Artist Statement
When reading a text that is meant for the stage, I’m never simply looking at words on the page. I treat the play as if I am its director; imagining the set, lighting, costume, cast, etc. Visual questions are always at the forefront of my mind. As a textile artist, I always ask one question before all others: how would I represent these characters through clothing? I ask this of most things I read, but when asking them of Shakespeare, his characters yield some of the richest answers.
I’ve created eight such garments for main characters from Shakespeare’s tragedies, endeavoring to connect clothing to character through material, texture, pattern, and color. The sweaters I’ve designed exist somewhere in between costume, illustration, and interpretation. They express what is at the core of each character—their conflicts, their personalities, their words. They can be worn everyday in the modern world, but are encoded with literary interpretations.
Shakespeare sought to create a point of entry for everyone and anyone, and I seek to do the same by not just making sweaters, but writing patterns for them, which can be knit by others. Each sweater I’ve designed uses one or two more complicated techniques, but the ease of their construction, and areas of rest give knitters the opportunity to tackle a garment that looks refined, but is in actuality very approachable.
Above all else, Shakespeare is poetry. The dialogue between characters drives the play, providing the strongest opportunity to design each one a unique garment. Their voices, their words, the imagery central to them, are what inspire my work. The baroque speech of Hamlet becomes a series of intricate cables, while the blood on Lady Macbeth’s hands transforms into strands of red colorwork.
If Iambic Pentameter is the heartbeat of English poetry, then knitting is the heartbeat of textiles. A sweater will always be a familiar garment; a play will always be performed. Every stitch of these sweaters communicates something deeper, just as the words of poetry endeavor to do.
the sweaters
The Nighted Color pullover is worked seamlessly from the top-down, with raglan sleeves, a twisted-stitch rib detail at the hemlines, and an asymmetrical cable pattern. Knit up in a dimensional, gorgeous black, this sweater is perfect for expressing angst, while still providing comfort.
Of course, the inspiration for this sweater comes from only a fraction of the title character’s 1,480 lines in Hamlet. Mainly, this sweater is based on Hamlet’s words to Horatio in Act 5, using the fall of a sparrow to illustrate the inevitability of fate. This is such a beautiful moment in Hamlet’s character development. After struggling to control the uncontrollable for so long, Hamlet is finally at peace with the fact that he cannot engineer everything that happens to him. Just as a sparrow will fall when it is meant to fall, so will he. Slanting cable patterns create a sense of gravity, while a panel of cabled, twisted stitches creates a pattern like the feathers of a sparrow.
The asymmetry of this sweater illustrates Hamlet’s tendency to think in extremes. One half of the sweater is comprised of intricate cables, knits, purls, and twisted stitches, creating a dense collection of textures. The other half is drastically different, with only stockinette stitch, creating a flat, even surface.
The sumptuous, two-ply worsted weight wool used to knit this sweater is perfect for Hamlet. An inky black, the color reflects Hamlet’s persistent wearing of mourning clothes after his father’s death, while highlights of teal and navy maintain complexity and depth—ideal for the ever-working mind of our Danish prince. Additionally, this yarn has a gorgeous stitch definition, allowing the complex textures of this sweater to rise from their gloomy backdrop, a perfect illustration of Hamlet’s wit prevailing through his angst and grief.
The Herb of Grace pullover has a seamless, top-down construction with a fair-isle yoke, and raglan sleeves. The body is cropped, and without waist shaping, creating a relaxed fit that allows the sweater to act as a casual, wear-with-jeans staple, or an elegant dress-topper.
Inspired by Ophelia’s “Mad Speech” in Hamlet, this colorwork yoke incorporates vine patterns and floral imagery to reflect the series of flowers and herbs she hands out to the court in her maddened state. The color scheme, too, takes its root in the palette of Ophelia’s bouquet, which consists only of violet, yellow, or white flowers—while the green of the sweater’s body calls back to stems and leaves. These patterns also call back to traditional, Danish stranded-color knitting—appropriate for our Danish heroine.
Ophelia is among the more fragile of Shakespeare’s heroines. She lacks the clear-eyed diplomacy of Desdemona, the direct honesty of Cordelia, and the ruthless ambition of Lady Macbeth. Instead, she is obedient, and well-meaning, so easily falls prey to circumstance. Between her father’s death, and Hamlet’s betrayal, she mentally falls apart.
The woolen-spun, Targhee-Columbia yarn is light as a feather, while still insulating like no other—perfect for a harsh, Danish winter. Yet, the rough structure of the wool does not prevent it from obtaining a delicate, wilting drape after blocking. Herb of Grace’s cropped style maintains a classic femininity, while its positive-ease and simple shape give it less of a put-together feel, much like Ophelia herself.
The Green-Eyed Pullover is a yoke sweater featuring garter stitch on the neck and shoulders, and stripes of green over a stockinette body. Alternating textures and colors on this sweater give drama and complexity to a simple construction. Using hardy, “workhorse-wool” yarns, this pullover is as strong and sturdy as Othello himself.
