Knitty Winter 2016: A Review

Knitty has released its Winter 2016/2017 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Duvet mittens. Very pretty. I do love an intricately patterned mitten.

Fiddlers Three. These would be practical for anyone who has violin-playing or other fine motor manual work to do outdoors in cold weather, but they are a little too rough-and-ready-looking for my tastes.

Anqut shawl. This piece has perfectly integrated stitchwork, colourwork, and shaping, and the result is strikingly lovely.

Farrand. The stitchwork makes these a bit afghan-y for my liking, but then I'm never quite fair to crochet. It would be fun to play with the colourway on these.

Erin Goes to College. I'm quite liking the combination of the heavy yarn and rib pattern and the shaping and cable detail. This looks very warm and serviceable, yet polished.

Snowberry wrap. I'm less enthusiastic about this one. Those pom poms look like cotton balls that happened to somehow catch on the wrap during a trip to the bathroom, and there's not much else to the design.

Obliqua. Oooh, this is so fresh and fun and a great way to make the most of a handpainted yarn. The texture and fringe have enough interest that they would look good in a more muted colourway as well.

Lil Austin's Blanket. Polished-looking garter stitch designs like this are relatively uncommon. This blanket is attractive and interesting, but technically so simple that a beginner knitter could make it.

Ashwood tunic. Some really beautiful cablework here, and the shaping is good over all. I would add some edgings to those sleeves, though, as they look unfinished as is.

Liberty pullover. A good, wearable piece of work.

Colorado. I like the colourblocking and the stitchwork on this, but am not crazy about the shaping. I'd make the v-neck much less open (less wide at the shoulders and less deep at the front) and raise the colour change line on the sleeves at least somewhat to nix the dropped shoulder effect.

Crockerdile. This crocodile sweater is rather fun and inventive. I'd be much more inclined to make it for a child than an adult, but then I'm dead inside.

Cooped Up pullover. This one is cute in an adult-appropriate way. The chicken motif makes me smile, and the neutral palette and Lopi yarn upgrade the look.

Variations on Chart 429. Very much like this one, and would wear it myself. The intricate patterns are so visually interesting and satisfying.

The Werewolf of Westport. This one looks a bit too much like a random scrap yarn project for my liking. Perhaps it could made to look less so by using a more unified colour scheme.

Rock Creek Canyon. This is a nicely designed hat, though I'd go with another colour scheme. I do like the effect of a bright fair isle strip set against a marbled main colour.

Pantashrooms. Hoo boy. These mushroom pantalettes remind me of that Six Feet Under episode in which teenaged Claire makes her mother Ruth a pair of ball-fringed culottes while on a mushroom high, only to be tortured by the sight of them during her 'shroom hangover the next morning, because Ruth is so thrilled to have gotten any demonstration of affection from her normally disaffected daughter that she happily and proudly wore the culottes. I suppose these pantalettes would also be the perfect thing to make or wear on one's next magic mushroom trip.

Toilet Paper Toilet Paper Cozy. This is not, as you might have thought, knitted toilet paper, but rather a cosy that is designed to look like a roll of knitted toilet paper when put over a roll of actual toilet paper. I must admit this is funny, and rather meta in the style of Seinfeld's classic coffee table book about coffee tables. If I saw this in a friend's house, I'd laugh, but I wouldn't use it in mine as I'd be afraid someone might use it in an unironical way by mistake.