Friday 19 September 2014

Knitscene Winter 2014: A Review


Knitscene has released its Winter 2014 issue. Let's have a look at it.





The Haubergeon Sweater. Hmm. This isn't bad. It has shaping and some interesting detail and it's carefully finished. That sleeve length isn't going to be flattering on a lot of woman, but it's easily raised or lengthened.





The Cuirassier's Cardigan. Nice simple cardigan over all, but the way the front edges of this piece ride up makes it look like it shrank badly in the wash.





The Ornate Greaves legwarmers. These are nicely detailed legwarmers, but my guess is no woman who isn't either a dancer and/or under 20 would be willing to wear legwarmers out in public, and that even then she won't want to wear them styled like this. Sandals with legwarmers... really?





The Gothic Gloves. I rather like these. They're fun. But I would knit them in another colourway that does not include this dirty-looking yellow, and I'm not quite seeing how this design is at all gothic.





The Purbeck Pullover. This is a nice piece. The shape is good and the yarn choice works really well. I'm a little concerned about the way the hemline seems to curve up in front and longer in the back, but I'm hoping that's just the way the sweater happens to sit in the photos.





The Tongshan Sweater. The shaping is good, and the colour blocking at the shoulders and wrists isn't a bad idea, but I think there are much more attractive and interesting colour combinations for this sweater.





The Carrara Shawl. This is one outstanding piece of design. It's rare for stripes to look this polished and elegant.





The Siena Mittens. There are better colour schemes for these mittens, and certainly it's possible to better coordinate them with one's outfit than has been done here, but they're not bad.





The Paros Hat. Cute little hat, though again... you probably have yarn sitting in your stash that would look much more attractive than what's been used to make this sample.





The Kolmården Jacket. Very much like this piece. It has a polished look and smart lines and it would be a very useful item, looking equally right with jeans and a t-shirt or over a dress at the office.





The Malaga Pullover. Hoo boy. This sweater looks very much tacked together and homemade, as though it were made by this model's addled mother, who has never stopped treating him as though he were five and insisted that this sweater would be perfect for him to play cowboy in (he can pin his badge on the pocket!), then forced him to don not only the sweater but his old cowboy hat so she could take his picture and coo about how cute he looked.





The Ravenna Cowl. Nice piece, with nice textures in nice colours, styled nicely.





The Neon Mosaic Scarf. I like this one, though there is a right and a wrong side to this pattern and it might take some doing to keep the right side foremost.





The Otranto Cowl. Not sure about this one. The mosaic-style pattern is attractive enough, but it doesn't sit well in any of the five sample photos provided at the link. I'd be inclined to knit this one as a scarf.





The Tessellating Leaves Scarf. This is a really beautiful, striking piece.





The Thyri Pullover. This isn't a bad design on the whole, though there are more polished and pleasing versions of the circular yoke pullover, but this design marks the point where I decided I just can't even with the whole "half glove cuff" trend, open minded as I have tried to be about the concept. It makes the wearers look like they stuck their thumbs through the stretched out sleeves of some thrift shop sweater.





The Kelda Socks. Love these. I'm pretty sure that if I had a pair I would barely be able to stand putting shoes on over them.





The Hanne Sweater. Nice little piece with some interesting garter stitch detailing. It's on the simple and plain side, so this is one of those sweaters that call for an extra special yarn to elevate it a little.





The Ilsa Cardigan. I don't know about this one. Those circle and bracket motifs on the front just aren't that pleasing. It doesn't help that they look for all the world like eyeballs. Maybe it would work better in a more subtle, sophisticated colourway.





The Sanna Shawl. This is a very clever design that can look very different depending on how it's styled. It's quite modern and chic.





The Lene Vest. This is... not good. This poor model looks like she's been buttoned into something belonging to a child, perhaps by the same unhinged mom who is still forcing her grown son to play cowboy. This design looks pretty good from the back, but the way it hangs open in the front makes it look unflattering and too small.





The Rebecca Sweater. This looks like a 1980s design, and worse, like a 1980s design that should have remained in its own decade. The collar is ill-proportioned and the stripe and dot pattern looks cheesy.





The Lise Hat and Armwarmers. Cute, fun set.





The Meko Pullover. And we end well with a simple but striking classic piece with clean lines.

No comments:

Post a Comment