In The Hood

Prototyping usually means spending production time on things that I will never wear, or even want to wear, for that matter. I don't usually share these types of projects. There really isn't an end product. It's merely an opportunity to develop an understanding of various techniques. I don't even know what to call this. Is it a hood? Is it a helmet or a balaclava?

So the goal here was to examine the construction of a hood. In this particular instance, I've used a saddle shoulder technique. It seems appropriate enough for maintaining structure along the top, but in the process I noticed a discrepancy between the saddling strip and the side stitches.

The merging of vertical and horizontal stitches seems to personify the length and width difference inherent in the stockinette stitch. This is to say that a stockinette stitch is short and wide, and when you graft sections perpendicularly such as with a saddling technique, the side stitches flare out along the saddling. I wonder if a preparatory row of sequential decreases would even things out? The benefit of this type of hood is already quite visible. I like how rounded and bulbous it looks.

The brim edge is a series of picked-up stitches and held stitches re-joined in the round. As you can see, there are some decreases in there to combat the flaring, and tighten the opening slightly. This seems to work well in this particular situation, but I think something more variable is in order. Maybe a drawstring tunnel? I guess that's something to consider for the next prototype hood.

Nudge Bravo

It's liberating to finish something as big as Nudge Bravo. Never mind that it took me a year to produce. Never mind that it got back-burnered and pushed aside over and over again.

Technically I finished this in November, and guess what? When it was done, I washed it and put it away. Holiday Season was in full swing, I needed to focus on making hats for the shop. I was too busy to book camera time for my personal projects. It got some coverage over the past year on my Facebook Page, but that's about it.



Come to think of it, I never shared much of Nudge Alpha either. It was a piece I did for a private buyer. It was exhausting, and I under-charged for it. I never offered scarves again after that, and declined all custom orders. People don't seem to realize what they're asking me for when they request custom orders, at least not until I state my astronomical pricing. Yes, Nudge Alpha was definitely a learning experience.



But anyway, Nudge Bravo. It's done. Nudge is about structural randomness. It consists of a sequence of randomly selected numbers from one to seven worked in a ribbing alternation. As the sequence is nudged to the right, a new number is chosen and worked into the left side of the work. I chose to leave the edges borderless, anticipating an interesting edge. The subtle curling seems to flow consistently with the overall improvisational nature of the work.

The yarn is a quadruple thread multi-strand consisting of 70% cotton and 30% nylon, recycled from a Gap men's cardigan. The added weight of the nylon contributes quite well to the drape of the fabric. I think the nylon also adds a shimmer to the yarn that is difficult for me to demonstrate in my photographs. Do you see it?

Regardless of the influences that de-prioritized this project in the past year, I'm glad this one's done. I wear it all the time.