Bergère de France Magazine 184: A Review

In this post, we're going to have a look at Bergère de France Magazine 184.

Pattern #01, Tunic. This has a very "slapped together out of odds and ends of yarn look", and also makes the model look as though she's wearing the knitted version of a slinky.

Pattern #2, Crop Top. This one's rather cute. The stripes and the wrapped effect give the design some style. But I think I'd lengthen the top, or at least not wear it over something that's so gathered and full at the waist.





Pattern #03, Dress with Halter Back. This pattern surprised me by being a sewing pattern. I'm including it in the interests of completeness, and because I know many of my readers sew, as I do myself. It's not a bad little summer dress. The lines are good and the design is wearable.

Pattern #04, Short-sleeve Polo Shirt. This isn't bad at all. The lines are good. I'd perhaps add some buttons to the neck placket to make it look a little more polished.

Pattern #05, Round-Neck Sweater. Not bad. The asymmetrical cable detail works fairly well, and the shaping is good.

Pattern #06, Crochet Cardigan. This looks like a grocery shopping bag with sleeves.

Pattern #07, Short Sleeve Tunic. This design is uninteresting, and would look pretty frumpy on most women.

Pattern #08, Short Sleeve Sweater. Not bad, though I think it could use a little waist shaping and a more interesting colourway.

Pattern #09, Zipped Jacket. Very wearable and even rather smart.

Pattern #10, Cape-Style Sweater. This is another of those pieces that even a professional model can't quite carry off, which doesn't bode well for the rest of us. Making the waist more fitted would help.

Pattern #11, V-Neck Sweater. This isn't a bad take on the classic men's tennis sweater, though I think it would look better if the main colour were the classic white or ivory rather than Bergère de France's beloved oatmeal.





Pattern #12, Halter Top. A dead simple, classic halter top.

Pattern #13, Blouse with No Collar and 3/4 Sleeves; and Pattern #14, Cable Shorts. Both the sewn blouse pattern and the cable shorts are solidly middle of the road design.

Pattern #15, Wrap Around Dress. I quite like this dress, as the lines are good and the sewn cotton binding gives a nicely finished look, but I would definitely do it in a more interesting colour.

Pattern #16, Mid-Season Dress; and Pattern #23, Mid-Season Denim Dress. Not a bad simple little summer dress. Ordinarily I'd recommend making it a little longer, but that might take the look into sister wife territory, and the denim version in particular is halfway there already.

Pattern #17, V-Neck Sweater with 3/4 Sleeves. This looks like a not-quite-finished project.

Pattern #18, Sleeveless Cable Sweater. I love the off-the-shoulder section of this sweater, but the stitchwork of the bottom section is a little heavy-looking for summer.





Pattern #19, Wide Cardigan. Call me old-fashioned, but I think sweaters should look like sweaters and not like the aftermath of some fishnet mishap.

Pattern #20, Scoop Neck Top. This is very simple but the shaping, the textured yarn, and the rolled neckline and hem give it all the interest it really needs. I'd go with some non-oatmeal-like colour, though.

Pattern #21, Blouse with Peter Pan Collar & 3/4 Sleeves. This is the same blouse as we saw in pattern 13, with an added collar. It's not bad. It does sit a little stiffly, but that's probably because it's made from poplin, which is one of the crisper cotton fabrics. Muslin or voile or a light crepe or silk would sit better.

Pattern #22, Short Cardigan with Long Sleeves. The cropped length of this cardigan gives it an awkward look even on this professional model. I'd definitely recommend lengthening it.

Pattern #24, Lacy Cross Over; and Pattern #25, Pleated Skirt. The cardigan isn't bad on the model, but I question how well the sweater would stay in place. Wrap clothes that do not stay securely wrapped are a worry and a hassle no woman needs added to her day. The skirt isn't bad, but I am beginning to wonder if Bergère de France's sewing pattern design muse is Taylor Swift.

Pattern #26, Tunic with Crocheted Border. I'm inclined to like this, which has the look of vintage lingerie, but I'd think there should be a little more to it if it's meant to be worn out in public as anything other than a beach coverup. I'd make it longer and also finish that hem, possibly with some more crocheted lace.

Pattern #27, Crochet Gilet. This one's a little too "summer on the free love commune" for me.

Pattern #28, Lace Sweater with Wide Sleeves. This has such a frumpy shape. That slim fit skirt would work well with a relaxed fit top, but this one is too oversized.

Pattern #29, Short Sleeve Sweater. The shape isn't great, and I don't see the point of knitting something so very basic and uninteresting.

Pattern #30, Sleeveless V-Neck Sweater. Not bad. The yarn is interesting, the line of garter stitch down the front is effective, and the shape is relaxed but flattering.

