Showing posts with label Twist Collective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twist Collective. Show all posts

Monday 23 November 2015

Twist Collective Winter 2015: A Review


Twist Collective has released their Winter 2015 issue, and it's an especially good effort from them. Twist Collective probably has the best photography of any of the knitting magazines I review (it looks beautiful, the styling is generally excellent, and they almost never let their artistic direction override their primary purpose of providing a detailed view of the knitwear, as some of the magazines do), but they've outdone themselves this time. I mean, just look at that fantastic cover shot!





Chance & Comet mittens. The adult version comes across as a little too juvenile, but the castle and unicorn child version is ever so cute.





Carlu pullover. Good shaping and detailing on this one. The slit in the collar is a nice touch.





Sceptre mittens. Very Game of Thrones in the best possible way.





Vinca shawl. Lovely.





Kennemerland hat, cowl, and mittens. Love the hat and the cowl, but although the mittens are fine in themselves, I'm not sure the stripes work with the rest of the set. The designer probably wanted to avoid overdoing that feather-like stitch, but didn't substitute a compatible motif.





Channa pullover. Very nice piece overall, but those short sleeves do give it that "shrunk in the wash" look. Of course you can make the sleeves any length you want.





Nalina cap & cowl. What a lovely set.





Cappadocia cardigan. This one's an excellent piece of work. It's a simple and very wearable, flattering piece and has some very attractive lacework edging to keep it visually interesting.





Norrland cap & mittens. This is the grown-up's version of a snowflake hat and mittens. It's really lovely and quite sophisticated.





Bonspiel hoodie. This is a decent piece of design, but perhaps an unfortunate colour choice. Doing that cabled device on the back of the hood in this coral colour gave it a regrettable resemblance to a gaping and predatory alien mouth, such as that of The X-Files's Flukeman. Doing this sweater in a non-living-tissue-like shade such as navy or teal should help the back of the sweater lose that most unwelcome of celebrity resemblances.





Besom cardigan. Cute piece!





Zepp socks. These look very good from the side, but not so well from the front, and those ribbed tops are disproportionately long.





Spinner shawl. Exquisite!





Ready Steady Go cap, scarf & mittens. Very striking Art Deco effect here. Pairing these with a bright, clean-lined coat was the right styling choice too.





Spalle pullover. From a less skillful designer, a simple ribbed sweater like this one could have been a lacklustre and unflattering piece, but this one is so expertly shaped that it's the best possible example of its kind.





Kizzlekazzle shawl. The texture of this, while technically impressive, is a little too bathmat for me, but I suppose this shawl could make an interesting accessory for warm, casual, simple clothes.





Chroming pullover. Normally I'm a hardsell on asymmetrical hemlines, but this one really works, adding a visually distinctive touch to a simple pullover in a way that elevates the entire design.





Dendri cardigan. Very attractive and wearable.





Shivelight cap & cowl. Very nice set. The cabling is beautifully intricate, and the rolled edgings work well with the look.





Cinders turtleneck. You can't go wrong with a classic cabled turtleneck sweater.





Iana shawl. Another lovely shawl.





Sawteeth cardigan. This one will look awkward and bulky on most women. Even this model isn't able to work it successfully.





Tainia socks. Good looking cabled socks.





Racine cardigan. I like the back, but I wish I could see the entire front, particularly the collar. What I can see of the front (the pocket and button band edges) looks a little rough.





Ripplerock shawl. Impressive stitchwork on this one.





Lovat cardigan. Love this one. The whole piece flows toward that single button at the waist. It's perhaps not a piece for a woman who doesn't care to emphasize her waist, but will be quite flattering on those who do.





Kielo shawl. And we end the review with a another example of gorgeous lacework.

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Twist Collective Fall 2015: A Review


Twist Collective has released its Fall 2015 issue (and incidentally is also celebrating its seventh anniversary, yay them!). Let's all twist again like we did last issue, shall we?





Leitzel. This design is so frumpy from the front. The back is somewhat better.





