Friday 17 June 2016

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.

Monday 6 June 2016

Bergère de France 183: A Review Part Un


Bergère de France 183, which is a fall/winter collection, contains 44 patterns, so I'm going to split its review into two parts. Let's get started on the first half of the review, shall we?





Pattern #1, Roll Neck Sweater, Multicolour Version. It's hard to go wrong with a classic turtleneck, and I do like the yarn choice. I'd add waist shaping to this one.





Pattern #2, Roll-Neck Sweater, Classic Version. The same sweater in a solid. The waist shaping comment still applies.





Pattern #3, Roll Neck Sweater, Soft & Fluffy Version. Bergère de France is really getting their money's worth out of this pattern. I will say that the three variants are a good illustration of what different yarn choices can do for a pattern.





Pattern #4, Raglan Sweater, Multicolour Flecked Version. Effective and attractive use of colour blocking, and good shaping.





Pattern #5, Raglan sweater, Flecked Version. Absent the colour blocking, this isn't a very interesting sweater. Which is probably why Bergère de France has seen fit to pair it with jaguar shorts.





Pattern #6, Raglan Sweater, Classic 100% Wool Version. Another very plain version of the crewneck. This time the look is jazzed up with a pair of gold oxfords instead of with jaguar shorts. I can't deny that it was a better choice, if still not exactly a good one.





Pattern #7, Shawl Neck Sweater, Flecked Version. Classic shawl neck sweater for men that's freshened up a little by the use of toggles and the yarn choice.





Pattern #8, Button neck sweater, soft classic version. The same sweater as the previous one done in gray and with buttons instead of toggle fastenings. It's a nice variation.





Pattern #9, Jacket, long bouclé version. This looks like the kind of frumpy shapeless sweater one might have seen in an early nineties-era Canadian BiWay, along with remaindered books, discounted household items, and seedy middle-aged men buying satin boxers with gold lip prints on them. In other words, it's the furthest thing from chic.





Pattern #10, Jacket, Classic Version. Perhaps the previous version wasn't quite the furthest thing from chic, because the fastening on this one has made the design look significantly worse. When even a professional model like this one looks dumpy and frumpy in a pattern sample, it's best for the rest of us to steer clear.





Pattern #11, Crossover Cardigan, Soft Classic Version. So frumpy and badly shaped. Those buttons are too low down -- almost as though they're trying to make a run for it.





Pattern #12, Crossover Cardigan, Self-Patterning Yarn Version. Not an improvement. A good yarn choice can elevate a plain pattern, but it can't salvage a bad pattern.





Pattern #13, Jacket, Self-Patterning Yarn with Buttons Version. Nice simple pattern with a yarn choice that really works. I'm admiring the off-set stripe effect where the two sides of the front meet.





Pattern #14, Jacket, Classic Version with Zip. This is a very simple style but the lines are so good that it manages to look quite sharp.





Pattern #15, Jacket, Classic Version with Fasteners. Don't care too much for this one. It's too bland and the toggles aren't adding anything to the look.





Pattern #16, V-Neck Sweater, Flecked Version. Bland and frumpy. Even a simple v-neck sweater needs a little something to give it interest, such as flattering shaping and either a little detail or an attractive yarn choice.





Pattern #17, V-Neck Sweater, Recycled Cotton Version. The lines of this are pretty good on the whole but it does need waist shaping and any colour that isn't oatmeal.





Pattern #18, V-Neck Sweater, Light & Delicate Version. See what I mean? Any non-oatmeal colour will make a different thing of this sweater.





Pattern #19, Short Sleeve Sweater, Light & Delicate Version. Even a deconstructed piece like this needs a little more style and flattery than this one has.





Pattern #20, Snood. Turns out the collar of the last pattern was a snood that was knitted separately. I can't say that's an improvement on what I thought the construction was.





Pattern #21, Short Sleeve Sweater, Sparkling Version. Nicely shaped simple top.





Pattern #22, Snood. Honestly, these snoods look like some unfinished piece of something that the designer fastened together at the ends and slung randomly around the model's neck because she was working to deadline.

Wednesday 1 June 2016

He Who Has Many Eyes and other knitting fables


Ewan loved the new ski mask he'd made so much that he wore it everywhere, until the day he wore it into a bank and everyone overreacted. He didn't understand what the fuss was about. As he later disgustedly told his cellmate in holding, sure he'd had a ski mask on and a shotgun in his hand, but as everyone knew, Colorado was both a great place to ski and an open carry state.





During the subsequent trial Ewan got a lot of social media support from many fellow ski mask lovers, which he really appreciated, but also some less welcome overtures from other mask devotees, such as the guy who referred to himself He Who Has Many Eyes. But then, Ewan reflected, when you become a public figure during a fight for justice, there were bound to be some freaks coming out of the woodwork who didn't really understand the cause.





After the trial, Ewan yielded a point and quit wearing his ski masks into banks, liquor and convenience stores, and the like, but he insisted that his two sons continue to wear their sweater and ski mask sets to school. They'd never learn rugged individualism any younger.





Far from being embarrassed by the onset of puberty, Imogene not only embraced and broadcast it but continued to do so long after she was past adolescence.





A serious yardage miscalculation and reckless overuse of yarn at the beginning end of her project led Shea to run out of yarn long before her dress was finished, but she felt that, with the addition of a crocheted modesty panel made from the leftover scraps, the old window sheer she'd had lying around did very nicely for the skirt.





Kesia loved her new meditation suit. The hip pads helped her to sit upright and the detail over her navel area helped her remember to focus her energy on her hara.





Leonora took the next step in her quest to simplify her life when she did away with backpacks by beginning to knit backpacks into all her sweaters. Her next task, she decided, would be to figure out how to do without shoes.





Nyssa wasn't about to compromise her sense of style by wearing knitted caps in cold weather. Wearing knitted wigs with coordinated lipstick was just as warm and much more distingueée.





After his 325th viewing of A Clockwork Orange, Denny put together a Halloween costume to pay tribute to his favourite movie. His friends told him it was very Bauhaus, then directed him into the women's washroom just to be jerks.





Eulalie's new line of gravewear-inspired lingerie didn't seem to be taking off.