Knitty First Fall 2014: A Review

This year, out of all the knitting magazines I review, Knitty was first out of the gate with a autumnal issue. Let's have a look at Knitty Issue 48, First Fall 2014.

This is the Indigo Cones design. It's attractive and wearable and should whip up quite quickly and easily.

The Arlen cowl has good texture and would be a good way to showcase a beautiful hand-dyed yarn.

The Bloc Party cardigan. Oh, I very much like this one. This cardigan is sharp and professionally finished and yet so simple and wearable and not all that difficult to knit. This is one of those designs in which colour blocking has been done right, which is more rarely found than you might expect.

The Dreaming of Ankhesenamun cowl. Not so pleased with this one. The colourway and the design both look a little on the crude side.

The Vermilion Cliffs cardigan is a lovely piece of work. The shape is good, the texture is excellent. One minor quibble, though, is that I would have placed the top button at the top of the front ribbon band. That little open part looks more like a mistake than a design decision.

The Katie cowl. I'm not too enthusiastic about this one. It's just too basic a piece to even seem like a design.

The Briar mittens. These aren't bad at all. It's the colourwork that gives this very basic mittens design a bit of sophistication.

The Carry on Solefully socks. I like these. They've got a very original look and an inventive construction.

The Double Take Shrug. I'm divided on this design. It looks good from the back and the side, but so unflattering from the front. I'd make the front somewhat longer and the sleeves shorter.

The Snowfence Scarf and Cowl. Love this one — the texture is awesome.

The Hidden Gussets Mitts. Not all that taken with these. They're pretty basic. I think using a really beautiful yarn, such as a hand-dyed mohair, would turn them into something special.

The Planorbis Corneus socks. Quite a cute pair of cabled ankle socks.

The Jasseron pullover. Hmm. I like the concept and shaping, but not in this colourway, which is too flat and looks too much like baseball t-shirt styling to work with this pretty design. That's so easily changed, though.

The I Can Knit a Rainbow toy. I would want to size this up and make it into a cushion, because I can't imagine what a child would do with a rainbow toy. Rainbows don't have interesting adventures. It's not like a rainbow ever held a tea party or saved the world from an arch villain.

The Pat Hat, named for Julia Sweeney's Saturday Night Live sketch character, the puzzlingly androgynous Pat, is a witty solution to the old "what do I take to a baby shower when the parents haven't revealed the gender yet" dilemma. Also, it's very cute.

The Reverso socks can be worn inside out or in. Very clever and should save the wearer laundry turning time.

The Rhaeadr Shawl is a very attractive piece. Love the texture and the edging.

The Grantangle shawl employs the crochet stitch used for the ubiquitous granny square. I can't say I care for it. This stitch is just so intrinsically dated.

Delaware is for Cables hat. Standard cabled hat. I think it needs the pom pom or a tassel to give it a little more interest.

Franklin Habit restyles an 1847 pattern for a knitted flower into the Heart's Ease Boutonnière and muses about the frustrations entailed in writing about knitting history in the article that accompanies the pattern.