Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59: A Review

Rowan has released Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 59. Let's have a look, shall we?

Gifu. Well shaped and has a pretty lace pattern.

Hiyama. This one is crocheted. It's a rather graceful-looking piece that would dress up simple summer clothes.

Kushiro. While I like the lace stitch used in this piece, it has some truly unfortunate and weird proportions which even this model isn't able to carry off.

Miyagi. Good shaping and some truly impressive stitchwork.

Osaka. Lovely. I especially like the delicate colour palette used here.

Oshima. Rather a nice combination crochet and knitted piece. I'd shorten the knitted ribbing on the sleeves to just a few inches as those awkwardly long sleeves are visually dragging down the look.

Gunma. This one's more than a little too slanket-like for my liking.

Saitama. Lovely and polished little classic cardi.

Iburi. A very successful marriage of traditional lacework with modern shaping.

Mie. This one looks like it's straight out of Dorothy Zbornak's closet.

Tokachi. I like the design of this, though that colourway is not an especially happy choice.

Memuro. This one looks to be in a style vein that my sister always refers to as "old lady", and by that I don't even mean the Golden Girls style of dress. I mean this sweater belongs in the same category as girdles, black lace ups, and blue rinses.

Yamagata. Not bad. The colourway is very good, which is not surprising given that this is a Kaffe Fassett design.

Niigata. Fabulous piece. Check out that artistic pleated diamond stitchwork and beading!

Yamanashi. This looks quite a lot like the curtains that were in the mistress bedroom of my house when I bought it. And that I used as drop cloths for painting.

Tochigi. This isn't bad, but I'd fix the drop shoulders and add some waist shaping.

Nemuro. Simple yet polished kimono-style cardigan. I'm imagining it in some higher impact colourways. Not that this subtle one isn't attractive, but this a piece that would look very sharp in, say, black and ivory or some other high contrast pairing.

Ibaraki. A lovely combination of lace and silk/mohair yarn.

Corton. Not thrilled with this one. The concept of combining nautical stripes and cables in one sweater has potential, but it didn't get the execution it deserved and looks tacked together, like some sort of Frankensweater.

Briston. Attractive, wearable, useful piece for summer.

Burnham. This isn't a bad example of a spencer, and it isn't badly styled here. This is what, in reviewer terms, is known as "damning with faint praise". Spencers are hard to wear.

Watton. These two models, one garbed in a bulky-looking, oversized design, and one in a wee spencer, are clinging to one another while they gaze off into a middle distance future in which they shall wear garments proportioned to best suit their figures.

Cottishall. Classic textured cardigan. I do love outfits composed of denim and chambray blues for summer.

Ludham. It never fails to amaze me that regardless of how many thousands of classic cabled sweaters there are out there, designers are still able to come up with little twists on the design. This one has a diamond motif, and it's a good look.

Darsham. The stitchwork in this pullover creates some very flattering visual lines. Excellent work.

Glaven. Bulky and oversized. It would look better if the fit were neatened up a bit.

Felbrigg. This one's so nice it almost makes me feel like going out somewhere to get myself a man for whom I could knit it. Almost.

Leiston. Call me hidebound, but my rule is never to make any knitted garment that sleeps more than two.

Kelsale. An excellent take on the classic gansey style.

Thursford. I wish I could see this one better. From what I can see, it looks like a decent piece.

Bodham. Solid classic cardigan.

Binham. Not too taken with this. The "sweatshirt detail" at the neck has a rather crude look to it.

Egmere. Some striking texture on this one.

Morston. So heavy and oversized looking.

Reydon. The large scale diamonds on the front of this classic sweater give it an updated look.

Heacham. This open shouldered top wouldn't ordinarily be my type of thing, but I think it works. It sits well and has a certain breezy, "sexy without trying too hard", style to it.