistline. I do think I'd make those sleeve openings a little less deep, as they'll offer a fine inside-the-sweater view to anyone who happens to be around the wearer. A woman could always wear a camisole underneath, of course, but to me this looks like a piece that calls for a strapless bra.

Phryne Fisher. Simple yet effective hat, and it would be an easy item to wear.

Doris Head Scarf. This one's nicely shaped. It does look like a proper head scarf rather than some swatch of yarn randomly tied around the model's head.

Katherine Cardigan. Quite smart and well-shaped and finished. The buckle snaps are a nice finishing touch.

Jessica Tank. A rather fetching little piece. The shaping is good, and I like the curving cables.

Anna Cowl. Beautiful lacework, and this is a very versatile piece that can be styled in quite a few different ways.

Day for Night Top. Very simple yet well-shaped piece that would go with many a skirt and pair of trousers in a woman's wardrobe.

Irina Pullover. Cozy, well-shaped sweater with really interesting texture.

Marilyn Sweater. Not bad. The shape is very 1950s and the detailing is very contemporary. It's a happy combination.

Claire Tank. This is one of those pieces I'd all but kill to have the right sort of figure to wear. Love the clean lines and the striking effect of the stripe and the waistband.

Knit Simple Spring & Summer 2016: A Review

Knit Simple has released their Spring & Summer issue for 2016. Let's take a look at the simple knits therein.

I like the concept of this striped child's hoodie, but I wish it was a little more finished. The hemline looks like a mistake.

Very cute faux denim jumper!

Quite like this backpack. I don't know if it's lined, but if it isn't, I'd recommend lining it with a sturdy fabric and possibly interfacing for strength and durability.

Rather a cute little fringed tank for the pint-size nouveau hippy in your life.

The pillow with a pocket for toys is a nice concept, but this particular execution of that concept leaves something to be desired aesthetically.

Kind of cute and fun.

Quite attractively striped. There's definitely an art to creating a good striped knitwear pattern.

Not bad. The shaping is good, and echoing the openwork stitch used in the shoulder area in the hem unifies the design.

This is very simple, but not bland (check out the hem detail), and the shaping is good. Use a beautiful yarn for this one and it'll be quite a polished, useful piece.

Rather a nice lace poncho that should be handy for the beach.

This one needed more work, because I'm looking at it and thinking, "And...?





These are all lovely. The one on the bottom right is probably my favourite, and the one on the bottom left is probably the one I like the least.

I like the cushion, but the long tassel braids on the afghan would drive me crazy. Not to mention that they would lend themselves rather too well to pet ingestion and sibling pummeling.

I can't get behind the concept of a floor doily.

This is a rather nice-looking bag, but those are distractingly ugly handles. If I couldn't find better handles than that, I'd make some by knitting or crocheting over some very strong cord.

This is dead simple, but by the same token it will look good in quite a lot of living rooms.

Nice-looking bathroom mat. The yarn and the grid design of it work well together.

Good looking pillow. That swooping stitch is something new.

Not sure how I feel about this one. The stitchwork is rather interesting, but the long vertical lines give it something of a dragged out feel. I think I might like it better if it were shorter and in a brighter colour.

Very pretty lacy top with excellent shaping.

Sharp little shawl. This would look good with a denim jacket and other casual clothes.

I think I might like this one better if it were done in a yarn with a smoother texture and if it had better finishing around the edges. As it is, it has that "clawed by a cat" look.

Classic Breton-striped sweater. Though I don't know if that garter stitch line in the middle of each stripe is adding much to the effect. Plain stockinette would look just as good if not better.

A lovely cowl.

This one's a bit "I'm going to take these odds and ends from my stash and just make this one up as I go" (not that there's anything wrong with that), but it's cute and useful enough.

Creative Knitting Spring & Summer 2016: A Review

Creative Knitting has released its Spring & Summer 2016 issue. Let's have a look at it.

Daphne. The construction of these flowers isn't bad at all, but I'd be attaching them to other items, such as a little girl's purse, rather than to shoes where they are going to become filthy in no time.

Modern Garden Tank. A very pretty and summery look. I wouldn't have thought embroidery could look so well on garter stitch.

Petals & Stripes. I like the stripes but am not sold on the petals. It's hard to make this kind of appliqué work on a grown woman as it tends to look kitschy.

Wildflower Purse. This looks like the kind of thing a little girl makes at craft camp and gives proudly to her mother, who receives it with an Academy Award-winning simulation of appreciation, never uses, and smuggles out of the house and off to a thrift store once her daughter has forgotten about it.

Electric Flower Socks. These would be the perfect thing to wear the next time you're cast for a 1980s Jane Fonda workout video. Don't forget to make yourself a matching headband.

Eyeglasses Case. This looks roughly made, and soft eyeglasses cases like this one don't actually do much to protect eyeglasses.

Regency Sweater. This is a very pretty and rather romantic look on the whole, but the rather wonky-looking wavy lines and beads at the neckline and cuffs aren't doing much for it. I'd nix the lines and stick with some simple beading.

Soirée Purse. Very pretty and finished-looking and something a little girl could carry with her best dress as well as being something a grown woman could easily use as an evening bag if made in colours to go with her evening wear. I'm imagining it done in black or a metallic.

Ruffled Cardigan. Quite attractive, and so well shaped that it sits perfectly.

Entwined Bolero. The description for this calls upon us to "re-engineer the cowl by making it part of a stylish, modern bolero". I'm not seeing how the word stylish applies here, and I'm not sold on the idea of combining the bolero and the cowl in principle, though I might like to see other attempts at it. It looks like a pain to get in and out of, for one thing. And what are we to call such a creation? The cowlero? The bocowl?

Blakefront Cardigan. Very pretty little item.

Lavender Sails. The lace design here is very good, but the lines of this piece have such an unfortunate foreshortening effect on the model that it looks as though her shoulders are sagging nearly to her waist. I'd tweak this so that the opening of the sleeves sits at cap sleeve level.

Golden Shores Shawl. Some lovely lacework in this piece.

Summer Swing Tee. This is acceptable design, but it definitely deserved a more attractive yarn.

Artisan Tunic. The tunic is well shaped, but the decorative stitching on it has an unfortunately crude look.

Upcycle Notions Case. A fun bag. The pattern descriptions suggests using old gauge swatches, but it could also be done with wool sweaters that are past being wearable.