Meristem. Cute and useful little vest.





Bering. Lovely classic hat and stole set, though that hat does look perhaps a little on the small side compared with the generously sized wrap. I'd consider making the hat a tam, or making the stole a little smaller.





Boreas. Nice piece. It's polished and wearable and will look good on any woman.





Filigrene. Very pretty. It would be fun to come up with one's own colourway for this one.





Ballyfaron. Very nice classic set. The two pieces are perfectly in proportion with each other.





Cherrywood. Nice piece, but it does emphasize the hipline. Wear with caution.





Sherbrooke. Cute set, and I even like the toggle detail on the capelet, but I would pick just two items out of the three to make. Three matching knitted items always looks a little over the top to me.





Altiplano. Nice Peruvian hats. The colours on the right one are ever so pretty.





Trondheim. Nice cabled pullover. The diagonal cable is a nice original touch, though I'm thinking that it makes it a design for smaller-chested women.





Knothole. The contrast of delicate lace with round openwork holes is an unusual twist, but I think it works as it gives a classic shawl a modern twist.





Papagena. Love this piece. The graphic lines give it a contemporary feel, meaning that it won't be too romantic looking to wear with simple clothes. And best of all, you don't actually have to share it with a friend.





Sissone. Oooh, lovely. The collar and the centre panel are beautifully textured. I wasn't too sure about how flattering the curved front hem would be, but
then I think the styling isn't quite working here. Made long enough to completely cover one's top and worn over a fitted bottom, this cardigan would look fine.





Guimard. I absolutely love the lace pattern used in these pieces. I may even have sucked in my breath a little when I first saw it.





Brina. Pretty!





Fretwork. This is rather a dramatic piece (and would be even without the model's interpretive dance pose). I can't say I care much for the combination of pale and dark blue, but there are lots of colour combinations that would work for this design.





Fortuna. Another lovely shawl.





Brindle. This set doesn't appeal very much. It looks more than a little slapped together and roughly constructed.





Allotrope. Exquisite lace in this one.





White Wood. I wish I could get a better look at this one, but it does appear to be an attractive wrap from what I can tell. All this athleticism from the models makes me wonder if Twist Collective is trying really hard to break away from the "old ladies in shawls" stereotype.





Farallon. Attractive and wearable.





Shannonmore. Classic aran weight cabled pullover, designed in both male and female versions.





Philodendron. Ooooh, I love this one. That pattern of interlacing leaves across the front is really distinctive and the shaping is great.





Aparne. This one looks a bit like some sort of creeping sea creature that crawls over its unfortunate prey so slowly that its next meal never knows it until it's too late. I actually did some googling to see what species it was that this shawl reminded me of, and had to stop because I was learning more than I ever wanted to know about terrifying creatures that live in the deep. I mean, I could have gotten through life quite nicely without ever seeing a picture of the lamprey. Anyway, getting back to the shawl, believe it or not, I actually mean "creeping sea creature" as a compliment. This shawl is kind of cool and modern. Though now that you've read my thoughts on it, you may want to make it in some colour other than algae-like green.





Alodia. Beautifully textured wrap.





Sweetfern. Ooooh, so pretty! I absolutely adore the yarns used here.





Sachertorte. This nicely detailed little jacket reminds me of similar little jackets that were very much in style in the 1950s, except for the off-centre fastening, which is a contemporary touch. The bottom flare can be hard to carry off, but as you can see from these pictures it is possible. This is a jacket that should be paired with fitted items.





Locksmith. This is rather cute, and I like the key detailing. The shaping really isn't great though. It needs waist shaping, the sleeves are an awkward length, and that high crewneck is seriously unflattering even on the model. I'd cut the neckline down more, which will also mean moving the key panel down somewhat so that the neckline doesn't cut into it.





Feilecan. Nice set. The Celtic knot design is well-adapted to this hat and mittens.





Hemingway. Good interpretation of a classic, though I think the collar could be a bit better shaped on both versions. It looks rather skimpy here.