Twist Collective Winter 2015: A Review

Twist Collective has released their Winter 2015 issue, and it's an especially good effort from them. Twist Collective probably has the best photography of any of the knitting magazines I review (it looks beautiful, the styling is generally excellent, and they almost never let their artistic direction override their primary purpose of providing a detailed view of the knitwear, as some of the magazines do), but they've outdone themselves this time. I mean, just look at that fantastic cover shot!

Chance & Comet mittens. The adult version comes across as a little too juvenile, but the castle and unicorn child version is ever so cute.

Carlu pullover. Good shaping and detailing on this one. The slit in the collar is a nice touch.

Sceptre mittens. Very Game of Thrones in the best possible way.

Vinca shawl. Lovely.

Kennemerland hat, cowl, and mittens. Love the hat and the cowl, but although the mittens are fine in themselves, I'm not sure the stripes work with the rest of the set. The designer probably wanted to avoid overdoing that feather-like stitch, but didn't substitute a compatible motif.

Channa pullover. Very nice piece overall, but those short sleeves do give it that "shrunk in the wash" look. Of course you can make the sleeves any length you want.

Nalina cap & cowl. What a lovely set.

Cappadocia cardigan. This one's an excellent piece of work. It's a simple and very wearable, flattering piece and has some very attractive lacework edging to keep it visually interesting.

Norrland cap & mittens. This is the grown-up's version of a snowflake hat and mittens. It's really lovely and quite sophisticated.

Bonspiel hoodie. This is a decent piece of design, but perhaps an unfortunate colour choice. Doing that cabled device on the back of the hood in this coral colour gave it a regrettable resemblance to a gaping and predatory alien mouth, such as that of The X-Files's Flukeman. Doing this sweater in a non-living-tissue-like shade such as navy or teal should help the back of the sweater lose that most unwelcome of celebrity resemblances.

Besom cardigan. Cute piece!

Zepp socks. These look very good from the side, but not so well from the front, and those ribbed tops are disproportionately long.

Spinner shawl. Exquisite!

Ready Steady Go cap, scarf & mittens. Very striking Art Deco effect here. Pairing these with a bright, clean-lined coat was the right styling choice too.

Spalle pullover. From a less skillful designer, a simple ribbed sweater like this one could have been a lacklustre and unflattering piece, but this one is so expertly shaped that it's the best possible example of its kind.

Kizzlekazzle shawl. The texture of this, while technically impressive, is a little too bathmat for me, but I suppose this shawl could make an interesting accessory for warm, casual, simple clothes.

Chroming pullover. Normally I'm a hardsell on asymmetrical hemlines, but this one really works, adding a visually distinctive touch to a simple pullover in a way that elevates the entire design.

Dendri cardigan. Very attractive and wearable.

Shivelight cap & cowl. Very nice set. The cabling is beautifully intricate, and the rolled edgings work well with the look.

Cinders turtleneck. You can't go wrong with a classic cabled turtleneck sweater.

Iana shawl. Another lovely shawl.

Sawteeth cardigan. This one will look awkward and bulky on most women. Even this model isn't able to work it successfully.

Tainia socks. Good looking cabled socks.

Racine cardigan. I like the back, but I wish I could see the entire front, particularly the collar. What I can see of the front (the pocket and button band edges) looks a little rough.

Ripplerock shawl. Impressive stitchwork on this one.

Lovat cardigan. Love this one. The whole piece flows toward that single button at the waist. It's perhaps not a piece for a woman who doesn't care to emphasize her waist, but will be quite flattering on those who do.

Kielo shawl. And we end the review with a another example of gorgeous lacework.

Interweave Knits Winter 2016: A Review

Interweave has released the Interweave Knits Winter 2016 issue, and it features a very solid, wearable collection of patterns. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Inverness Sweater. With such a classic cabled pullover, what's not to like?

Coldfield Pullover. Some nice detailing on this one. I like the mid-arm band concept.

Glasglow Sweater. The reverse stockinette on the sleeves and what looks like Shaker stitch in the body are nice touches.

Worthington Gansey. The deep waist band and the dropped shoulders give this sweater an awkward, disproportionate look, but they are easily remedied.

MacGowan Pullover. Really lovely stitchwork on this one. I love that lacy centre panel.

Shiloh Sweater. Nice stitchwork and the modified collar works really well with it.

Slean Mittens. Nice detailing on these.

Rivers Stole. Love the texture on this one. It's rather big, which won't be to everyone's liking, but you could always scale it down to whatever size you liked.

