What the heck? The new Crochet! magazine.

[pragmatica]

Wow. I really loved the previous Crochet! with the faux Missoni on the cover but the new issue seems really wacky. There are some things that are really nice and that I like a lot but man, all that fake fur! And the tank top made of fake fur with really big armpits that mean you not only can't wear a bra but that, if braless, everyone gets an eyeful if you raise your hand. (Also means I can't repurpose the pattern with another kind of yarn because while I have no problem with cleavage -- it's the one part of my body that hasn't fallen to the ravages of time -- the armholes on that tank are just wacky.)

 

The gorgeous evening outfit (skirt and spaghetti-strap tank( was lovely but made out of...wait for it...Simply Soft. Which means it's soft but very hot and quite likely to pill. (Don't get me wrong, I love me some SS, but not so much for any wearable other than shrugs and sweaters.) I know it's because it was commissioned by Caron but it's still perhaps not the best WW choice for evening wear.

 

I don't have the magazine in front of me but I did want to see if anyone else thought there was a weird lapse between the previous amazing issue and this one. (I'm a new subscriber so those are the only two I've seen.) And really, what IS up with all the fake fur and eyelash stuff?

 

--Elissa

[Empress Busy Bee]

Eh I don't subscribe for that very reason. It'll be weeks before I see a copy in the store to compare with you.

[eurolyons]

I'm not a fan of fake fur wearables...there was one pattern in there that I thought was awesome and that was the red tunic with the flowers...planning on making that one for a friend...

 

I do subscribe to the magazine (and others) because where I am, I can't just walk into a store and buy the magazines...and I've been a subscriber to this magazine for about 2 years and with that magazine and others, there are issues that I'm like I wanna make everything and other issues I'm lucky if there's one pattern I want to make (at the time...)

 

I'm always going back over my books, magazines and patterns looking for inspiration and ideas...always lifting an element from one pattern and putting it into something else...and experimenting with different yarns...I generally, if I'm making a wearable, having to enlarge the pattern just a bit further to fit my frame, so something like the armpits being too big, I'd figure out a way to adjust that and not lose the main idea behind the design...and I'd also change the yarn to something else if I thought it would be too hot or itchy for me...

 

Personally, ever since they've decided to be a bit more modern, it's been a struggle for me to get excited about what they've had to offer, but I think that's just me having a hard time adjusting...and so much of what I see seems to be the fun fur stuff that I know I will not make anytime soon...but down the road, I know I'll get inspiration and use it...

[Cathy W]

Since they changed, they've been a bit more "hit or miss" for me. I've bought fewer issues, but the ones I've bought have been chock full of stuff I just love to death.

 

My biggest complaint, really, is that I'd like them to PLEASE remember that there are bigger women (and I'm not even all that big - I wear a 14 off-the-rack) who crochet, too, and we would appreciate wearables sized for us. I keep seeing patterns where I think, "Gosh, that would be cute, if they'd extend it one size larger..." - but I don't think I have the skills to do that myself on a garment with much shaping.

[eurolyons]

I understand the editors of Crochet! keep getting emails and letters about that very issue of having patterns in bigger sizes and that they are working towards that goal...

 

The very first pattern I ever made from this magazine was an experienced pattern and I had to increase it...it ended up not being that big of a deal, much to my relief...but yeah, it is nicer if the increases for the different sizes are included...

 

Still, my tape measure is my best friend...

[luckybmr]

What I didn't like is it was almost all clothes to make. I don't care to make those kinds of clothes - they don't look right on me. Pretty pics, just way too many clothes.

[eurolyons]

Good point...

[aurora]

I sort of wish there wasn't so much by way of tank tops and belly baring.

 

The one with the faux-Missoni arrived in my local newsagent the other day! It made me feel all summery just looking at it!

[TepperWear]

I saw it today, and I didn't buy it, but probably will. I actually liked it better than the last one. Different strokes... I thought there were a couple of cute tops.

[*Dee*]

I'm just glad that I got this issue on time ..... not like last issues delivery problems

[flyinghooks]

I understand the editors of Crochet! keep getting emails and letters about that very issue of having patterns in bigger sizes and that they are working towards that goal...

 

.

