Review Of Knitting Magazine's British Knits Issue

Image courtesy of Knitting magazine

At A Woolly Yarn we love British wool and designers, and it was great to discover that once again Knitting magazine has devoted an entire issue to British knits: Issue 192, April 2019, priced £5.99.

Knitting is aimed at intermediate and higher-skilled knitters, although each issue does have a few patterns suitable for beginners. So what's inside?

Well there are 24 patterns ranging from women's jumpers and cardigans, shawls, children's knits, a man's jumper and some accessories for the home (fancy and egg or tea cosy?)

All of the garment patterns are classic and practical, perhaps with the exception of Kaffe Fassett's Rowan Felted Tweed intarsia sweater in glorious blue and green (picture sadly not available). The range of British yarns featured include Baa Ram Ewe's Dovestone Natural Chunky for a shawl by the magazine's editor, Christine Boggis; Daughter of a Shepherd's Ram Jam for Jane Lithgow's socks; newcomer Walcot Yarns Opus for the Treadworks cardigan by Amanda Jones; Kettle Yarns Co Northiam DK for the Starflare Cowl designed by the company's owner Linda Lencovic; Blacker Yarns Jacob 4 Ply for Jo Allport's Cable Lapel Cardigan, and Wendy Traditional Aran for Pat Menchini's man's gansey.

Erika Knight's British Blue 100 wool is the yarn Emma Wright chose for her Isla cardigan:

Isla image courtesy of Knitting magazine

Says the magazine, "this simply classic design from Sheffield-based Emma Wright shows off this delicious fibre at its best".  I can imagine the jumper would become a stable to wear with jeans.

Being honest there isn't a pattern in the issue that stands out to me as a 'must knit', but I recognise that it's a matter of personal taste and what there already is in your knitwear collection.

For me the strength of the British knits special is in its features. The new section has details or Erika Knight's latest release, Wool Local (we'll be reviewing it on the blog soon), and Kate Davies Ard-Thir.

Wool Local image courtesy of Erika Knight

There's an extract from Kate Davies' book Handywoman, in which she discuses how her life changed after she had a stroke at age 36. Zandra Rhodes looks back over her 50 years in fashion in one feature, whilst another describes how yarn producer Laxtons is championing British wool and spinning.

One stand-out feature is the comprehensive yarn review, which of course this issue features only British yarns. Lesser-known yarns featured include Cat and Sparrow's Sweater Weather DK (a blend of 75% Bluefaced Leicester and 25% Masham), and Mahoodly's 100% Bluefaced Leicester 4 Ply Superwash.

If your local newsagent doesn't stock a copy of the magazine you can buy it online direct from the publisher here.

How does this issue compare with last year's Knitting magazine's British special? Read our 2018 review here.