Showing posts with label Knit.Wear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knit.Wear. Show all posts

Monday 4 April 2016

Knit.Wear Spring & Summer 2016: A Review


Knit.Wear is baaaa-ack, after briefly restyling itself as Knit.Purl, and Interweave has released its "re-premiere" spring and summer issue for 2016. Let's have a look at an especially good issue. I'd be willing to make and wear most of these patterns myself, and it's not often I conclude that after writing a review.





Douillet Sweater. Classic striped sweater. Check out the perfection of the stripe match at the shoulder.





HAT. The perfect gift for the anomic aphasiac in your life! Actually, I rather like this piece. The font used for the word hat pleases me.





Lin Sweater. The unfinished, minimal style isn't my thing, but this is a very decent piece of design in that vein.





Galet Pullover. Very much like this one. The monotone striped effect is very inventive and even cool.





Bande Pullover. Not bad.





Kline Shawl. Rather a nice piece in a contemporary style.





Pollock Scarf. This one looks like it's been upcycled from an old granny afghan.





Escher Poncho. Love this one. The stripes, the accent colour, and the shaping are all so cool and striking.





Julie Pullover. I like this one. The loose twist effect has a both modern and timeless appeal.





Ingrid Pullover. Love this one. The neckline and collar are great, as is the shaping and the entire detailed, polished look of it all.





Veronica Vest. This one's quite different, but it works very well. The front ribbing and the faux fur trim around the neckline and the sleeve openings are nice touches, as is the shaping has a satisfying balance, going as it does from the open neckline to the trim waistline. I do think I'd make those sleeve openings a little less deep, as they'll offer a fine inside-the-sweater view to anyone who happens to be around the wearer. A woman could always wear a camisole underneath, of course, but to me this looks like a piece that calls for a strapless bra.





Phryne Fisher. Simple yet effective hat, and it would be an easy item to wear.





Doris Head Scarf. This one's nicely shaped. It does look like a proper head scarf rather than some swatch of yarn randomly tied around the model's head.





Katherine Cardigan. Quite smart and well-shaped and finished. The buckle snaps are a nice finishing touch.





Jessica Tank. A rather fetching little piece. The shaping is good, and I like the curving cables.





Anna Cowl. Beautiful lacework, and this is a very versatile piece that can be styled in quite a few different ways.





Day for Night Top. Very simple yet well-shaped piece that would go with many a skirt and pair of trousers in a woman's wardrobe.





Irina Pullover. Cozy, well-shaped sweater with really interesting texture.





Marilyn Sweater. Not bad. The shape is very 1950s and the detailing is very contemporary. It's a happy combination.





Claire Tank. This is one of those pieces I'd all but kill to have the right sort of figure to wear. Love the clean lines and the striking effect of the stripe and the waistband.

Monday 15 September 2014

Knit.Purl Fall/Winter 2014: A Review


Interweave has just brought out a new magazine, or rather an old magazine in a new guise. The former knit.wear has been rebranded as Knit.Purl, and Fall/Winter 2014 is its first issue. Interweave has made another change in that they are now forcing their website visitors to become Knitting Daily members and login in order to view their magazine previews, so you'll have to create a (free) account with them and/or login to view the links I've provided for each design.





The Spiral Pullover. Hmm, kind of like this one, which has a unique and interesting texture. The cropped sleeve length doesn't quite make sense on a super bulky weight sweater, though.





The Equation Cowl. Rather like this one, which sits well and has good texture.





The Cobblestone Coat. I would like to like this one, which has some pleasing elements, but I can't because it is so unflattering someone ought to take it out back and shoot it to put it out of its wearer's misery. As you can see, it's doing this very slim, tall model no favours. This jacket would need to be totally reshaped to make it attractive.





The Woven Cardigan. Maybe I was too quick to suggest pulling the trigger on the Cobblestone Coat, because the Woven Cardigan is probably the design that most deserves to be led around back. Good grief, what woman wants all that bulk around her waist? And then to add a rope tie to it as if to underline the bulk? Moreover, when I'm not looking too closely at the picture, it looks like the sweater has tissues stuck into the holes in it. Kind of like how your mother used to wear tissues tucked up her sleeve, only more accessible and visible so the wearer doesn't forget they're there or run out of tissues or something.





