A Lover of Stripes

If you sew, you know that you can do a lot with stripes.  They can go every which way, making all kinds of interesting patterns.  I’m not sure that the dress on the left is homemade, but the wearer is certainly a lover of stripes.  They go in all different directions on her dress—horizontally, vertically, in chevrons.  There is no pattern piece that doesn’t have its own distinct trajectory. 

The dress on the right is obviously much tamer, but if you look carefully you will see the fabric is a zigzag.  A well patterned pair!

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2 Responses to A Lover of Stripes

  1. Susa says:

    I do love the things one can do with striped fabric. I also noticed the contrast between the soft, overtly feminine dress on the right and the bold, angular, sporty dress on the left. A great example of the variety and self expression possible even within a very distinctive period. And a lesson in character expressed through costume. What a find!

  2. JS says:

    I love what stripes can do — in theory. Unfortunately, they can highlight one’s figure in a way that is not flattering and I may be beyond the age of adventurous stripes. I’ve avoided them in sewing because of the challenges of matching them.

    In a continuing ed course, a pattern making teacher showed us a series of a 1/4 scale patterns that had been done up in stripes. The point was to show the effect of grainline.

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