Those of you who know my knitting tastes know that I love Norah Gaughan. I have knit four of her sweater patterns, another Berroco pattern which was probably overseen by her if not designed by her, and I have another of her patterns on the needles right now. I have loved all put the Pucker sweater which I think was only a failure because I didn’t use the recommended yarn. But today, I disagree with her.
She posted on the Berroco blog today that
Loose sweaters are back. Not only comfortable and cozy, they are great for all figures (REALLY, I mean it)…
I love you, Norah, and I would knit almost anything you designed, but I have to disagree. I like the oversized, loose cardigan look (see the Rill sweater) but oversized pullovers flattering?? I don’t think so.
What I find most frustrating is that Norah herself actually has a similar figure to me but the models are pretty much all model shaped (which I am not). Berroco does have a plus-sized model in their booklets now, which I appreciate but I still think I disagree with the fundamental premise that those sweaters are flattering. Is it just me?
the sheep free knitter 
I am not plus-size – I typically wear a 10-12 – and loose fit pullovers look TERRIBLE on me. I lose all my waist and all my boobs and just look like a lump. They look pretty good on my petite daughter, who is a 6.
Yes, I think losing your waist doesn’t do much for most people!
I tend to agree with your disagreement. Loose sweaters (and boxy sweaters) are my nemeses. The only way they might work is with a belt to give them some kind of shape (if I were able to wear a belt without looking ridiculous. Which I’m not). I don’t even think the sweaters featured on her blog post are flattering to the models.
That grey one at the top really gets me. I’m not convinced it looks great on the model and I’m sure it would look hideous on me!
That grey one is just the one I was thinking of. And that Spenser video…I think the way that one comes down on the sides right at the model’s hips just makes that area look wider than it is.
I wear both fitted and huge sweaters. I need to wear skinny bottoms with big sweaters and the sleeves need to be quite narrow (with is why I get accused of making sleeves too narrow). I am not trying to get everyone to wear only oversized sweaters, but I am trying to get you to have an open mind. When I tried on a few new silhouettes at Eileen Fisher i was very pleasantly surprised. When you are not a size 6 or 8 the proportions can be trickier (as many of your certainly know) and you have to work to get the styling right. BTW The model in the green sweater is imost definitely a size 16. There are a lot of shots of her on the Berroco site and you can see her in motion in the 360 views. She looks best when the sweaters don’t hit her at mid hip because she pear shaped. I wish I could have altered one or two to be perfect for HER shape.
I am trying not to freak out that you replied to my post. 🙂
I do wish we got to see more of the sweaters on you, Norah! I know you wear most of your designs. I have learned that I need to make the sleeves slightly less narrow when I knit your designs. You once posted on Twitter that you liked a slim sleeve but, “knitter, know thyself!” I think that is great advice for not just sleeves but also the rest of the sweater, actually. I will go check her out in more of the sweaters. I was so glad to see her included in your booklets and I do think she looks gorgeous in most of the designs! There are some that I think flatter her figure less and some that flatter her but still wouldn’t flatter my (somewhat-more-plus-sized) figure.