The Cocoon Shrug. Hmm, I kind of like this one, which for all intents and purposes is like a shawl that will stay in place. It's the kind of thing you could keep at the office to wear whenever you get chilly.





The Fisherman Redux sweater. Hmm. I like this one overall as it has some great detail and shaping. I'm not quite sure about that hem, but it's interesting and not unflattering, so I think it works.





The Chevron Cardigan. This one's fairly traditional and classic and therefore fine. I would raise the slightly dropped shoulders and put in waist shaping, and I don't think those buttons are doing anything for this design.





The Oversized Crescent Shawl. I wasn't too impressed with this design until I saw this particular shot of it. Arranging it this way gives it some style and plays up the texture. I do love a nice shawl collar. I wonder if the shawl could be trusted to sit that way for any length of time though.





The Tuxedo Trapp. This one just looks kind of sad, limp, and bedraggled.





The Bio Palm. Oh dear. The Fug Girls of Go Fug Yourself coined the term "scroll down fug" to describe an outfit that looks fine above the waist and disastrous below it, but I think we need another term to describe a look that's okay in front but horrifying when seen from the back. Perhaps the "360 fug" or the "rotational fug"? Whatever term we go with, it applies here. Those sleeves look rucked up, the area around them puckers unattractively, and that seam over the butt looks exactly like a wedgie. I'd rejig this pattern in order finish off the sleeve in some other way, and ditch the tails entirely.





The Ply List Sweater. The yarn combination and the texture of this sweater are quite attractive, but the shape of the sweater leaves something to be desired.





The Curved Hems Vest. I'm not normally a fan of the spencer cut (in no small part due to personal bias, as I can't carry the style off myself), but I very much like this smart little number. It has lovely lines in both front and back.





The Golden Gate Skirt. Another very pleasing piece with flattering lines. This is a skirt a woman can get a lot of wear out of.





The Plumage Pullover. This is a beautiful design (love the perfectly executed "feather" motif and the ballet neckline), but I would want to lengthen it a little more and wear it as a dress as I don't think it's quite working styled as a tunic. The leggings this model are wearing are really showing through the sweater. Shortening this design to hip length could be another option.





The Lupinus Cardigan. Very pretty little cardigan.





The Pintucked Cardigan. This one is good except for the way it sits in the front, and that is a big minus as frontal appeal is one of the most important qualities in a sweater. In every front view photo of this design, the model's holding on to it to keep it in place, and even so it just looks shrunken and/or poorly made.





The Asymmetric Hem Pullover. I'm not normally a fan of asymmetry, but I think the asymmetrical hem gives this otherwise very basic sweater a stylish edge. The construction is clever too.





The Shifted Eyelet Yoke Sweater. Quite like this one. It's simple yet has interesting detail, will suit any figure, and is totally wearable.





The Minaret Mittens. These are cute. Mittens are a fun place to put intricate patterns like this because they look good in small doses. Can I just say, though, that I don't get the pointy-topped mitten thing? It's a common design element in mittens (I was looking for a basic child's mitten pattern on Ravelry recently and so many of the mitten patterns were pointy), but it looks as silly to me as pointy socks would, and one doesn't normally see those.





The Diamond Motif Scarf. I like this, which has a very Art Deco-like thirties vibe, but I do think the colour scheme could be greatly improved upon.





The Tilting Fair Isle Mitts and Hat. This is a cute set, and it'll be a great way to use up all those small amounts of sock yarn you've got lying about.





The Banded Sweater. Hmm. Not sure about this one. It is not likely to flatter a lot of women, and the colourway is doing the design no favours. I suppose it could work if done in some better colours and on a wearer who doesn't mind emphasizing her hips.

Friday 21 March 2014

Knit.Wear Spring/Summer 2014: A Review


The Spring/Summer 2014 issue of knit.wear is out. Let's have a look at it, shall we?





The Folded Lace Tank. I like the ingenuity shown here with the use of pleats and lace, but A-line tops can be unflattering on many women, so proceed with caution. I'm also not crazy about the way the trousers and brassiere this model is wearing is showing so plainly through the top that it almost appears to be knitted in gradient sections.