Tulle Mittens. Very pretty arrangement of cables on these mittens.

Oxford Stockings. Classic cabled socks.

Keeley Sweater. The pattern is good overall, but I think I'd want to fiddle a little with the proportions by making the body somewhat longer and decreasing the height of the cuffs and waistband slightly.

Walthall Sweater. Very much like this simple but effective sweater. The shaping is really good and the cables direct the viewer's gaze to the wearer's face.

Hoxey Cowl. This is quite pretty, and quite well styled. It's a piece that will look best with casual clothing such as this denim jacket.

Warwick Hat. A carefully worked out and finished piece. I'd nix the pom pom, but that's me.

Whitfield Cardigan. Not a fan of this one. The fair isle patterning has a rather helter skelter effect, and the dropped shoulders aren't helping. It also wouldn't be possible to fix them without changing the construction of this piece entirely, as it is knitted in one piece and steeked.

Hawkherst Sweater. Solid classic Cowichan-style piece.

Vernon Hat & Scarf. Attractive set. I like the idea of using a contrast colour for the fringe on the scarf and the ribbed band and pom pom on the cap.

Spilly Jane Knits Mittens: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Spilly Jane Knits Mittens, written by Spilly Jane, and published by Cooperative Press. This book would make a good primer for someone who has never knitted mittens before, as it includes lots of helpful technical information and very detailed instructions, including excellent tutorials on the gusset and peasant thumb techniques, and offers lots of tips and inspiration for anyone who'd like to have some fun making arty mittens. Mittens can be treated like tiny canvasses, and one can be very whimsical when designing them without the project becoming too much of a time hog, and still have a wearable result.

Plain Blue Mitts. This is a very simple design technically speaking, and these mittens could be made with odds and ends of yarn, but the stripes make them eye-catching. "Phasing in" stripes with alternating stitches of the new colour is such a nice effect and gives stripes more sophistication.

Plain Brown Mitts. Another basic pattern, this time with a gusset thumb and classic stripes.

Nougat mittens. These are rather pretty, and well named, because the colourway does remind me of a box of chocolates.

Midtown Mittens. Love the graphic pattern on these, which was inspired by New York's subway grills. I'm not a fan of pointy-tipped mittens, which always look silly to me, but if you feel the same you can easily borrow the more oval shaping from one of the other patterns in this book.

Under the Hostas Mittens. These are totally cute and just the right pair of mittens for those days when you're in an Amélie kind of mood.

Codfish Mittens. Also cute, and with greater longevity than real fish.

Cupcake Mittens. I would ordinarily find something like this too twee for words, but these are irresistibly adorable. The pastel colourway is perfect for the theme.

Give to Me Your Leather (and Wool)

This blog's third anniversary, which was two days ago, was its leather anniversary. I did a special cotton anniversary post last year and so this year calls for a leather post. And it turns out that leather and wool are the combination Stevie Nicks and Don Henley should have sung about. One won't get much joy from actually knitting *with* leather (the result would be unwearably stiff and bulky), but my research tells me there are a number of great ways to enhance knitting projects with leather additions, so let's have a look at them. If you are ethically opposed to using leather, it should be possible to use these ideas on vinyl substitutes.

The bottom spool in the photo above shows leather strips being French knitted into cord. This would be a great way to make pull strings for hoods, plackets, waists, and cuffs of knitted garments.






The above video demonstrates how to French knit a cord. The demonstration material is paracord rather than leather, but this won't affect the technique.

One very practical way of adding leather to your knitwear is to add leather bottoms to slippers or bags or baskets, or palms to mittens and gloves, to make them more durable. This Craftsy tutorial offers two techniques for knitting onto pieces of leather.

These fingerless gloves, which are from Anthropolgie, would be relatively easy to copy as it appears that the leather (or possibly vinyl?) is simply stitched on top of the knitted pieces.

Another way to use leather when making knitwear is to add decorative trims or pockets or patches. I very much like this crocheted cowl, with its leather snap band. This cowl was made by Delia Creates, who offers a free pattern and tutorial. A knitted version of this cowl would be made in much the same way: one would crochet a line of stitches onto the leather band and then pick up and knit the stitches from it.

Fabric stores routinely carry leather handles like those you see here. It would be a straightfoward task for a competent knitter and sewer to replicate this commercially made handbag from Paper to Cloth. If I were to make this, I would consider putting a leather bottom on it as well.

