I’ve got the October through January KnipModes to show off now, but the special thing here is that two of the four issues were hand delivered to me by neighbours that had recently been in Benelux (well, really just Bene)! One might be going back soon so I might get another few hand delivered as well if I play my cards right…
Oct 09 + supplement – with special bonus Plus sized section that’s twice as many patterns as usual in each issue
I love love love this leather jacket! They make this same design in some nice wools later in the issue, too so I wouldn’t have to do it in leather if I wanted to make my life a bit easier.
I’m not sure if I’m totally sold on any of these selection of different trouser shapes, but I like the idea of them…
I really like these Make 4 dresses (this style was also made in the leather section, too), especially the colour blocked one. What a great way to use up short ends of fabrics!
And from the City Guide supplement (showing Paris, Milan, Prague, and London styles) that came with October, the London stereotypes just made me guffaw. Actually, all the stereotypes made me chuckle – the Parisian shots all had them eating croissants, the Milanese had them with tiny espresso cups, and the Prague shoot was all done with art nouveau backdrops.
(Oh yes, we all dress like this in London, didn’t you know??)
Nov 09 – this one had an origami feature like they also did in May, but with new wintery designs
I love the cover origami-pleated sheath dress! Check out the weird pattern pieces and try to wrap your head around it!
More from the origami section:
This catwalk Colbert jacket has great seam lines, though I’m unsure about the shoulder gathering
A cropped jacket and jeans – I love both designs on their own, but I also love the styling of these together in this photo, too! I would wear this in a heartbeat!
Dec 09 – awash in a sea of super naff formal dresses and sloppy casuals, this issue was saved only by the “take this blouse, dress, or jacket, and try three different sleeves on it” feature!
These Make 4 trousers have great curved seam lines in the legs, which I think would be quite slimming in the thigh
Jan 10 – Features Knit vs Sew cold weather clothes plus, for the first time ever, men’s patterns!
I love the jacket on the far left, which is made from sweatshirting, though also notice there’s a plus-sized cardi-wrap in here, too.
There’s a ton of knitting patterns in this same feature, and this cape jacket on the left lady almost makes me wish I knitted!
I’m amazed how much this pleated dress looks like my 30th birthday dress in the shoulders especially!
And the men’s patterns I found to be quite boring (button down shirt, basic trousers, jacket, yawn) but I really liked this hipped-up jacket with the integrated hoodie, which would be great for teens.
I also did appreciate that like their women’s size range, Knip’s men’s patterns have way more sizes than BWOF. James is like me in that he’s usually the second-to-biggest size in the normal range in Burda, but in Knip he’s pretty much dead in the middle (sizes 46-58 FYI).
So out of this bunch, I think my favourites are November and January, though if you’re plus sized I’d highly recommend grabbing October, as I’m not sure how many will turn up in the quarterly Knip XL magazine.
Bonus cat photos
Bosco fell in the river (for the third time!) yesterday so he was super affectionate all day. He occasionally comes into my little sewing room but has never taken much interest in staying before. But yesterday he sat next to my machine for about 20min and wasn’t even spooked when it started rumbling right next to him!
