Last week I went on a bit of a spree and bought the November through March issues of KnipMode in one go. I usually get a couple at a time to save on shipping, but in this case I hadn’t bought since October so I was playing a bit of catchup (I should really just bite the bullet and subscribe already!). While I was on Naaipatronen.nl anyway, I figured I’d try another sewing magazine I’d never seen before and also bought FIMI magazine, too (more on that later).
I’ve spent the last few evenings thumbing through these and picking out my favourites, so I’ll let you in on a few gems here now in case you want to grab them before they go out of stock (it seems like the issues I write about tend to sell out directly after, ha!). So, working on chronological order, here’s my picks.
First up is KnipMode 11/08 #8b, a really gorgeous silk and gorgette dress that’s in the running for my birthday dress.
See, I’ve got 3 yards of emerald green silk charmeuse set aside, but now I’m torn between this and de-petiting BWOF 03/09 #116A if it arrives in time… But looking at both of them together, I’m thinking maybe the KnipMode dress would be a tad more flattering to my medical weight gain?
Also in November’s issue is a set of photo instructions for this bag :
But there’s no pattern in the magazine, and it looks to me like it may be a downloadable pattern from official site, but I can’t find anything there. Does anyone know what the deal is with this pattern? Was it a November exclusive that’s been taken down now perhaps?
EDIT: I’m not blind, it’s not linked on the site anymore, but Els found that the file is still up!
Moving on to December, there was an awful lot of party wear, but it was KnipMode 12/08 #21a that caught my eye.
This fleece has just fantastic lines and hidden pockets, which are so useful when you often go to the neighbours or to the corner shop and just need to hold your keys, mobile, and wallet. I might grab some more microfleece and make this as a lightweight spring jacket…
January’s issue had a fun “sports coach” photoshoot where I got a mere glimpse of KnipMode 01/09 #11a…
Just like the leggings that I love so much, these boyfriend jeans with ankle buttons and big scoop pockets only got one photo in the magazine, half covered by other clothing. Good thing for technical drawings, or I’d have never seen this one at all! I’ve been thinking I should branch out a bit from my TNT trouser pattern and these look really comfortable and fun.
Then, from February, KnipMode had a bit of a restyle, with a new logo, added features (like a makeover section with real-life women, and a really easy “no pattern” design!), a letters page, and …wait for it… an increased size range! Their regular patterns are all size 34-46 now, and Plus are all 44-56 (so you lucky ducklings sized 44 and 46 can wear the entire magazine)! Really, I loved KnipMode before, but they’ve made it even better now, with these changes and pushing subscriber deals like “buy two years and get a free sewing machine” (though I doubt that’s applicable outside The Netherlands anyway).
In the February issue, there were two fabulous day dresses (in a feature about mothers and their children), which I actually want to combine and sew up in a fun knit.
I’d take the top half of KnipMode 02/09 #15
And the bottom half of KnipMode 02/09 #18
…and join them together to get a V-neck, raglan day dress with big scoop pockets!
All these issues all got passed around at our moorings monthly crafty night on Monday, and my friends’ favourites both came from the March issue!
My own personal favourite from this is in the “Old Holland style” section. The cute yoked teeshirt KnipMode 03/09 #11a and the jeanskirt #12 just look so comfortable and wearable.
This jeanskirt is a faux-wrap style like the KnipMode kilt-styled jeanskirt I made a few years ago, and it’s just different enough for me to really want it. This and the boyfriend jeans from January would be such a great pairing for alternating days!
My neighbour Elaine, however, fell in love with this milkmaid dress, KnipMode 03/09 #18 (this was part of their makeover feature, hence the beauty products on the page, and the lovely non-model lady)
And my neighbour Lucie was just head over heels for this pink top KnipMode 03/09 #4b and the green trousers #13!
I really love KnipMode anyway, and I sew quite a bit from it, but this batch of issues I think has been really strong, and they don’t seem to be repeating as much to my eyes as they sometimes did in the past. The restyle makes me really hopeful for them that they’ll be able to come through these economic times stronger than before and get even more new readers and sewers. In my mind, they only way they could get any better would be to create versions in different languages, like Burda, and start to sell in markets outside of The Netherlands. To me, it really makes no difference, but I’d love for others to use them as much as I do!