About 8 months ago, I got an awesome email from FehrTrade reader Hilde asking if I’d like her mom’s stash of KnipMode magazines from 2005-2007 as she wasn’t really using them much any more and they both thought I’d give them a good home.
Would I??? Omg.
So therein started the logistical planning to transport a rather heavy stack of magazines from The Netherlands over to London… Around this time we thought we’d be driving navigation equipment over to northern Holland in preparation for a neighbour’s North Sea crossing, so we’d make a detour to Hilde’s, but logistics didn’t work out and we weren’t needed for the neighbour’s barge anyway. And then, in a fantastic twist, a few weeks ago Hilde told me her sister lives in London and brought the stash over in her suitcase for me! So I only had to make a 10 minute walk from my office to her sister’s flat (seriously, what luck that she lives so close!) to pick up the magazines and thank her profusely for lugging them in her suitcase.
And for the past fortnight or so I’ve been absolutely pouring over them, picking out my Must Sews, investigating tiny design details, and noticing what changes Knip have made in the past 5 years.
There were too many for me to scan in one session, so here’s my picks from the early half of the stash, with Part Two to follow next week!
KnipMode 11-2005
OMG Lingerie!! I have already got the most perfect fabrics in my stash to make the camisole with the bra cups – the olive green stretch lace I bought in Paris coordinates perfectly with a teeshirt I got free with a magazine but was comically tiny (what percentage of the UK female population has a bust smaller than 27 inches? Seriously.). I think there might be enough to do the cami with a bit of the teeshirt’s sleeves left for a thong gusset. And you know how much I liked the KnipMode lingerie pattern I already had…
UPDATE: Marilyn pointed out in the comments that you can buy these lingerie patterns plus the Plus lingerie shown a bit further down plus the lingerie I’ve sewn previously on Knipmode’s “Patronen Bestellen” site and click “Bijzonder” on the left (the red cami set is bijz10, the red bra set is bijz9, the Plus cami set is bijz11, the Plus bra set is bijz12, the 2008 bra set is bijz13, and the 2008 cami set is bijz14 if you need to search for them). I’ve never bought Knip patterns online before so I have no idea if they’re digital or printed or how to pay though, sorry!
I’m in serious need of knit long-sleeved tops, and I really like the overlay on this otherwise basic tee. It kinda reminds me of the top I bought from ASOS that inspired a bunch of you to try to draft it…
KnipMode 12-2005
This one’s on my tracing pile for this weekend! It’s another twist on the basic long-sleeved tee, this time with faux-raglan seaming at the shoulders. I’m thinking it’d be great to use some random knit scraps on those shoulder pieces to break up a solid colour everywhere else.
Great jeans! The front view reminds me of my KnipMode boyfriend jeans (which I’ve worn threadbare!), but with a classic back view here.
And from the same feature, here’s a really nice, casual A-line skirt that you could really wear all year round without too much effort.
Since it’s a December issue, they’ve included a full Santa costume! Shame I didn’t have this when I made my Dad his Santa suit back in 2006!
I really like the different neckline options on these “Make 4” cocktail dresses. I’m not big on the godet skirts, so I’d stick to the pencil skirt option, but that’s just me. I could easily see this in a nice cotton for a casual summer day dress, too.
KnipMode 01-2006
What a gorgeous coat! This pattern either comes as I’ve shown here, or with a smaller, standard Peter Pan collar, too. It’s a bit too short for me to wear in the deepest, darkest winter, but would be a great option for chilly spring and fall weather.
I’m so excited to finally see some winter-friendly silk pyjamas (and then I got the new Dec 2010 KnipMode yesterday to find there’s more in there)! All the winter pyjama patterns either seem to be a long sleeved tee with flannel bottoms (Yawn! I graduated from university 10 years ago, I’m over the dorm look now) or full-length flannel nightgowns (and err, I’m not dead yet). So to have some pyjamas that are both warm and something approaching sexy is a big find indeed.
KnipMode 02-2006
Ooh, a big jeans special! They’ve got four pairs here, all in RTW waist/length sizing so they’ve thrown a pair on a man to show these can be worn by either sex, just like the standard Levis cuts. I like the button-fly pair the best, but maybe that’s because I’m still itching to try David Page Coffin’s button-fly technique…
On first glance, this is just your average casual A-line skirt, not too far off the one I highlighted above. But look closer, and you’ll see that the upper pocket’s tabs wrap the whole way around to the back, which is just so cool!
Things you’ll never see in Burda magazine or the Big Four – Plus-sized lingerie patterns! How great are KnipMode?? These are totally sexy and wearable, and up to an F cup! Bigger ladies need lovely underthings, too!
KnipMode 03-2006
You could probably buy this style of sweatshirt in a million shops, but that doesn’t stop me liking it anyway. I particularly like the gathers along the front yoke and the very useful pockets.
Knip call this a blouse, but I think it’d work better as a jacket, made up in something crisp like a linen. I just love that it has the tab & hole at the collar to offset the wrap at the waistline, and also the uneven hem. This is a look that would work so well on women of any age…
KnipMode 04-2006
Another fantastic trouser pattern! Those twisted leg seams are just so flattering, too.
Ooh, a raincoat pattern! This style kinda reminds me of Johanna’s fantastic raincoat she made last year. Though I’ve got my heart set on a trenchcoat, so I’ll need to tackle that before going shopping for waterproof vinyl.
And finally, Knip seem to have a lot more kids patterns in the main magazine back in these earlier issues than they do now (they’ve got a quarterly kids pattern magazine, Knippie, so it’s nice that they put any in the main mag at all), and what I like is that they make tween/teen patterns in sizes that Burda magazine just don’t cover. I think the biggest sizes I’ve seen in Burda are usually 128cm or very occasionally 140cm, but these trousers and jackets go up to size 170!
Coming up: Part Two of this stack, my Halloween costume, the November LMB, the (freaking amazing!!) Dec KnipMode, a leather obi belt, and my coat shortlist (how did I fall behind in posts again??)…