Le Wooling Special Issue 2 Fileco: A Review

Next in my "catching up on the Bergère de France reviews" effort is Le Wooling Special Issue 2, an issue with patterns designed especially for Fileco yarn. Let's have a look at it.

Pattern #01, Cape. Love the stripes and the colourway, but the lines of this cape have an awkward, bulky look.

Pattern #03, Round Neck Openwork Sweater. I am relieved to say without qualification or sarcasm that this is a nice piece.

Pattern #3, High Neck Jacket. This young woman appears to be so deeply into French existentialist philosophy that she has cast any and all notions of French chic to the winds. That is one shapeless, baggy jacket (with mismatched bottom front edges), and the styling is awful.

Pattern #04, Cardigan. This might have been a good piece if the designer had kept working on it until the design was complete, but as it is, the collar and the front opening are all askew and the edges are unfinished.

Pattern #05, High Neck Cardigan. This isn't so bad, but it isn't great either. The bottom edges have the mismatched length issue we saw in Pattern #03, and I have my concerns about how that collar is going to look when worn open -- and a child won't want to wear it done up all of the time.

Pattern #06, Poncho. Bergère de France really needs to consider hiring some designers who know how to design and/or aren't too lazy to put in the effort to create an actual design.

Pattern #07, V Neck Sweater. If you want a plain v-neck sweater pattern, there's probably a free one on Ravelry that doesn't feature dropped shoulders.

Pattern #08, High Neck Cable Sweater. Pas mal! I'm really liking the diagonal cable effect in the sleeves and on the side panels.

Pattern #09, Baby Sleeping Bag. There was not much more effort put into this one than there was put into the baby poncho "design".

Pattern #10, Striped Sweater. This is quite simple, but it's certainly attractive and wearable. Care has been taken in the details (i.e., picking an effective colour combination, matching the buttons to the contrast colour, matching the stripes on the arms to the body stripes), and it shows.

Cast On Summer 2017: A Review

Cast On has released their Summer 2017 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

Baby Fingers Blanket. An attractive and usable baby blanket, but the name of this item does give me a slight case of the heebie jeebies.

Disrupt. Lovely scarf. It's reversible too.

Dropped Petals Crescent Shawl. Some very attractive stitchwork in this.

Fairlane Tee. Interesting piece with a contemporary feel.

Fan Lace Cowl. Beautiful.

Fibonacci Fun Shawlette. I'm not too taken with this one, probably because it strikes me as unfinished-looking. I think it needs an edging of some sort.

Marled Boxy Top. Unflattering and boring.





Pataya. Flattering and pretty. The side detailing is a nice touch.

Quatrefoil Shawl. Exquisite.

Scandinavian Candle Coat (left) and Shetland Candle Coat (right). These are pretty, but the idea of putting any sort of knitted shades on candles (or even other light sources, such as electric lamps) makes me nervous. I've heard a story of an unattended candle -- that was on a ceramic dish -- setting fire first to the table on which it sat, and subsequently the wall the table stood against, and knitted items are surely more flammable than wooden tables and drywall. If you are going to put knitted shades on your candle holders, please be absolutely sure never to leave the candle unattended for any length of time.

Spring at Last. Nice socks.





Swarm of Wasps Top and Swarm of Wasps Skirt. I very much like this ensemble, which has a certain "retro gone modern" vibe, as though a classic thirties knitwear pattern had been revamped to give it a contemporary edge. Though I do have reservations about the fact that this pattern calls for worsted yarn. I'd adjust the pattern and knit it in a fingering weight.

Upper Yosemite Fall Shawl. Fabulous lacework.

Waterfall Cardigan. This looks quite good here, as the shaping is good, the lace is pretty, and the yarn drapes well, but I do have my suspicions regarding how well this cardigan will sit and remain in place on an actual woman in real life.

Pom Pom Quarterly Summer 2017: A Review

Today we're going to have a look at the Summer 2017 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly.

Sevilla. A lovely stole. The lacework is beautiful.

Bash. Cute cap. The combination of chevrons and three colours (two similar and one accent) work really well together.

Soiree. The side cables and other stitchwork in this pullover are attractive, but the baggy, boxy shape of it isn't.

Shindig. Nice little wrap. I'm liking the combination of the stripes and lace and the green and cream colourway, which give it a fun, summery feel.

Boum. This is a rather smart little striped top. I like that the designer went the extra step of adding a line of colour to the neckline. However, this piece did deserve better than to be paired with a pair of droopy-bottomed track pants.

Bon Bon. These mitts are nicely worked out -- the twisted rib both works nicely with the cables on the back and will also give the mitts a useful elasticity -- but that pom pom on the back would drive me a bit nuts. Of course, it's easily left off.

Festoon. These socks are so handsome and classic I could almost believe they co-starred with Leslie Howard in some 1930s movie.

Anniversaire. An attractive and very wearable piece that will give its wearer years of good service.

Ceilidh. Another piece with some attractive stitchwork but unflattering shaping.

Hoopla. A fun cap.

Jamboree. Oh dear. This crocheted pullover might have worked if it were done in attractive colours and the fit was neatened up a bit, but as it is it has too much working against it.

Sparklers. Another nice cap, and as a bonus it's reversible.

Knees Up. I'm rather taken by the concept of a high-contrast sock stockinette foot and ribbed leg, but the slouchy fit on the ankle isn't doing it for me. I did my time in the slouchy sock department back in the eighties and don't care to repeat the experience.

Rave. An attractive wrap. I like the garter and cable combination.

Zazie. Nice work! The zig zag pattern has a tendency to look either too afghan-y or too Charlie Brown, but this designer has very cleverly set the look at a remove from these associations by adding an interesting blending effect to the zig zag.

Fête. Good shaping and an interesting neckline.

Le Wooling Special Issue Filomeche: A Review

Today's review is the next in my "catch up on my Bergère de France reviews" effort. This time we're looking at le Wooling Special Issue Filomeche.

Pattern #1, Cable Knit Jacket. This is quite a nice piece that sits well, especially in the collar area.

Shawl Collar Jacket. Not impressed with this one, and I have my suspicions about how those toggles look when fastened.

Pattern #3, Round-Neck Sweater. Wearable but nothing special, and the shoulders are slightly dropped, so I'd look for something better rather than bother to fix it.

Pattern #04, Sweater with Fair Isle Yoke. Now this is something more like it. That's an eye-catching, attractively worked-out yoke, and the shaping is good.

Pattern #05, High Neck Sweater. Holy crap, is that unflattering. You could improve it by fixing the dropped shoulders and not putting it over a gathered skirt, but why bother.

Pattern #06, Cape Cardigan. I think the model's face speaks for all of us.

Pattern #07, Short Cardigan. Here the model is all, "Mon dieu, you put me in this ill-shaped disaster of a cardigan with a ridiculous attempt at embroidery on the shoulders and a pair of pleated trousers where the fly gaps open? N'importe quoi!"

Pattern #08, High Neck Cable Stitch Sweater. This isn't bad at all -- though I would fix those dropped shoulders -- but the model is clearly done with this photoshoot and counting the minutes until she can slip back into her skinny jeans, white t-shirt, perfectly tied silk scarf, and black leather jacket, and depart the Bergère de France offices with a subtle yet unmistakable air of Gallic disdain.

Pattern #9, Round Neck Raglan Sleeve Sweater. Basic. You could probably find a better version of this pattern on Ravelry for free.

Pattern #10, Hooded Jacket. This jacket is just sad, and it would only get worse as it stretched out with wear.