Vogue Knitting Fall 2018: A Review

Vogue Knitting has released their Fall 2018 issue preview. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

#01, Fair Isle Shawl. What a variety of fun, beautiful motifs. I'd love to see this one expanded into an afghan.

#02, Fair Isle Hat. Doing this one in an atypical colourway really sets it apart from the usual fair isle hat.

#03, Fair Isle Pullover. A very attractive, classic piece.

#04, Three-Piece Rose Pattern Set. I would find the sight of all three of these pieces a little overwhelming in real life, and those mittens are more than a little oven mitt-y in shape, but of course there's no need to make/wear all three of these pieces and the sweater and the hat are certainly good examples of design. I also like the idea of making these items in two neutrals and a bright contrast colour.

#05, Leaf Motif Pullover. Nice, but I would fix the dropped shoulders and lengthen the sleeves.

#06, Mosaic Wrap. This is another one that would be quite lovely as an afghan as well as a wrap.

#07, Lace Stripe Shawl. Nice!

#08, Offset Triangle Shawl. A fun, contemporary piece.

#09, Tassel Yoke Pullover. Cute sweater. I'm giving the tassels serious side eye, but I think they'd work on a very young wearer. The 25+ crowd should probably leave them off.

#10, Graphic Yoke Pullover. Fun and colourful.

#11, Twisted Yoke Pullover. Beautiful. The yoke is interesting and eye-catching, and the edges have such a finished look.

#12, A-Line Tunic. Another lovely item. I'd be inclined to lengthen this one and turn it into a dress.

#13, Yoke Patterned Pullover. Fun yoke, but the sizing could certainly do with some neatening up.

#14, Yoke Patterned Cardigan. A lovely, classic piece. Although, Vogue Knitting copyeditors, just to be tiresomely pedantic for a minute, this pattern and the last pattern should have been titled "Patterned Yoke Pullover" and "Patterned Yoke Cardigan". These designs aren't patterned with yokes.

#15, Asymmetric Triangle Shawl. A very handsome, polished wrap that looks good however it's worn.

#16, Lace Shawl. Very pretty piece of lace work.

#17, Crossed Stitch Jacket. Not bad at all. This one would make a distinctive outfit out of a plain, neutral top and bottom. The pattern blurb says this design was inspired by the Chanel jacket, and I can definitely see the influence.

#18, Tuck Stitch Dress. Love this one, which would be a surprisingly useful, versatile piece given that it looks equally good worn on its own or worn as a jumper over a turtleneck. The mini-skirt length wouldn't work on everyone, but can be easily lengthened for a wearer who feels she's beyond her mini-skirt years, or just doesn't like minis.

#19, Bell Sleeved Pullover. Alas, I am destined to never wear this, as it's the sort of thing that makes me look terribly dumpy as it's not a style for well-endowed women, but it would be quite cute and smart on the right person.

#20, Shawl-Collared Pullover. This one's an Isaac Mizrahi design from 1998, but honestly Vogue Knitting has so many patterns in their vault that they could have chosen better than such a schlumpy, undistinguished number.

Interweave Knits Fall 2018: A Review

In today's post, we're going to have a look at the Interweave Knits Fall 2018 issue, in which things have gotten very cable-y -- in a very good way.

Breakwater Beach Vest. I like the vest with its good shaping and cabled panels (though yes, I see what you did there, mullet hem), but I would definitely recommend wearing it over almost anything other than a striped jersey.

Cambridge Cardigan. I like the tartan and the "old-style collegial-wear" concept of this sweater, but I would neaten up the fit some. This is a style that would look best slightly oversized, but that means one size up from what the wearer would normally wear, not two or three.

Classic Gansey Cardigan. What the name of this piece says. I would wear this one myself.

Follins Pond Pullover. A clever use of cablework on this one.

Great Island Pullover. Nice piece on the whole, but I am not a fan of that overly large v-neck.

Herring Cove Wrap. Beautiful wrap.

Massachusetts Ave Pullover. An eye-catching use of cables, and a nice piece, except that I do glimpse a slight mullet hem.

Monomoy Dolman. Nice! I'd just add a few rows of ribbing to that neckband, as it looks a little skimpy as is.

Mt. Auburn Cardigan. Very handsome piece!

Oxford Street Pullover. Excellent rendering of a classic style.

Prescott Pullover. Attractive cables.

Quincy Pullover. This argyle-style cable pattern is so creative and looks fantastic.

Race Point Pullover. Nice!

Sandy Neck Pullover. Another great-looking cabled pullover.

Wendell Street Pullover. This one has such an inventively contemporary vibe.

Widener Pullover. I like the concept of an attached shawl collar and cuffs in a contrasting colour, but perhaps not so much the execution. Maybe I'd like it if the collar and cuffs were a little wider? I'd fix the dropped shoulders, and the transition between the moss stitch shoulders and the front cabled pattern looks a little on the rough side and should perhaps be replaced by some sort of patterned band.

Yarmouth Pullover. Oooh, nice! I love the way the designer has used the cables to complement the raglan sleeves.

Pom Pom Quarterly Autumn 2018: A Review

In today's post we're going to have a look at Pom Pom Quarterly's Autumn 2018 issue.

Artemis. Not bad. The idea here is that the neckline is supposed to represent the crescent moon, and it is a fun concept. I'd fix the dropped shoulders though.

Ceridwen. I like the stitchwork, but this is terribly unflattering even on a professional model, which never bodes well for the rest of us. This could be reshaped, but honestly it would be easier just to go with another pattern.

Hecate. Pretty, and as much as I like the blue and pale gold colourway, I am enjoying imagining all the other colour schemes this could be made in.

Hypatia. Very attractive in a subtle way. This is one of the more interesting and creative textural effects I've seen in a while, and yet it was done so simply, with just garter and stockinette stitches, and two similar shades of yarn.

Ixchel. This is absolutely fabulous. I've seen a number of moon and stars-themed knits over the years, and it's always a nice theme, but this one is truly out of this world.

Luna. There's some good texture going on here, but the overall effect is so schlumpy.

Moonbow. This isn't so much a sweater as a mutant sofa cushion with sleeves.

Moondust Hat and Moondust Mittens. Nice hat and mitts set.

Sina. I'm not sure about the two moon halves on this one. Sure, it looks kind of cute when the wearer holds her hands together, but when the mittens are separate (as they will be most of the time), they look like two random and pointless half-circles.

Sky Map. I want to like this, but I don't. This wrap looks as though it's been darned, and not particularly well. Maybe I'd like it if the embroidery were better.

Twist Collective September 2018: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Twist Collective's September 2018 issue.

Maidstone. A classic wearable piece with some appealing stitchwork.

Cedar Hill. These open-front pieces are always a challenge because the front really needs to sit well... and this one doesn't.

Passerine. Oooh, pretty. I'm always a sucker for this sort of tracery design, especially when it involves birds and branches. There's something so charming about the effect.

Caspia. An attractively classic piece.

Parallax. I like the contemporary, graphic vibe of this scarf.

Dancing Meadow. So, so pretty.

Acacia. I like the concept of this one, and the stitchwork is perfect, but I would neaten up the fit a touch and nix the mullet hem.

Ostraka. This one's a little rough-looking for my liking, and I think it also needs a more interesting yarn.

Glenevin. I like this kind of pullover: it's simple and classic enough to go with everything, and yet has enough interest in its stitchwork and details that it will never look boring or unpolished.

Peryton. Fantastic stitchwork and shaping in this one.