Woolly Wormhead

Designer, Artist, Craftsperson, Author

Interview by Susan Crawford

We talk in depth to knitwear designer Woolly Wormhead, who has just published her first book of hat designs, "Going Straight" about her life and her love of design and knitting.

For people who don't know about Woolly Wormhead can you tell us a little about yourself and your design ethos.

Why is this always the hardest question?! Me? Ok... I'm a free spirit who loves to explore different routes to the accepted 'norm'. This comes across in my designs and my approach to knitting. I am obsessed with woolly Hats and using them as a means to experimenting with technique, form, structure etc.

The formal answer is, I am a spinner, hand-dyer, knitter and crocheter, and Hat-maker. I have worked in materials ranging from handspun dog and cat hair, to recycled plastic bags, to the ultimate luxury fibre, cashmere. Wherever possible, I use my own handspun, hand-dyed yarn, creating a truly individual and different look. All of the materials I work with are chosen with great care. All of the Hats I make are made with great attention to detail, and passion.

My passion for craft work and Textiles goes beyond being a hobby, or a way to create my own unique wardrobe. Wherever possible I have extended my learning, from silvermithing to bobbin lace-making, pattern cutting to screen printing. I studied the science of dyeing and Textile production at Bolton University where I gained a valuable insight into both fibre properties and behaviour, and large-scale manufacturing processes.

In 1996, I accepted a place at Goldsmiths College, University of London, on their Textiles degree course. Goldsmiths has an outstanding international reputation in the Fibre Arts, encouraging its students to approach Textiles from an artistic, sculptural and cultural perspective. Here, I was able to develop my interest for 3-dimensional Textiles, working with techniques learnt from, among others, weaving, experimental embroidery, basketry, and millinery, concentrating on marrying inspiration and quality of finish.

?I am a qualified Art and Textile teacher, working with 11-19 year olds as well as adults. In 2005 I introduced an advanced Experimental Textiles course at my then current school, encouraging students to build on their skills, learn new and diverse techniques, and 'think outside the box'. Although making Textiles is my first love, teaching Textiles brings a different perspective to the medium. Enabling others to learn through making, and gain pleasure from their own hands, encourages me to be more experimental with my work, approaching new ideas with the same enthusiasm that my students show. No longer working in secondary schools, I am now freelance and available to teach a wide range of Fibre Arts workshops.

And can you tell us a little about your life? Where you live, will be living.

Currently I'm in London with my partner, our cats and our son. Neither of us are able to put down roots in the traditional sense and stay in one place - mortgages and bricks and mortar are balls and chains to us, so we'll be off in a few months to travel mainland Europe. We've converted our bus ourselves for living, and it has plenty of storage space for all my books and stash as well as Tom's tools! (he's also an artist, working with recycled materials and scrap building post modern sculptures) We'll probably spend a fair bit of time in Italy and then head on to Spain, and enjoy it's rich festival and fringe culture.

Who first taught you to knit? You started knitting at a very early age, can you remember the first things you made?

My mum taught me to knit, when I was aged 3. I can remember knitting what could be called swatches to start with, practising different stitches, but I don't remember being taught the basic knit and purl. I then went on and started making clothes and blankets for my dolls and toys, small things. I'd knitted my first jumper for myself by the time I was 9! . By the age of 10 I was starting to experiment with hand-dyeing, machine sewing, and designing and making my own clothes. By my 20s I was creating original Fair Isle and Intarsia hand-knits, using my own hand-dyed yarn.

What was it about knitting and textiles that got you hooked so early in life?

It was quite possibly the encouragement I received from my mum and other female members of my family, but I just loved 'making' and being tactile. My mum tells me that when I was about a year old, we'd sit together and flick through magazines, and she started noticing how I responded to different colours and textures - so she encouraged this and kept a scrap-book of the ones I liked. I was a bit like a creative sponge, and textiles, in particular knitting, satisfied my curiosity and my need to keep my hands and logical brain busy!

How do you first start designing a hat? Is it colour, form, a new stitch that attracts you first?

Form first, without a doubt. My main area of focus has always been 3D rather than 2D - a tactile process person that needs to build and touch. Next comes process - how can I make it? What techniques could be adapted? How can I change how it would normally be done? I then use colour and stitch to emphasise shape and form. I'm constantly fascinated with different construction techniques and how they can be used differently, beyond the fabric.

Do you think you will ever find hats limiting and want to move into something else?

No! I know I should never say never, but I can't see the end to all the possibilities that a Hat holds. It's the one garment that marries sculpture and practicality wonderfully - you can go off in so many different directions!

