Ket, oooh thanks for this info about fair isle! No statement is to nitpicky for me, I am here for ALL the details! I appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge. As for why I am researching it -- I love wearing fair isle patterns, so I just want to know more about how they work. I am interested in handcraft traditions in general and the deep and often technical knowledge that frequently underlies female-coded work. I find even more joy in the wearing when I know some of the background! Plus, I have been wondering whether some of the aesthetic principles behind fair isle could be applied to other aspects of dressing (e.g., putting together color palettes in an outfit, that kind of thing), so that's something I'm noodling on as well. I do have a book by Alice Starmore on my wishlist, and I'll look up those other two designers as well!

Suz how warm or cool is the background color of that sweater you have? Asking for a thrifter who has occasionally spotted one on Ebay...

Sounds like you are well on your way to creating a unique beauty, Ket!

Feel free to start a thread on yoked sweaters

It looks more Winter than DA to me, and not sold on the length in combo with the strong horizontal of the pattern- even without the other stripes added.
To me DA would be more of a sweater with a blended color yarn like these

https://www.etsy.com/listing/9.....-yarn-100g

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1.....-lace-sock

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1.....n-handdyed

SarahD8, so amazing you're looking into it!! Most just don't do that when it comes to the textiles they wear. So I just love that you're doing this! I believe Alice Starmore goes into some history about Fair Isle in her books. The other designers I mentioned don't really go into history and detail? But really neat to study their designs for some different takes on things. Kate Davies has some lovely essays etc on her blog and in her books, more on knitting in general. But again, lovely imo.

suntiger, the photo sample is definitely Winter palette! I have ordered colors that are mostly DA, however -- to hopefully compensate. I might even switch out the cream background for a muted mid-tone green, just to knock down some of the contrast levels. That switch would definitely make the sweater look more like the yarn samples you sent me. (I hope!)

Sarah, I'd call the colour winter white. Not optic white and a bit cooler than ivory and definitely cooler than cream. It's hard to show because of course whenever I wear it, it's the depths of winter so to photograph it I have to turn on some artificial light. But I got it in 2018 and this is a photo from then.

Suz, I love that sweater! I’m dipping my toe back into turtlenecks after hating them for years (I think peri/menopause had a lot to do with that). But I’m being careful to choose lightweight fabrications. The fit of that on you is so perfect and what I aspire to…just a little more challenging on my body type though. So many things are too baggy in the body or in the shoulders on me if they fit across the chest. And sweaters are not so easy to tailor as woven shirts! A good bit of drape and ease helps me a lot, but it’s hard to find that in fair isle styles, which explains why I have found them so hard.

I think that would look great on a curvy body, even with horizontal stripes. Sometimes it's about embracing the curves.

Ket thanks again for sharing that info about other fair isle sources. I am doing some christmas shopping online today and wouldn't you know it, Alice Starmore's book hopped into my cart. Oops! How did that happen??

Suz thank you so much for this information! Winter white is my preferred white (and I know that we are similarly cool-toned, so if it works for you...). I will keep an eye out for it in my thrifting peregrinations!

Carol, thank you for sharing that beautiful reminder ♥