Pattern #31, Sleeveless Long Sweater. This has a "slapped together out of an ugly yarn that someone gave me" look.

Pattern #32, Purse #2. As I've said in previous Bergère de France reviews, I think this bag kit that Bergère de France offers has lots of possibilities, but for some reason Bergère de France can't seem to come up with a design for it that isn't horrifically bad. This one looks as though it were made out of a secondhand pair of hobbit trousers.

Pattern #33, Sleeveless Cropped Sweater. Women are not cube-shaped and their clothes shouldn't be either.

Pattern #34, Purse #1. And here we have the counterpart to the bag we saw in pattern #32, by which I mean that the one above was the hobbit trousers and this one is the hobbit suspenders.





Pattern #35, Belt; and Pattern #36, Belt. These belts look as though they were made by children at a summer camp and brought proudly home to their mothers, who received them with good grace and gritted teeth, wore them once (inside the house), and then kept them on their belt racks for a few years until one day the belts silently and mysteriously disappeared.

Pattern #37, Lacy Scarf. This one has an attractive texture and drapes well.

Pattern #38, Scarf. I rather like this one, with its very light texture and subtle contrast. While I might not knit this scarf in these colours, I would pick low contrast shades in an effort to recreate the effect of this one.

Pattern #39, Long Sleeve Cardigan. The yarn is rather pretty, but the designer of this piece really ought to have put some effort in.

Bergère de France 183: A Review Part Deux

We've previously had a look at the first half of the patterns in Bergère de France issue 183, so let's move on to the second half.

Pattern #23, Short Sleeve Sweater -- Soft & Luxurious Version. Frumpy and dumpy.

Pattern #24, Snood. Adding the cowl does help a little, but not enough.

Pattern #25, Dress -- Flecked Check Version. I'm liking the checked effect, and the shaping is quite good, but I think I'd make this item in either a dress or a sweater length rather than as a tunic.

Pattern #26, Dress -- Classic Sparkling Version. This is supposed to be a dress, but it is not a dress. It is, rather, a clear indication that the designer needs to go back to the drawing board and to put in some actual effort next time.

Pattern #27, Sweater-Poncho. If I were editrice of Bergère de France, I'd consign the designer of this one back to the drawing board along with the designer of the previous item.

Pattern #28, Snood. And no, the addition of this cowl would not convince me to let the designer off drawing board duty.

Pattern #29, Poncho. This would look much better on a couch than on a person.

Pattern #30, Sweater. It seems to be one of Bergère de France's pet beliefs that if you throw a lot of random "decorative" crap on a design, you'll distract possible purchasers from the basic faults and limitations of the design. Which in this case is that poorly designed collar.

Pattern #31, Bodywarmer. Come on, Bergère de France, couldn't you have made some effort to shape the front sides of this piece at least a little?

Pattern #32, Beanie; and Pattern #33, Snood. Not a bad-looking hat and cowl set.

Pattern #34, Bag. Bergère de France sells these bag-making kits, and it does look like a very decent product, but they've never come up with a decent design for them yet. This one is... okay, just okay, and certainly better than some of the past horrors Bergère de France has come up with... but the kit deserves so much better. I'd like to see this bag done in a beautiful Fair Isle or cabled design for instance, or maybe something like a houndstooth pattern.

Pattern #35, Bag. Not much of an improvement on the previous design, and that cross-stitching looks crude.

Pattern #36, Hooded Scarf. This is... wearable. I suppose it might appeal to the kind of woman who visits her sick grandmother regularly.

Pattern #37, Hooded Scarf. The same hooded scarf again, this time in taupe. I am not sure why Bergère de France decided that putting a design in a different colour qualified it for its own pattern number and page.

Pattern #38, Cap; and Pattern #39, Scarf. Not a bad-looking hat and scarf set, though I think I would add a fringe to the scarf ends.

Pattern #40, Rug. Rather a nice simple rug, but be warned this is knitted with ten strands of the recommended yarn, which could be a bit of challenge.

Pattern #41, Diamond Patterned Cushion. This isn't bad -- it's even a little effective -- but I still find myself wishing the designer had put a little more effort into it.

Pattern #42, Plain Cushion. This thing is so plain, it's a nonentity. Why on earth would anyone need or want a pattern for something this dead simple?

Pattern #43, Jacquard Cushion. Simple and striking.

Pattern #44, Jacket. This is another piece that the designer apparently slapped together with minimal effort. I have to give Bergère de France credit for styling and photographing it in a way that looks very close to chic, but this jacket would look like a frumpy, droopy, undesigned nothing in actual life.