First, the facts:
Title: Rustic Modern Knits: 23 Sophisticated Designs
Author: Yumiko Alexander
Published by: Interweave Press, 2014
Pages: 127
Type: Patterns
Chapters:
No chapters, just a list of patterns
The In-Depth Look:
Billed as having “23 sophisticated designs,” you know right away that this collection isn’t going to be just standard sweater shapes. And when you know the author’s last book was Rustic Modern Crochet, you know she’s going to be looking at her knitting in a different way.
She focuses here on accessories that are unique and different—taking design elements from crochet to make things that have interesting shapes and dimensions—something outside the usual knitting designs.
What follows is a collection of accessories—wraps, hats, scarves, vests, mitts—all with something different. Asymmetrical construction, a blend of stitch patterns and texture … variety is the name of the game.
I like the designer’s way of playing with color, and she has a good eye for shape and pattern, unusual though some of them are, her designs work. And by “unusual” I mean new and innovative rather than that vaguely polite, damning-with-faint-praise thing people do when they tell you your hideous new coat is “nice.” There are a couple designs I don’t quite “get” (the Midnight Tendril shawl being first on the list, if only because I can’t see the point. It looks fun to knit but utterly impractical to wear.) Mostly, though, the designs are pretty and interesting and unique—at least three of them are immediately on my “I would make that” list.
You should definitely check this out.
Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.
This review copy was kindly donated by Interweave Press. Thank you!
