Knitscene Spring 2018: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Knitscene's Spring 2018 issue.

Aberdeen Pullover. Not bad for a casual look. I'd fix the dropped shoulders, neaten up the fit a little, and probably add waist shaping.

Bonn Vest. I see beauty in the delicate, diaphanous texture of this piece, but perhaps not wearability given that I have questions about how well it sits. I'm finding it pretty suspect that there isn't a single front view photograph of this design on its Ravelry page, and am inclined to think that this design isn't a flattering vest so much as a beautiful lace curtain with armholes.

Broome Turtleneck Vest. A classic ribbed turtleneck vest given a fresh look with some young, contemporary styling.

Carollton Top. A basic tee. The cropped length won't be for every woman but that's easily corrected.

Cherry Blossom Cardigan. Poor shaping can make the difference between a frumpy cardigan and an attractive one. I'd fix the dropped shoulders on this and neaten up the fit and shaping.





Cotswold Sweater. I like the design twist of putting the beautiful lace work on the back of the sweater, making the front plain, and adding triangular sections of garter stitch. It gives this attractive sweater a touch of the unexpected.

Fullteron Sweater. I'd fix the dropped shoulders on this one, and neaten up the fit a touch.

Heckerling Pullover. I'm liking the texture of this one, and the neckline and raglan sleeves. I'm not a fan of the boxy crop length, but if you would also prefer a more fitted shape and standard length, it would be easy to fix that.

Hillwood Sweatshirt. This is kind of fun in its way. It mimics a kid's sweatshirt but isn't too childish for a grown woman to wear. Ordinarily I'd advise fixing the dropped shoulders, but in this case they kind of work with the colour blocking.

Lea Mills Thermal. This pullover was inspired by thermal undershirts, and I must admit the designer recreated the waffle pattern of a thermal undershirt to good effect, while adding some flattering shape. The result is an attractive and wearable piece.





Midtown Pullover. I quite like this one, with a few minor quibbles: I would make the sleeve stripe some combination of green and light gray rather than merely green; and I would work the v of the v-neck differently so that it doesn't look like it has a run in the centre of it.

Palouse Top. This has such a pretty, airy, graceful effect. I love the shaping and the lacework.

Provence Wrap Sweater. The lines of the wrap effect on this sweater work really well. The seam in the middle of the sleeve is striking me as awkward, but I don't see how one could fix it without interfering with the wrap effect. Instead, I think I might just leave the sleeves elbow length, and finish them off with a rib cuff.

Savannah Pullover. I'm really not liking that unfinished-looking, off-the-shoulder neckline, or the awkward bracelet-length sleeves. I guess I like, um, the lace detail at the bottom?

Verona Top. If you would like a sheer mohair pullover to wear over a pretty camisole or other lingerie-turned-outerwear type top, this isn't bad. I'd fix the dropped shoulders though.

Wilmington Pullover. Knitscene has really gone all out on the boxy crop top designs in this issue. I don't happen to think it's a length that flatters most women, but if you agree, it's easy enough to lengthen a sweater design to the desired length. This is otherwise a quite attractive, classic sweater.

Creative Knitting Spring 2018: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Creative Knitting's Spring 2018 issue.

Below the Pier. This is a rather attractive piece, but I can't help thinking that given its rectangular shape -- which is an awkward shape for a shawl -- it would look better sized up somewhat and left on a couch.

Buttercup Tunic. Beautiful stitchwork in this, but that enlongated sleeve and body length isn't for every woman. However, it's easy to shorten the pattern to suit the intended wearer.

Cabotage Cardigan. Not a fan of this one. Open front cardigans tend to look too small (and this isn't one of the exceptions) and the rolling edges look unfinished.

Cruising Cowlette. This is a pretty little scarf.

Elland Shawl. This is a beautiful wrap with great shaping and texture.

Everywhere Eyelets. This isn't bad. The asymmetrical panel in the front may be making me a little twitchy, but I'm doing my best to firmly suppress that, as it has a rather offbeat appeal. This sweater would be a fun one to do in a crazy variegated yarn and to wear with jeans.

Hilo Cardigan. This piece, with its smocked-like yoke and cap sleeves, is quite cute. I totally could not carry this look off personally, but it would be adorable on the gamine type who could.

Peach Pullover. A standard tee. This is one to make in an interesting yarn.

Princeville Vest. Not a fan of this one, but I think I might like it better if it were made in a more interesting yarn with a more attractive buckle. It looks a little too plain and sensible this way, and consequently has the effect of some sort of 1920s undergarment, and I'm not talking about the undergarment found on the kind of twenties-era girl who danced the Charleston and carried a flask in one of her garters.

Scarlet Skies. Not bad. Both shaping and stitchwork are good.

Shifting Cypress. Beautiful lacework in this.

Skygate Stole. Love the gradient colour used here, and the stitchwork is lovely, but I do wish the designer had gone with another shape than rectangular.

Smooth Sailing Shawl. This is kind of fun in an offbeat way. I can't help thinking the shawl didn't get the best styling here, and isn't being shown to advantage.

Temple Valley Vest. I'm not a fan of these long, draped, trailing vests. They're impractical and don't tend to be too flattering. Even this professional model isn't quite working this carefully styled and posed look.

Topsail Tee. I'm quite liking the fan motif on the yoke, and the shaping isn't bad, but I would add some sort of trim to the sleeves and neckline to make them look finished. That neckline looks positively ragged.

