Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 63: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 63.

Nabeela. I love the stitchwork in this one, and fixing those dropped shoulders would interfere with the pattern significantly, but I can't help wanting to do it anyway, because those sleeves do look so absurdly short. If I were modifying this pattern I might go with a seamless sleeve, picking up stitches from the body and extending the pattern down the sleeve. But then you could just decide you like the loose shape and make it as it is.

Delft Cardigan & Skirt. This is lovely. The shaping of both the cardigan and skirt is good and the Delft china-inspired motif of blue florals on a white background is so beautifully interpreted.

Deeba. A very simple yet effective colour block effect, and the shaping is good.

Isad. This ripple pattern could have looked afghan-y, but this designer took the look an extra mile by employing slipped stitch and stranded techniques, and the result is a polished, contemporary wrap.

Paragon. A smart new twist on the classic striped sweater.

Taibah. I like this coat, with its offbeat colourway and variety of interesting stitchwork. The belt isn't doing much for it. It might be better to add some waist shaping, change the collar to something that sits a bit better, run the buttons up a little higher on the bands, and forego the belt.

Dudson. A simple, well-shaped tank.

Moorcroft. A nice piece -- the side detail is attractive -- but I'd neaten up the fit a little and add waist shaping.

Vanaja. A very decent looking boho-style crocheted bag.

Stafford. I'm finding this one unappealing. It has a rough, wrong-side-out look

Waterford. The pattern in this is quite charming, but the surplice shaping is unflattering even on this professional model.

Kayla. Pretty lacework, but again I don't think the surplice wrap effect works well. Surplices are hard to get right, as I know from having made two that I was so unsatisfied with that I wound up taking them apart again.

Spode. I like the bold, contemporary look of pattern on this one, and it's fun to look at the pattern and figure out what everything is.

Calico. The tucked, multi-layered effect of this pattern is inventive and attractive, but I can't help thinking it would work better on an afghan, as it's a rather bulky effect.

Ziana. As hard as they've tried to style this piece, it still looks like a random swath of knitting slung around the model.

Porcelain. The "teapots and vases" pattern is fun and eye-catching, but the shape is not flattering.

Beswick. A nice, wearable piece, but I'd add more buttons, as that one lone, single, isolated button looks so terribly lonely. NO I AM NOT PROJECTING THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Hasina. This is a basic top, but it's totally wearable and useful as a well-made basic tends to be.

Minton. I like both the colour block effect and the sideways cable/dropped stitch stitchwork of this piece. The design is good too.

Garima. I like the concept of a solid colour body combined with shoulder and sleeve detail, but I would go with a seamless construction here to get rid of that unfortunate shoulder seam in the middle of the detail, and make the body neater fitting.

Wedgewood. Wedgwood, Spode, Delft, Minton, Porcelain, Waterford... Rowan's on a real china kick with this issue, with more we haven't gotten to yet. Not that I'm complaining. I have a bit of thing for beautiful tableware, and china patterns are a great source of inspiration for knitwear design. I quite like this design too, though again, I'd have gone with a seamless sleeve construction here rather than this dropped shoulder seam. Though in the case of this particular sweater, modifying to get rid of a dropped shoulder seam would be a fairly complex job, so unless you are quite skilled you'll probably prefer to just make it the way it is.

Daya. An attractive yet neutral wrap. I like the combination of the contrasting textures.

Haviland. Not a bad tunic, though I'd stop short of the fringe.

Eshana. I like the madras plaid-like effect of this crocheted wrap.

Coalport. Classic cardigan with some interesting and unusual textured stitchwork.

Saguna. This one's as plain as it gets, but then sometimes a simple pullover design like this one is just the right choice for a beautiful yarn.

Tang, Song, Ming. I like all three of these pillows, but I'm not sure I'd use the three of them together. I'd probably pick one design, reverse the colours of it for pillows one and two, and make pillow number three in a solid matching or accent colour.

Lanika. I like the pattern through the body, but this has an unfinished look. Curling edges always do make feel a bit twitchy.

Aynsley. A sharp, graphic effect. I'm dying to see it done in another colourway.

Olena. Pretty, though I wish I could get a look at those front edges to see whether and how they are finished.

Umnia. An interesting combination of mosaic stitchwork and colour blocking, though I don't feel this colourway does the design justice.

Barlin. An attractive and useful summer cardi.

Janan. The shoulder/side shaping is unfortunate, and the sleeves look like a mutation.

Maida. This crocheted cardi has a smart, contemporary appeal.

Gayana. I can't imagine any occasion for which I'd care to wrap a swath of crocheted fabric over my jeans and call it a skirt, and for obvious reasons this "skirt" can't very well be worn on its own.

Foolan. This one is pretty. The round eyelets in its crocheted pattern make me think of octopus suckers, but in a reasonably positive way.

Parul. This tank has the interesting colourway and stitchwork of the coat above without its problematic shaping. A nice piece for summer.