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Interweave Knits, Fall 2023

This issue has several cable sweaters perfect for colder weather and some oversized wraps, plus a color-work hat that is charming. The total is 4 pullovers, 3 cardigans, 3 wraps, 2 hats, 1 vest and 1 blanket.

The cover features the Mim Sweater by Debi Maige, only a 2 out of 4 for difficulty despite the slipped stitched color-work pattern. It is made in a yarn weighted only 1, Illimani Yarn Sabri which is a blend of cotton with a little bit of baby alpaca.

The grey pullover with cables and set-in sleeves is Silver Plume Pullover is my favorite sweater of this issue. It was designed by Therese Chynoweth and is a 3 out of 4 for difficulty. Its cables broaden as they move upwards, a nice way of creating more attention towards the face as well as creating more apparent width as you move from the waist to the shoulders. The yarn is Berroco Lanas Light, a fingering-weight yarn of pure wool.

Cilin Sweater in pale purple is knit in one piece with the sleeves knitted out sideways and is also a 3 out of 4 for difficulty. Vera Marcu designed it in DK weight yarn, Purl Soho Good Wool. Its ribbing which changes to cables as it moves upwards also moves the eye towards the face and broadens the upper body.

Memoir Cardigan by Evelyn Siatra in a pumpkin color also boasts cables, but not buttonholes. Since my whole purpose in donning a woolly sweater is to stay warm, and this one is made of Juniper Moon Farm Patagonia Organic Merino, I like cardigans to close all the way. One could change the front width and add buttonholes to the band, or just move to a less chilly latitude I guess ;-) The other cardigan you see in grey with buttons is a reprint, which you obtain via a QR code and a download, of the Essential Cardigan by Laura Grutzeck.

There are several interesting wraps including Revel Light Shawl by Jennifer Miller Comstock which uses several different colors of blue and green in The Fiber Seed Sprout Sock yarn, and is 2 out of 4. The pinks and purples of Stack Bond Wrap is done with a 6-row windowpane stitch and some knitting below in Manos del Uruguay Allegria a lace-weight yarn, designed by Jennifer Kent.

My favorite accessory is the Tilted Hat by Laura Barker which here uses two shades of grey in worsted weight Hazel Knits Cadence merino yarn, a 3 out of 4, but I think would be worth the effort. You can imagine a lot of nice contrasting pairs of colors for this one.

The patterns are the highlight in this issue, as the one article on yokes is a basic introduction, and then there is a bit on the fall yarns used and on new fall notions.

Interweave Knits: Summer 2023

Summer knitting is here which means lighter yarns and shorter sleeves. There are 9 tops and a cardigan in this issue along with an intriguing article by Karen Frisa which has broken me forever from not swatching. She knitted then blocked and also hung four yarns used in this issue; some of them grew in width or length and if you then multiplied out the 2 extra stitches in the 4 inch swatch to determine the effect across an entire garment, you realize how far off your sizing could become. Better to spend some time in the beginning, I now think, than to despair over time wasted in the end.

But on to the patterns. On the cover is the Branchport Cottage Top by Laura Barker which is a top-down circular construction with short rows over the yoke and a shaped waist. its is a full 4 out of 4 for difficulty because of the complexity of the lace stitch yolk. It is made of Elsebeth Lavold Hepathy a blend of cotton hemp and modal, which is a kind of rayon.

I give you a close-up of the front shoulders of the Orlaya Shell in a pale pink by Elena Dimchevska. It is worked in the round from the bottom up with a more solid stitch pattern across the shoulders. It has a very simple shape and then a charted lace stitch. It is 3 out of 4 for difficulty and is made of Drops Cotton Merino which is just what it sounds like.  

Far simpler to complete, but needing care for its eyelet argyle motifs is the Serene Summer Pullover in minty color by Fiona Munro. It is a 2 out of 4 for difficulty and is a bottom up, circular needle project made in Quince & Co Wren another wool and cotton blend.

The pale blue green tee is done with wrapped stitches and called Patio Nights Tee by Debi Maige. It is a 2 out of 4 for difficulty despite having shaped shoulders. The yarn is Shibui Knits Pebble in Crete, a blend of silk, merino and cashmere. 

Cables and a lace stitch that looks like wheat appear in the V-neck Abundant Tee by Blazenka Simic-Boro a 3 out of 4 for difficulty made of Hikoo Rylie in Pearl which is a alpaca, silk, linen blend. While cables always strike me as a cold weather feature, I want to try the lace stitch on something else.

The cover garments is the only pattern here that has waist shaping, the rest are rectangles, so you may want to add your own shaping if you swim in rectangles as I tend to do.