Waterdrop Pullover. Good shaping and finishing, and I like that this designer did something new with the eyelet pattern by giving the eyelets a teardrop shape.

Pom Pom Quarterly Spring 2018: A Review

Pom Pom Quarterly has released its Spring 2018 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Cablegram. Classic cabled cap.

Carimbo. These mitts are cute and fun. I like the playfulness of the colour scheme and the two patterns.

Durumi. An eye-catching and contemporary reinvention of the classic fair isle.

Perfin. I'm rather liking the stitchwork in this one, but the shape is so terribly frumpy. This sweater looks like it belongs to a landlady who goes about in curlers and run-down slippers, leaves her teeth in the laundry room, and has eight mangy cats and a yappy, randy dog.

Postmark. These socks are super cute!

Tête-Bêche. Very cute hat.

Timbromania. A simple, pretty, and extremely wearable summer top.

Treskilling. I like the delicate, interlacing detail around the neck of this, but not the shaping, which despite the model and photographer's best efforts is so unflattering.

Vaffel. This one doesn't have the greatest shape either, but it's passable.

Vita de Vie. Quite attractive and wearable. The lacy detailing on the front and back is all the interest this pullover needs, and it's well shaped.

Vogue Knitting Late Winter 2018: A Review

Vogue Knitting has released its Late Winter 2018 issue, and it features actress Krysten Ritter on its cover. Ritter has appeared on the Facebook page for this blog twice previously: when she first took a journalist who was interviewing her yarn shopping with her, and then gave her knitting lesson afterwards; and then when she taught (or made a valiant attempt to teach) Stephen Colbert to knit during an appearance on The Late Show. I already liked Ritter for her appealing screen presence and admired her for her acting, so her evangelical passion for our craft is a delightful bonus. That said, let's have a look at the knitwear she models for us (and in one case, designed herself!), as well as the other designs in this issue, shall we?

Pattern #1, Turtleneck Dress. If you're a depressed and exhausted homeschooling mother of seven whose only social contact with other adults is to call your own mother every night and cry because you can't get your kids to go to bed, this is the look for you.

Pattern #2, Cable Inset Cardigan. The stitchwork in this piece is good, but the overal lines and shaping isn't. This has such a visually dragged-out, bottom-heavy, shapeless look.

Pattern #3, Colorblock Cabled Pullover. Sigh. Vogue Knitting seems to have gone full out frumpy for this issue.

Pattern #4, Cable Pullover. Classic cabled pullover.

Pattern #5, Cabled Pullover. I rather like this one, in which the designer has taken the classic cabled pullover in a slightly different direction by varying the direction of the cables.

Pattern #6, Two-Tier Pullover. The designer of this sweater went for an innovative look by including a cropped top over layer, but I don't think it works. I keep staring at it thinking that there must have been shrinkage or a yarn shortage involved in its construction, and that's never a good reaction to a knitwear design.

Pattern #7, Easy Krysten Sweater. Respect to Krysten Ritter's modelling skills, but I don't really care for her design. I think I'd fix the dropped shoulders, add a little waist-shaping, and be sure to do this sweater in an interesting yarn to give this very basic design the oomph that it will need when Krysten Ritter isn't it.

Pattern #8, Slouchy Raglan. I'd neaten up the fit on this one by quite a lot. The armhole shaping appears to start at the waist level, and even the professional model it's on can't quite carry that off.

Pattern #9, Simple Cardigan. This is another piece that is pure "depressed and exhausted homeschooling mother of seven" style.

Pattern #10, Seed Stitch Pullover. I am not opposed to a seed stitch oversized turtleneck in theory, but the reality is there's oversized that is "a relaxed, comfortable fit", and then there's oversized that "fits like a house and will knock things over every time you turn around". Guess which one this is.

Pattern #11, Pompom Wrap. This is kind of fun in its way, but I can't imagine actually wearing a wrap of this size and bulk. I'd be inclined to make this "wrap" a little larger and then leave it on the couch.

Pattern #12, Big Chill Wrap. This is a beautiful piece of work, and it's supposed to be worn as a wrap, but it would be another piece I would feel belonged on the couch.

Pattern #13, Chunky Cardigan. This thing fits and sits so poorly. I've seen tents I was more tempted to wear.

Pattern #14, Cable Pullover. Another classic cabled pullover, this time in a standard fit.

Pattern #15, Brioche Pullover. This piece is reminding me of Dakota Fanning's fabulous puffed sleeve costume ensembles in the late nineteenth century drama The Alienist, but although it is an interesting and original piece with some fantastic brioche stitchwork, it could stand a few tweaks to make it more flattering. I'd fix the dropped shoulders and make the body a little longer and neater-fitting in order to balance out those leg o' mutton sleeves.

Pattern #16, Chevron Lace Vest. The lacework and the hand-dyed yarn used here are beautiful, but these unstructured trailing pieces basically never appeal to me.

Pattern #17, Feather Cowl. Inventive, whimsical, and wearable.

Pattern #18, Waterfall Shawl. This is another shawl that looks as though it belongs on a couch, and more specifically, on your Great Aunt Myrtle's couch. Doing this piece in a solid colour or at least a less "granny afghan"-like colourway would help, as the lacework is quite attractive.

Pattern #19, Domino Shawl. A attractive, wearable and contemporary wrap that definitely looks as though it belongs on a person.

Pattern #20, Woven Scarf. Nice texture and an interesting construction on this scarf, unsurprisingly, as it was designed by the ever-inventive Nicky Epstein.