When it comes to wearing stripes, people often have strong opinions. I’ve ventured into this territory before and been met with mixed results. Still, I believe in Rayures, the horizontal striped piece I designed in Ultra Alpaca a few years back. Perhaps it was a bold move to photograph it on a bust size 14 model, but that was the point. I wanted to design a striped sweater that I could wear too.
Check out the alternate colorways picked for their low contrast, which I find to be more flattering. This pattern could easily be knit for summer in Berroco Fuji or Weekend, just replace the big cowl neck with and inch of k2/p2 rib.
Stripes are a really strong trend for summer these days. So strong that it’s hard to ignore. To address this, Amanda and I designed an entire book with stripes as the theme.
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Blackstrake, another striped pullover, is included in that booklet. I think a lot of folks can enjoy wearing if they keep the color contrast low. During one of my yarn shop visits someone suggested striping only the yoke portion and leaving out the bigger stripes for a fuller figured woman. If you’re still not comfortable sporting this many horizontal stripes in a pullover, we’ve worked out several ways to get stripes into your wardrobe in a more subtle way.
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Try a striped cowl or scarf:
How do you feel about striped knitting patterns and wearing stripes?
– Norah
My feelings about stripes – I once wore a horizontally-striped dress to work (back when I was still a tiny sylph of a size 4 – those were the days!). A male co-worker “complimented” me by saying, “That dress should make you look fatter than you already are, but it doesn’t.” I haven’t worn stripes since then, and I’m certainly not going to start now when I’m a size in the double digits. Go for it ladies. I won’t be joining you.
Too bad some people are just jerks, or clueless,but that’s reality. Once a really nice, truly well meaning guy, told my best friend “I know it’s only an optical illusion, but those jeans make you look thin”. 🙂
I actually think horizontal stripes look good on everyone! It’s a myth that they widen the figure. I often get compliments when I wear stripes and I’ve at a (US) 14 bust size or larger for at least a decade. I love stripes and wear them all the time! (Well, not my trousers–but I’d wear a striped dress if I could find one I liked.)
Thanks for telling your story!
I personally really like stripes. I am not a small woman – a size 16 or 18 – and my feelings about it are that since I am not a thin person, I probably won’t look thin regardless of what I wear, so why not wear what I love? And if someone out there thinks I shouldn’t wear them … well, too bad!!
I really love the color combinations you have put together in this article as well as the Rayures sweater. Both are really lovely! 🙂
I love your attitude! (..and thanks for the kind words)
I have just bought a stripe cotton tee for the summer, I am a UK size 16. As for all the nay sayers… let them eat cake! Love your stripey patterns.
Jay