Once again I’ve been a bit slow in reviewing this month’s KnipMode and Manequim magazines, but I’m only just now emerging from beneath the pile of pattern magazines. I got a bit overwhelmed there with my haul from France and my friend’s haul from Brazil, and I think I’m going to keep my pattern buying to the bare minimum for a few months so I can process through what I’ve got. So you’ll continue to see my monthly KnipModes and Manequims since I subscribe to those (I also still subscribe to Burda, but they’re less exciting and already heavily posted about online anyway) but I’m going to try not to buy anything more until the Fall Patrones issues emerge in a few months.
But KnipMode are still very much in the height of summer, and this is the vacation issue…
Ooh a swimsuit! It’s a bit more basic than the designer one featured last summer, but it’s still very wearable, and with the separate cups, it’d be very adjustable for larger busts.
This is a pretty basic woven shirtdress, but I just think the neckline is really elegant.
This is the Take 4 feature in this issue (where they take 1 pattern and style it four different ways), and I thought it was of interest because of the high surplice neckline. Even though I personally have zero problems with necklines down to my bra, I know others (especially Americans) prefer higher necklines, and I think this is a great example of a surplice bodice that isn’t bra-skimming.
This issue has a special section in it for “Fast Fashion”. KnipMode used to publish a separate Fast Fashion magazine, then last year they created an abysmal FF supplement in the July 2010 issue, but this time around it’s incorporated into the regular issue itself (thankfully, without reducing the usual number of regular and Plus patterns!). Fast Fashion is aimed at beginner, teenager sewers, and uses a lot of rectangles and variations on simple shapes, and with better instructions. Unlike the last supplement, I think these styles are actually wearable for teens! There’s variations on a short skirt, boxy tee, and tiered dresses.
I’m so pleased KnipMode are producing more patterns for men these days, and garments more interesting than the same old button-down shirt over and over again (yes, you, Burda!). Here we’ve got a variation on the basic button-down shirt, but most excitingly, also a pair of trousers with zip-off legs so they become shorts!! They even have large, illustrated instructions for sewing the leg zips, too! PR member treefrog has already sewn these up for her husband and given them a rave review, too.
Finally, just to show I don’t necessarily love all cowl necks, here’s an example of a badly-done cowl. Ugh. (And this is totally off-topic, but this feature used real-life models, which I like. But in this case, the awful photographer or stylists clearly told these women to bare their teeth and open their eyes wide, which makes them look TERRIBLE and like a deer in headlights. I just feel sorry for them – they probably looked a hundred times more natural before they were told they MUST have a toothy smile!)
From the heat of European summer to the depths of Brazilian winter (most of which is suitable for English summers!), I’ll show you the June Manequim later this week…