The Box Pleat Scoopneck. This isn't bad. It's well shaped and the pleats at the neckline are an interesting, modern touch.





Front Pleat Dolman. This one is going to be wildly unflattering on most women, making them look six months pregnant at best. Notice how this model is having to raise an arm over her head to give it any semblance of style?





The Pleated Elliptical Cardigan has good points. I love the lace yoke, and the back looks good. But that front doesn't appear to sit well. One of the front view photos show the model holding it closed with her hand, the other with with her arm. I suspect it will flop open unattractively when it's not held closed.





The One-Sided Raglan. I rather like this one, which has a stripped-down modern vibe. The cropped length and side cut-outs aren't for everyone, but are also easily remedied.





Can't say I care for the Gusset Tunic. That side tail looks just pointless. Or more accurately, it has a point, but it's not a point worth taking.





I like the detail on the XOX Tee. I'm not crazy about the shape of it, but it looks loose fitting without looking at all sloppy and you can always neaten up the fit a bit if you like.





The Funnel Collar Pullover. I actually quite like this one. Yes, that collar looks more than a little like a braided rug with a hole in the middle, but it sits well and isn't unflattering, and the rest of the sweater is so well shaped that it balances the collar.





The Fitted Turtleneck Tee is a great little piece; very flattering and with a little texture and interesting detail in the line of contrast colour around the neck and sleeves.





The Six Point Tee. Another good piece. It's wearable, it's going to flatter most women, and it has a certain simple deconstructed charm. Make this in a beautiful yarn in your favourite colour and it'll serve you well as the perfect thing to throw on with jeans when you want to look casual yet put together.





The Ruched Yoke Sweater. I like this one a lot until we get down to the A-line lower half. That excess width isn't doing anything for this model and isn't likely to do anything for the rest of us.





The Diamond Funnelneck. I like the texture here, and the funnel neck, but some shaping through the body would have done wonders for the item as a whole.





The Cameo Caftan. I love the stitchwork used here, but I can't sign off on the caftan construction, and that "cameo" looks for all the world like a camouflaged tarantula biding its time.





The Bohemian Tee. I like this one. It's pretty and feminine and interesting and could function as an extra layer over your dress or tank top when you don't want to be bothered with a shawl.





The Circular Tunic. I'm gathering that knit.wear seems determined that we knitters shall swamp ourselves in excess knitted materials this summer, but I for one am not going down without a fight. This design looks like two tablecloths stitched together. Pretty tablecloths, but tablecloths nonetheless.





The V-Line Tee. I like this one, which has an elegantly relaxed outline.





The Painted Mesh Pullover. I rather like this one, which should be a comfortable and useful second layer for cool summer weather. I'm not a fan of that longer back hem, but if you feel the same way, it's easily fixed.






The Botanic Pullover. Hmm, there's much to like here. The leaf pattern is beautiful, and the attention to detail shown in the leaf motif continuing up the side hem and the garter stitch hems make this look like a certified design rather than something that's just been slapped together. And I can totally see a few friends of mine who have a modern dress sense rocking this. So yes, I like this piece on the whole, though I think of it as a "shawl to 'pull over' one's outfit" rather than a "'pullover' sweater".





The Naiad Tank. Those mesh ruffles look like they were attached by a drunken designer with a glue gun, and that is one ugly yarn.





The Zigzag Mesh Pullover. Very much like this attractively textured little sweater. I would stitch up those ribbed hems though.





This Ruched Cowl is really rather cool. I can see it working in a number of colourways and with a variety of wardrobes, though as a fall/winter item rather than a spring/summer one.





The Bold Stripes Wrap is very smart and wearable.





The Chevron Mesh Scarf. Not a fan of this one. I think it's the combination of the stitch and the colours used, which make it look like a strip from an afghan. Doing it in a single solid or variegated yarn would remove the ripple effect that's so afghan-esque.





Quite like the Bolt Tee, which is both well shaped and has an interesting and effective graphic design.





The Short-Row Vest. This is one of those patterns that at first glance seem to me to warrant a negative review, but that I come to like after more careful appraisal. This piece is has a striking graphic design and an interesting construction that sits well. It won't work on every figure or for everyone's taste, but then few knitwear designs do. On the right person with the right outfit this could be an original and eye-catching piece.