Quote Originally Posted by Cawdorian
The prices are very good. Does the XXL size given as 46" run smaller than the US XXL? I was looking for a reasonably priced navy blue Aran or cable knit pullover, but I haven't found it yet.

Dark colours don't show up the Aran type stitches in the same way that the natural bainin wool does - and its the very whatsit to knit too.

I have done a few ganseys with worsted spun navy blue but only in the summer and working outside as it is almost impossible to see the stitches under artificial lighting. You might be rather dissapointed with a navy blue Aran.

Come to think of it I had one once - given to me for that very reason - plus a mistake in the twisting which was, of course, entirely unnoticable. That must have been in 1969.

Rumour has it that the Aran stitches were all made up by one man who wanted some jerseys made to sell on - they would naturally sell a lot better if they had a bit if romance about them - but the idea that the patterns were connected to particular families would have delighted him. He probably didn't think of it as Irish 'clans' hadn't been thought of either.

I know that the women's sizes in the UK and the US are different - a size 16 in the US is an 18 in the UK - something one of my aunts who worked in a clothes shop in York said she recited 50 times a day and the tourists still would not buy their correct size, sometimes even after trying on the clothes.

It might be advisable to enquire what the actual size of the garment is, rather than rely on sizing, which can be a matter of opinion.