Hats are the ultimate in versatile accessories. They provide warmth and protection, but they also allow the wearer to express personality and individuality in a way that may not be possible with other garments. Being smaller, a hat is also a more affordable way to wear a hand-made, hand-designed garment.

For a fibre artist, a Hat is an ideal medium through which to showcase yarn, shape, and form. Due to their size, they allow for experimentation in directions not possible with other, flatter or larger pieces. I have always been fascinated with Hats, from my first wool Beret as a child, through to the many diverse and amazing pieces that have appeared in the many different cultures throughout time.

The strongest influences upon my Hat designs come from nature, in particular water. Succulent plants, cacti and sea urchins have the most wonderful, often bizarre shapes. Coral, ammonites and sea anemones. So many beautiful, sculptural forms of life, it's hard not to admire them.

Looking through your gallery of work, one can see a distinct change in style over the years. What are your current influences?

I think my style has become more developed and refined over time as my confidence and knowledge base has grown. With earlier pieces I was experimenting and trying things out, but not pushing myself as much as I do now. I'm naturally drawn to the shapes of nature, especially those relating to water... creatures of the deep sea keep cropping up subconsciously.

You have just published your first book, "Going Straight, A new generation of knitted hats", using Lulu. Was the self publishing experience a good one?

Yes, it worked for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't see myself taking on such a large project with somebody else's constraints - I need the freedom to see where the ideas take me and be flexible with it. The self-discipline was hardest towards the end, bringing all the different elements together, but it was worth it. It's not for everyone though.

How long did it take to actually produce the book?

About a year, maybe a little less. I took a few months off over the summer when I discovered I was pregnant, and it was hard getting back into it after such a break. If it hadn't been for that, it could have been released a few months sooner, yet I also believe taking that extra time allowed things to mature more.

Your hats from this book are knitted sideways on straight needles, grafting the cast off and cast on edges together at the end. What is it about this method of construction that is so appealing to you?

Oh, because it's so unexplored as a method, and holds a completely different set of possibilities compared to vertical knitting. Once I'd got into that mindset, gotten used to the 90 degree shift, more and more possibilities began to open up. Look what happens when you turn something on its side - it becomes something new and different!

Which is your favourite hat in the book?

That's a tough question! I don't know, really... Strudel is one I'm fond off, also Daisy for it's quirkiness. Rainbow warrior for it's boldness, but I don't think there is one favourite.

Are there plans for any more Woolly Wormhead publications?

Absolutely! Without giving too much away, I have two concrete ideas... one involving colour and stranded work, taking that in a different direction and combining it with form (some of my first large design pieces were fair-isle jumpers) I also want to do a lot more with the kitchener, to de-construct it further and see where that leads.

What are you working on at the moment?

I'm currently working on some vertical/top-down designs that have been floating around in my head and note book for what seems like forever - it's difficult to switch quickly from sideways to vertical and vice versa so these have been left until the book was finished. Some of them will go off for publication, some I will self-publish. It's like having a little break from longer projects, working on these small pieces and maintaining the balance.

What are your long term plans (if any) for Woolly Wormhead?

To keep doing the same and more off! Experimenting and trialling is what drives me, and I hope that never tires. The amount of ideas and potential patterns that come into my brain seems endless, so all the time there is a creative urge, I'll keep acting on it. It's instinctive rather than intentional.

I'd like to see more and more acceptance of different approaches to the craft. When I was younger, I always felt so out of place with what I wanted to do and that didn't do my confidence any good. Now, there are more and more of us pushing the boundaries, crossing the line between art and craft and that's a really exciting thing to be involved in.

As a qualified teacher, do you think it's important to pass on our traditional crafts through the education system? And if so, how do we get schools to embrace crafts in a more positive way, and not just at primary school level but onwards through education?

It's imperative that traditional crafts are taught in schools. It's such a shame that creative and practical subjects are given so little time in the curriculum, that they are not seen as relevant by many. I suspect that unless the balance shifts, they just won't be enough room for the more labour intensive crafts and skills, which is a huge shame. There are many, many children and students in the school system that would vastly benefit from learning more practical subjects rather than the accepted academic ones. Schools could look at incorporating practical activities into the academic subjects - they used to use knitting to help with maths and I'm sure it would take the sting out of learning for many students.

Woolly has designed an exclusive hat pattern for knitonthenet
and her inspirational book, 'Going Straight' is reviewed here.

You can also read about Woolly's self publishing experiences in the next issue of knitonthenet but in the meantime we shall leave the closing words of the interview to Woolly:

"Above all, I make my Hats because I enjoy making them. Each one made with care, passion and an empathy with my materials. I sincerely wish for them to be worn with as much pleasure as I have had creating them!"