Bergère de France 178: A Review

Bergère de France has released issue 178 of its magazine. Let's have a look at it.

Pattern 1, Sleeveless Dress. Rather a nice simple summer dress. I'd go with a more interesting yarn choice.

Pattern 2, Round-Neck Jacquard Sweater. Wearable and attractive. As a crafter, I can't help liking the stitch-like stripes.

Pattern 3, Cardigan. As unadorned as it gets, but the very pretty crocheted texture is all this item needs, and also provides great edging.

Pattern 4, Short-Sleeve Sweater. Good shape and lovely texture.

Pattern 5, Short Strappy Top. Bergère de France seems to have had the stereotypical French girl figure in mind when they put this issue together. However, this isn't a bad top for someone who has the confidence to wear it, and if it's being made for a woman who doesn't care to show off her midriff, it can always be lengthened.

Pattern 6, Cardigan. Pretty, but I would lengthen this and add waist shaping.

Pattern 7, V-Neck Short Sleeve Sweater. Very basic but useful enough. I'd decrease the height of the ribbing at the cuff and waist, as I don't think it's doing anything for the design, and I'd add waist shaping.

Pattern 8, Double-Breasted Jacket. Not liking this one. It just looks kind of sad and frumpy, and won't look good worn open, which is limiting.

Pattern 9, Short Sleeved Sweater. Shapeless and bulky.

Pattern 10, Round Neck Sweater. I feel like I've seen this one before, but then that's menswear design for you. Even the strikingly effective stuff has at most some slightly original twist on the norm. Anyway, it is a perfectly acceptable and wearable design which most men would be happy to wear.

Pattern 11, Strappy Dress. Not a bad dress. I appreciate the solid bodice, which gives one a little more coverage in the area it is most needed. I'd like to see it in an interesting colour.

Pattern 12, Eyelet Cable Cardigan. Classic cardigan.

Pattern 13, Short Sleeve Openwork Sweater. Pretty texture, but the shape is a little squarish. I'd add waist shaping and shorten the sleeves by a few inches.

Pattern 14, Loose Boat-Neck Sweater. The next time I am having trouble sleeping, I am going to go online, pull up this review, and look at the picture of this sweater.

Pattern 15, Round-Neck Openwork Cardigan. Pretty summer cardigan with lovely texture and good lines. I'm also loving the way it's been styled here. Bleached greens and blues seem like such a great combination for summer.

Pattern 16, V-Neck Cardigan. Very basic men's cardigan. I'd want to do this in an interesting yarn to give it a bit more life.

Pattern 17, Short-Sleeved Sweater. The whole point of this design seems to be that it is a vehicle for this metallic yarn, but I don't think the yarn's all that and would go with a pattern that had some interest and better lines.

Pattern 18, Strappy Top. Kind of cute, but the combination of the waist ribbing and the stripes at the bottom seem to be a bit much for such a skimpy little item. I think I'd nix one of those design elements.

Pattern 19, Square-Neck Short-Sleeve Sweater. Not a bad simple top, but I would definitely go with a different yarn for it. I don't think I'll ever get the French aesthetic's affinity for oatmeal shades, and this attempt on their part to liven the oatmeal with tutti-frutti speckles seems even more inexplicable.

Pattern 20, Strappy Top with Removable Sleeves. Cute tank top. I think the kindest thing I can do for the matching arm warmers is try to forget they're in this photo. Even 1980s designers knew better than to try to get us to wear armwarmers.

Pattern 21, Asymmetric Top. This crocheted top isn't a bad design at all, but it's not all that wearable for most of us non-Rihanna types.

Pattern 22, Short-Sleeve Sweater with Openwork Detail. This top would be decent if made to fit in non-retina-searing colours, but I suppose the idea was to come up with something that would balance out those pants. Um. All I can say is.... the model's sandals are cute and deserved a better fate than this.

Pattern 23, Red Cushion. Surely even the newest of beginning knitters wouldn't need this "pattern". Bergère de France, you don't have to go to such lengths to fill out your magazine. No one would have minded if this issue had 28 patterns in it rather than 29. Not even me. Really.





Pattern 24, V-Back Sweater with Chain Detail. Arghh. I believe this is what's known as a "180-degree fug", otherwise known as "what appeared to be a perfectly presentable design when looked at from the front turns out to be a horror when viewed from the back". This back detail presents itself as necklaces about to take a suicidal plunge under the gaze of a pair of indecently voyeuristic elbows.

Pattern 25, Openwork Poncho. Shapeless and dowdy and in an ugly shade.

Pattern 26, Openwork Top with Double Straps. Not a bad little summer top.

Pattern 27, Three-Quarter Sleeve Openwork Sweater. Frumpy and shapeless. Though I do LOVE this yarn. It needs to run away with the metallic sandals worn with Pattern 22 so that they can begin a wonderful new life together on their own terms.

Pattern 28, Openwork Dress. I actually don't mind this one, though I can't help but think if it were done in gun metal gray the wearer would like an escaped extra from some very low-budget medieval action movie. And it's definitely a dress that requires an underlayer.






Pattern 29, Top with Chain Straps. Here we have another use of incorporated chain, but this time the chains look reasonably contented with their lot in life. I do rather like this shoulder chain concept (the matching gold buttons really make it work), but think the shaping of the top could use work. I'd make it more fitted and with a high armhole. One doesn't always want to wear an under layer in summer.