Wednesday 28 May 2014

Knitter's Magazine 115: A Review


Knitter's Magazine has released issue K115. Let's have a look at it.





This is the Sand Dollar Shift. It's not bad. The asymmetrical tunic length isn't going to be for every woman and will probably look best on tall women, but it would be easy to make this either shorter or longer so it can be worn as a dress. This piece would make a good beach cover-up.





The City Girl design. This is... okay. It is eye-catching, and the use of appliquéd elastic braid is an original touch. I think there could be more interesting colourways for it.





The Dangerous Curves design. This looks like something some biker's overly attached girlfriend whipped up to match the paint job on his Harley, only to have her plan fall flat when he took one look at her, gulped, and roared off out of her life. It's the pastel yellow that's actually the problem here, I think. A bold design like this called for strong colours.





The Entrelac Blue jacket is a very cute little number. It has a good shape and nice detailing.





The Indigo Incline design is a decent piece of work. I think I would be more enthusiastic if it were the sort of thing I could wear myself. This is for the small-breasted woman, because that stockinette band slanting across the front needs to lie flat.





The Ridgeline Cowl. I like the rainbow brioche texture of this, but I wish it had gotten the design it deserved. These pieces look like swatches stitched hastily together.





The Shirttails design. Very pretty and quite wearable little camisole.





The Intentional Ikat shawl has a really exceptional gradient colour effect. It takes a very accomplished designer to make a garter stitch project look this sophisticated.





The Tranquil Tunic and Cowl is a nice set. The sweater looks very pretty on its own (love the lace stitch), and the cowl really looks quite convincingly like an attached cowl neckline.





The Sandy Circle capelet is quite an attractive and useful little piece.





The Trails and Tracks tunic is another one of those pieces that will look best on tall women, though it could also be worn as (or lengthened into) a dress for shorter women. And it's not bad, though I definitely would not use this yarn, which more than borders on "ugly afghan" territory.





The Network sweater is another take on the classic navy and white stripe sweater for summer. It's got a few interesting touches in its open texture and varying stripe widths. I'd raise the dropped shoulders though.





The Catalina Crew. Very pretty lacy summer top. The sleeve length is a difficult one to wear, but it's easily shortened or lengthened.





Upstairs and Down. Really not liking this scarf, which looks too heavy and unwieldy to be worn to advantage. What you're looking at here is a thwarted afghan.





The Lanes and Lines dress. I think this design would look better as a sweater. This isn't a bad graphic pattern, but it is one that is best in smaller doses.





The Mulberry Lanes sleeveless tunic. Those heavy horizontal lines around the hips and midsection are not going to be one bit flattering. As you can see, this piece doesn't seem to be working very well even on this professional model. She's got her arm barred across it, and it's been shot from a side angle. It's never a good shot when the model and photographer have to resort to such maneuvers to make a piece look good.

2 comments:

  1. I just wanted to say that I love your reviews! And as a fellow not-flat-chested woman, I had the same concern about the Indigo Incline sweater, as well as the City Girl.

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  2. I wonder if the newest model pose is "stick out your left hip and slouch to the right". Four of the models are posed that way, one slouching so badly, her neck disappears!

    Love your reviews!

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