Review Knipmode April 2018

Spoiler alert! We all know pattern magazines can be hit or miss. This month's Knipmode is so boring, I completely forgot to post a review. So please skip this if you've got better things to do, like sewing a pretty pattern!

Pattern overview Knipmode 4/2018

The first thing you'll notice is that the patterns don't look very seasonal appropriate. So much so that the thought occurred to me that this was a bunch of leftover patterns of any sort. We may not have the warmest of climates, but we're certainly looking forward to catching some rays of sunshine in April and we're all hoping for glorious weather on King's Day!

The fabrics and (lack of) colours add to the autumnal vibe. (Maybe the text editor missed the briefing as the text on the cover mentions "Ready for colour')


The second thing that caught my eye were the slapdash designs with heavy leaning on elastics and drawstrings for adding shape to simple rectangles.

Or how about these skirts?

Maybe the design budget was tight. Someone clever got really creative by merging jacket 13 and pants 12 into a jumpsuit. Check, another pattern done!

1 + 1 = ?

Oi, maybe the budget for sample sewing was a little tight as well!
I double checked the technical drawing to see if the wavy hem was part of the design, but nope.

It will come as no surprise that this issue was not received very well by the readers. When subscribers showed their disappointment on social media Knipmode's staff replied by asking which specific garment would make the complainers happy. I don't think it's as simple as that. When I speak for myself I can really enjoy a magazine that doesn't offer a pattern I want to make, as long as I can look at interesting seam lines, pretty details or beautiful fabrics. For me this issue fails on all aspects.

In an attempt to end at a positive note I tried to give the cover dress the benefit of the doubt.

On closer look I find this dress lacks refinement. Is it the front curve of the collar that looks off? The sleeves? The odd spacing of the buttons? Nice idea, clunky execution.
I've made a Knipmode jacket with a similar collar in 1990. It had two tiny release pleats in the collar, just above the top button, giving the front neckline a subtle curve. How I would love to see that focus on detail return!

So, no. This issue isn't for me. Fingers crossed for a better one in May because I really want to get started on sewing my spring collection!

Disclaimer (just in case anyone thinks I was sponsored to write this review ;))
This post contains no affiliate links, I paid for my copy of Knipmode and all opinions are my own.