 

Yes, the editor recently reported in her Talking Crochet newsletter that they are working with designers to add larger pattern sizes, include patterns for men & boys,

[Yearnin' for Yarn]

I went to a store in town that sells yarn (in addition to consignment clothes) and she was so proud they had the new issue---I couldn't believe it was already out. I bought the last one because I liked more patterns in it than normal, but when I flipped through the new one, I kept wondering, "What happened?!" TOO MUCH FUN FUR! Yuck. Too many "unwearable" wearables. I was so surprised at the huge difference in content.

 

Nicole

[Sylviaf]

I still don't have mine. Last issue they sent me a replacement and about two weeks later my regular one arrived.

[crochetqueen]

I got mine yesterday and please don't think I am a Crochet! magazine hater but my 2 cents worth is, they seem to be behind the fashion trends. It is all designs that are no longer in style. Maybe I am a fuddy duddy or something

 

 

I also just wanted to say that there is an easy way to resize the patterns and I will be of course writing an article about it and adding it to the www.medidit.com site very soon.

[redhead54]

I went to a store in town that sells yarn (in addition to consignment clothes) and she was so proud they had the new issue---I couldn't believe it was already out. I bought the last one because I liked more patterns in it than normal' date=' but when I flipped through the new one, I kept wondering, "What happened?!" TOO MUCH FUN FUR! Yuck. Too many "unwearable" wearables. I was so surprised at the huge difference in content.

 

Nicole[/quote']

 

Yes, what Nicole says. Too much fake fur and way too many unwearable wearables.

I'm sorry but I'm not 18 anymore. So, it'd be nice to see some modern wearables made with classy not flashy yarns that a mature but not certainly not old woman could wear. My husband would leave me in a heartbeat if I tried to wear some of those things being offered.

I have to admit, I've been unimpressed since they changed everything and have really been thinking about not renewing my sub. I do however love the graphics. Their layouts and colors are great.

[lhasaapsolady]

As a subscriber I find some things I love in all their issures, but some of the yarn they are picking out for their patterns kinda throw me for a loop. I definitely want to make that skirt and spaghetti strap top, but I will be looking for something that will work up in the guage but won't be so heavy. I also would love to see some bigger patterns that I could make for my oldest sister who works in an office, she just can't wear the same kind of clothes I can.

[eurolyons]

Yes, the editor recently reported in her Talking Crochet newsletter that they are working with designers to add larger pattern sizes, include patterns for men & boys,

 

Yeah, I get the same newsletter!

 

In response to another poster...

 

Hmmm...I don't think that the styles shown are out of style...maybe I'm behind the times...maybe to the cutting edge of fashion they might be behind the times, but if they are, it's by a nano second.

[TX CrochetLover]

This issue was a little weak. Leg warmers- do people still wear those?

[Squarah]

This issue was a little weak. Leg warmers- do people still wear those?

 

They've been coming back in style. I see girls wear them all over my college campus when it gets cooler. It's like a geek chic thing.

[TX CrochetLover]

They've been coming back in style. I see girls wear them all over my college campus when it gets cooler. It's like a geek chic thing.

 

Oh... now I show my ignorance. What is a geek chic?

[Squarah]

Oh... now I show my ignorance. What is a geek chic?

haha, you're not missing out on anything! It's when people wear stuff that is traditionally thought to be geeky, but to be stylish. It's like saying, "I'm so cool that I don't even care if my clothes are geeky; I make it look good." lol For example, I know college kids who wear thick, black glasses frames as a fashion statement. It's really weird. It tends to go hand in hand with certain music genres like emo and indie music.

 

Here's an amusing image that sorta covers what I'm talking about:

http://bieniosek.com/gallery/albums/album36/emo.sized.gif

[knitted_painting]

lol that really is what ppl are doing these days! it used to be just geeky and you'd get beat up for looking like that but now it's "Kool" to wear geeky things! I would have been koolness itself if it was like that when I was still in school!

[Sylviaf]

My college age daughter participates in competitive speech and often wears a suit with hose and heels. Walking across campuses in the winter she has found leg warmers to be useful (she removes them before performing, of course).

[faedragon]

My issue of Crochet finally arrived... been watching the mail ever since this thread started. I love it. I like all the wearables Crochet has been featuring, that's one of the reason's I decided to subscribe to it.I was really tired of finding so few patterns for fashion wear. The tanks are pretty and if the design shows some belly, well it's easy enough to lengthen it so it doesn't show any. Tanks are easy to adjust in the neck line or the armhole. Crochet is showing a nice variety in wearables, along with the obligatory non- wearables. There have alwas been lots of books featureing non wearables, it's so good to see a good magazine that is going the extra distance to show fashion designs.