Pattern Review: Wool People 3

Wah!  Another Wool People is out, and once again I'm in love.  This time, it's slightly unexpected, though - where usually I go for the accessories, I am in mad desperate love with the sweaters in this collection.  Here are my highlights:

Brecken, by Amy Christoffers

I want this cardigan in my sweater drawer.  Right.  Now.  It's easy, but has a little bit of detail.  Not too fitted, not too loose.  Would go perfectly with jeans and a t-shirt, or over a dress as it's styled here.  Love love love love love.

Corrina, by Ann McCauley

I have a little grey pullover that I bought for about five dollars a few years ago, and last winter I wore the crap out of it.  Corrina reminds me of that sweater, but even better - I love the lattice pattern at the hems and the hint of a v-neck on a slightly wide crew neck.  I don't usually like crew necks, but having that little detail at the neckline makes it wearable and pretty.  It's also a slight A-line, which I tend to like as a silhouette.

Reine, by Alexis Winslow

Another frigging adorable cardigan.  This one is a little sweeter than the first, with the cabled button band and pocket opening that give it a soft, vintage feel.  I've also been favoring this type of sweater lately, with a nearly straight front neckline.  I've found this type of piece is easy to layer, because I don't have a v-neck or crew neck interfering with the neckline of the shirt underneath it.

Biston, by Mercedes Tasovich-Clark

Another good layering piece.  I think this would be a great little shrug to throw over a sundress on a cool summer night, and I like that they styled it that way.  

Walpole, by Hannah Fettig

I adore the silhouette of this sweater.  Unfortunately, I have to give it only an honorable mention in terms of wearability for me, but only because it has a raglan sleeve, and I can't wear raglans.  Otherwise I think this sweater is very flattering - I like the vertical detail at the front, it really draws the eye up to the face.

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As an aside: I realized a while ago that I can't wear raglans and didn't know why, and I finally asked the head of my school what would make them a bad fit for my body type.  She stood me up, took one look at me, and told me that my shoulders are narrow and rounded, and raglans emphasize that.  Who knew??  For some reason, I always thought that my shoulders were wide, but I realize now that every time I do a fashion illustration I tend to make my croquis' shoulders narrower because I'm used to my own proportions.  Fashion school has been awesome for learning how to be honest about my own body without value judgements, to fit the body that I have instead of holding out for the body I could have if my genetics were different or if I worked out three hours a day.

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Anyhow!  Overall, I loved this issue of Wool People.  I really like that they've started designing sweaters out of Loft, the fingering weight sister yarn to Shelter, because I find that I really enjoy both knitting and wearing lighter-weight garments.

There's also a new feature in the back that makes the design nerd in me sing: flat sketches.  A flat sketch is a technical diagram of the important construction details in a garment - raglan sleeve versus set in, waist shaping versus a-line, etcetera - and outside of school, I've most often seen them on the backs of sewing pattern packets.  Most (maybe all?) of Brooklyn Tweed's patterns have these flat sketches, but this is the first time that they've been included as part of the lookbook.  I find that tremendously helpful when planning a garment.

Apparently I will never tire of the Wool People series, because I'm perhaps even more enamored of this one than issues past - which is saying something!  Go team Brooklyn Tweed!

All photographs are copyright Brooklyn Tweed 2012.