Too many patterny things

[Vegegrow]

All my clothes are plain, at my age and at a size 14 / 16 I wouldn't ever dare to wear anything patterned 

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I love colour pattern and texture I couldn't be without it

[BrendaP]

I'm another who tends to make more patterny things than plain, but you do need the plains to offset the patterns.

As for slim people not wearing patterns that's rubbish.  If you are slim and short; ie dainty and petite, large scale patterns can overwhelm you, but medium to small patterns are good and vertical stripes will give the illusion of extra height.  Small people can also wear horizontal stripes which are not good if you have ample width to cover.

[Lowena]

I most certainly am not slim. I'm the fattest female in my family / circle of friends   ( hence the detox! ) I was almost half the size I am now before I had children ( size 8 and 7.5stone ) so it's not "natural weight" or "big bones" It really irks me that most jumpers / tops have some sort of stripes on them  in my shape stripes are as big a no-no as patterns.
You know where you are with plain and dark.......boring, yes, but always appropriate and detracts from the body mass 

[Tricia]

You can still find Liberty lawn 'relatively' cheaply, Tricia. Look on eBay. Abakhan sells some at £10pm and  they are due for their winter sale soon. Even Liberty sometimes does a half price sale of their lawn.

Thank you.  I will look out for Abakhan.  I have bought fabric from Ebay and had some bargains on there. 

[sewingj]

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[Tamnymore]

Haha. Good point Sewingj. I have a lovely pure white linen blouse but am afraid to wear it for that very reason! In my experience, certain clothes attract stains. I well remember opening a tin of tomatoes  explosively over my favourite pink Laura Ashley sailor dress 35 years ago and I haven't improved since then! 

[Lowena]

Bleach and I are old adversaries... I keep special clothes for wearing on Friday mornings ( housework time ) they're already bleach streaked to b***ery  I have my bath when I've finished and put "proper " clothes on then to go to Sainsbos.......Friday ritual 

[b15erk]

Hands up here to the curse of the bleach bottle - although OH is worse than me!

I'm also a mucky pup with food splashes - but why does it always have to be oil, or tomato - they never come out....

Jessie

[Tamnymore]

Turmeric! Aaaargh. Never eat a curry unless you are fully covered by a SOCO suit!

[toileandtrouble]

Hands up here to the curse of the bleach bottle - although OH is worse than me!
I'm also a mucky pup with food splashes - but why does it always have to be oil, or tomato - they never come out....
Jessie

I am the woman who got bleach down a flame coloured cord skirt, first time out.  Oil marks I find respond to proper soap and then lots of rinsing, although I always miss one and can't find it when the fabric is wet. What I can't shift are the mysterious black or rusty marks that come from drying on the line - not the line or pegs, probably passing birds/insects.
Did anyone mention toothpaste?  Always brush before you dress!

Sucker for pretty patterns too, (although dresses and blouses are OK with plain jacket/cardigan). Dirty marks will always find the plain spot on the pattern.

[Catllar]

Totally understand....

It's always more fun to buy/make patterny things.  Plain things, although eminently useful, can be terribly boring.

I found that out recently when I made black and white trousers, but had difficulty finding a plain black or white top to go with them.

Jessie

Snap - I made a pair of Sabrina Slims in a lovely black and white patterned ponte but how many plain tops do I posess? Not enough!

[Catllar]

I have to wear patterns - I am incredibly messy and guaranteed to spill something down me at some point during the day - all of my plain clothes have stains down them - often tomato based (and I shouldn`t be allowed near a bottle of bleach)

Lovely blue ponte dress - first time on, oil splat! Will it come out? course not. grrrr

[Francesca]

Small people can also wear horizontal stripes which are not good if you have ample width to cover.

Personally I look good in stripes, despite my size. QI did a piece on it: http://qi.com/infocloud/stripes

Vertical stripes are not more slimming than horizontal ones, despite thousands of entries on Google suggesting they are. According to research by Dr Peter Thompson at the University of York, stripes that run across the body are more slimming than vertical ones. A survey asking people to compare over 200 pictures of women wearing horizontally and vertically striped dresses showed that when the two women were the same size, the one wearing the horizontal-striped dress appeared to be the thinner of the two. In fact, to make the women appear to be the same size, the one wearing the horizontal stripes had to be 6% wider.
 
Dr Thompson's work vindicated some conventional wisdom, though: black does make you look slimmer, as do dark side panels on dresses.
 
In the Middle Ages, horizontal stripes were associated with prostitutes, clowns and other social outcasts. European aristocrats took a liking to them in the 17th and 18th centuries, when striped silks were imported from Asia. But in the 1800s, they began showing up on prison uniforms. While the bars made it easier to spot escapees in a crowd, they also were intended as psychological punishment. 'It was generally regarded as a means by which to humiliate prisoners,' says Tom McCarthy, general secretary of the New York Correction History Society. When Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, reintroduced striped uniforms in 1997, female inmates begged him to make the bars vertical so they wouldn't look fat. He said, 'I told them I am an equal-opportunity incarcerator – the men have horizontal stripes, and so will the women.'

[Lowena]

I went looking for long tops yesterday. I couldn't get past the fact that all patterned stuff ( especially stripes ) make a big person like me ( size 16 to be comfy ) look like a sofa, especially if they are long ( I like long tops and OH says shorter tops  look "bulky" )
You dressmakers should be able to help me here.... would small, allover patterns be better or a bolder design? Almost all my tops are black, dark blue, plum or grey.......and plain.

[Bodgeitandscarper]

Lowena. I'm a whole 4 sizes bigger than you and I wear lots of patterned long tops.  I think it's about the proportions of the top, I think a fitted bust then loose below is the key, it shows the (for me) slimmest bit ie bust and shoulders, then hides the rest.  Also for me,making sure it's longer than than it is wide is a key point.
I have small and large patterned fabric, I think it depends on the colour of the background to a large extent, I do love large pattern on a dark/black background best.

Don't we all have odd ideas of ourselves, you're not big - I'd love to be as slim as a size 16!