Love this basket, made by the bloggers at Alice & Lois. The leather handles really kick it up several notches. The basket is made of coiled rope rather than knitted (and there's a tutorial), but leather handles would look just as good on a knitted basket and would be attached to it in the same way.

This isn't a knitting-meets-leather project, and I don't much care for these particular items (which are available as a DIY kit from Etsy seller Red Gate Stitchery) but I thought it such a great idea I had to include it. Punch some holes in a leather item and you can cross stitch any design you like into it.

This Tory Burch bag is commercially made, but it offers another idea for how to marry knitting and leather. I'm wondering if it might not be possible to create a bag similar to this one by upcycling a thrift shop purse and cabled sweater.

Adding commercially made snaps and buckles to knitwear is probably the easiest way to combine leather with knitting, but it can be a telling addition. As you can see, this piece from Alexander McQueen wouldn't look like anything very special without its leather buckles, but putting them on instantly turned this coat into a distinctively stylish piece.

This wrap, from Brooklyn-based designer Sunghee Bang, offers us another inspiring way to incorporate leather in knitwear. It looks to me as though a large piece of leather was simply sewn on top of this large needle knit wrap.

I rather like this cardigan, with its leather neckline trim and leather cuffs and body. This photo is from Blog.Naver.com, which also features more pictures of this item. Adding leather to knitwear is an area in which you can get creative and have fun. It needn't be expensive either. Got an old handbag or leather jacket or skirt you love that's getting past being presentable or that no longer fits but that you can't quite bear to let go? Here's your chance to give that leather a new purpose in life and make a beautiful new usable item.

If you're feeling extra adventurous, you could always try making something like this piece from Balenciaga's Fall 2014 collection. This is really quite ingenious. I notice that by adding knitted elements, the designer has cleverly made this garment stretch where it needs to be -- through the waistline and neckline -- so as to make it possible for the wearer to get it off and on. Balenciaga hasn't exactly offered us all a tutorial on this could be replicated, but you might be able to figure it out how to make a similar piece with some experimentation and reference to the other techniques mentioned in this post.

Three Years of Damage Done

Today marks the third anniversary of that day in November 2012 when I set up The Knitting Needle and the Damage Done and hit publish on my very first post. I looked at my first and second anniversary posts in preparation for writing this one and I found that on my first and second anniversaries I had a lot to say about how my approach to this site had evolved over the previous twelve months. This year I don't have much to say on that topic, which probably means that the site has matured and I'm more or less fully launched and sailing on an even keel... or to use a more appropriate knitting metaphor, working even in stockinette. I suppose that's not a bad thing as long as I'm careful to keep an open mind on new ways to improve the site, and am taking an occasional mental step back to look at the site as a whole and make it's the site I want it to be. And am listening to what my readers have to say, of course. As always, your suggestions are welcome.

I know I haven't been very good about sticking to my posting schedule for the past year. It's often been all I could do to keep up with writing magazine reviews and posting the occasional fun video, and I didn't get around to writing the more in-depth original posts I'd like to do. I wish I could give you my word I'll do better, but the reality is that I have chronic fatigue issues and I have to make money to live on, and this site makes very little money. I only have so many good working hours in a day and often have to prioritize work that actually pays, or basic housekeeping tasks, over this site. All I can say is that I will do my best to do better. I will also say I have a concept for a book in mind, though I don't know when it will be written, let alone published. But I am collecting material for it, and I might get to it within the next year.

If you'd like to help support this site and make it possible for me to spend more time writing content for it and getting to writing that book, I can suggest a couple of ways for you to do so. This morning I added Interweave ads to the site. If you've been thinking of buying something from them, please consider visiting the Interweave store site via the button on the sidebar. I'll get 10% of whatever you spend during your visit at no extra charge to you. I have also added a sidebar link to Amazon.com. If you're ever planning on doing some shopping on Amazon, you can help me by visiting Amazon either through that sidebar link or through any of the Amazon links in my posts. I will get 4-8.5% of whatever you spend during your visit, and again there's no added cost for you. There is also a donation button on the sidebar.

And of course I want to conclude by thanking you all for taking the time out of your busy lives and especially, away from your knitting, in order to visit this site and read what I have to say. It's the highest compliment you could pay me, and I really appreciate all the emails and comments and the enthusiasm you show for the site, both here and on this blog's Facebook page. I think if my only reward for this site were the small amount of money it makes and the lines on the visit tracker graphs, I would have quit by now. It's the positive feedback and connections that make writing this site gratifying.

Thank you all, and I'll try to keep serving up the knitting snark as often and as well as possible.