★ The text that draws stripes on this pattern is an extract from the novel "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale ", written by Herman Melville in 1851. We’ve chosen the end of the chapter I “Loomings”: “ Chief among these motives was the overwhelming idea of the great whale himself. Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity. Then the wild and distant seas where he rolled his island bulk; the undeliverable, nameless perils of the whale; these, with all the attending marvels of a thousand Patagonian sights and sounds, helped to sway me to my wish. With other men, perhaps, such things would not have been inducements; but as for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts. Not ignoring what is good, I am quick to perceive a horror, and could still be social with it—would they let me—since it is but well to be on friendly terms with all the inmates of the place one lodges in. By reason of these things, then, the whaling voyage was welcome; the great flood-gates of the wonder-world swung open, and in the wild conceits that swayed me to my purpose, two and two there floated into my inmost soul, endless processions of the whale, and, mid most of them all, one grand hooded phantom, like a snow hill in the air.” ★ Breton stripes are the typical pattern of the French “Marinière”. This cotton long-armed shirt with horizontal stripes was originally worn by seamen in the French Navy. It becomes fashionable with the vogue of sea bathing in France at the end of the 19th century and this trend spreads to all European beach resorts at the beginning of the 20th century. Continuously reinvented by Haute Couture designers, the Marinière has happened to be iconic of the “French Style” … and has even became its stereotype ;) ★ The design is based on the traditional striped pattern of the French Navy : the stripes are each 10 millimeters (0.4 in) wide, spaced 20 millimeters (0.8 in) apart. To sew your own Breton stripe shirt, you may choose “Organic Cotton Knit” or “Spandex Jersey” for a classic warm shirt, or else “Modern Jersey” for a lighter and more flowing version. Anyhow, this design can be printed on any kind of fabric for any project.
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