The main inspiration behind this sweater comes not from the titular character of Othello, but from Iago, his closest confidante. Iago’s warning that Othello should “beware of jealousy” (3.3.166) foreshadows his intent to use jealousy to bring about the hero’s downfall. Though Othello is not, by nature, a jealous man, Iago successfully manipulates him until the force of jealousy mentally suffocates him.
With a deep, acidic green to represent jealousy, and a cool grey to represent Othello’s untainted mind, the Green-Eyed Pullover illustrates the hold Iago has over Othello. While the green stripes are thin as a whisper at the sweater’s bottom, as they travel up, they overtake the grey altogether. The concentric rings created by garter ridges on the yoke create a sense that jealousy is choking the wearer.
Whether or not you are a fan of Othello (some audiences love him, and some despise him from the start), watching his mental decline is a gradual and devastating process. The Green-Eyed Pullover’s gradient stripes, transitioning from tranquil grey to overpowering green, illustrates the painful transition within Othello from sanity to jealous rage.
A Trifle Light as Air is worked seamlessly from the top down with elegant, elbow-length sleeves and gentle waist-shaping for a classic feminine fit. A lace panel over the collarbone make it slightly sensual, without losing its modesty. Purl stitches are worked over the main fabric to add texture and life over the body of the garment.
Just like Othello’s Desdemona, this sweater is sturdy, soft, and elegant. Springy, 4-ply superwash merino in a pale rose color makes this top breathable, lightweight, and perfect for springtime.
Geometric lacework creates an abstraction of the strawberry-patterned handkerchief that Desdemona so fatally loses. This handkerchief, the first gift Othello gives her, is a main source of the play’s miscommunication and tragic end. Desdemona misplaces it, and Iago uses this “trifle” as irrefutable “evidence” of her unfaithfulness to her husband.
However, we can see that this is not a trinket taken lightly by our heroine. Instead, it is an object she treats with great care. It is precious to her, and as with all things she cares for, she cares for it tirelessly.
Desdemona is much more than a young, mild-mannered girl. She is an elegant, Venetian gentlewoman, reared in high society among diplomats and politicians. The fitted structure of the sweater alludes to her refined upbringing and cultivated mannerisms. This pullover does not only reflect Desdemona’s caring manners and gentle nature; its classic style reveals her poise and pragmatism as well.
Birds i’ th’ Cage is an oversized duster, worked seamlessly from the top-down. Featuring panels of reverse-stockinette, ribbed sleeves, and sumptuous, Superwash Highland wool, this sweater is the perfect comfort for staying inside on rainy afternoons.
The phrase “birds i’ the’ cage,” comes from Lear’s speech to his youngest daughter, Cordelia, in Act 5 of the play. This speech marks a great change of heart in the King, who began the play as a person quick to anger, and comforted only by material possessions, and his own vanity. By Act 5, Lear has been humbled, and he has softened. The ivory-colored yarn reflects the King’s newfound calmness of mind, while a panel of lattice cables down the back illustrates the mesh of a birdcage.
This is just the sort of garment Cordelia would give her father after reuniting with him, and taking him in. The cardigan’s loose body conveys a sense of comfort, while form-fitting sleeves are cozy and warm. The springy softness of Superwash wool provides a shelter from the English storm out on the heath. Mother-of-pearl buttons allude to Lear’s reunion with Cordelia in Dover, by the sea.
Cordelia’s Dear Love Henley sweater is designed as a companion to King Lear’s Birds i’ th’ Cage cardigan. Featuring sections of reverse-stockinette and garter stitch, and constructed similarly with a V-neck, buttons, and sleeves picked up from a boxy body, Dear Love echoes Birds i’ the’ Cage beautifully.
Cordelia is one of the most beloved among Shakespeare’s heroines, especially considering what a small portion of the play she actually spends on-stage. Spoken about fondly by nearly every character in King Lear, Cordelia is admired for her unwavering honesty, and moreover, her unfailing loyalty. After being disowned by her irrational father, Cordelia maintains her allegiance to him, even as queen of another country. She returns to England, leading France’s army, solely to seek out and help her feeble, mistreated father.
Everything about this sweater illustrates a loyalty to its companion. From the yarn, a superwash tweed, just like its predecessor; to the quilted lattice stitch, echoing the birdcage-lattice cables on Lear’s sweater; all of Dear Love’s elements coordinate with those of Birds i’ the’ Cage to show Cordelia’s allegiance to her father.
The one striking difference between the two garments is in their color. King Lear’s cardigan is cream-colored to reflect his serenity after Cordelia cares for him, but Cordelia’s sweater is a gorgeous, earthy green. This color visually represents Cordelia’s vitality and stability. Even after being cast out from her family and home, she does not wither and die. Instead, she makes her own way, eventually becoming a queen and the leader of a military power. Rather than despairing, she remains hopeful and loyal, and the color of her sweater reflects her strength and resilience of spirit.
Macbeth’s Hoodful of Scorpions is an open-front, hooded cardigan created by knitting seamlessly from the neckline-down, with stitches for the hood picked up later and knit, also seamlessly. Incorporating knitting techniques common to traditional Scottish garments, like sweaters and kilt-socks, and using authentic Scottish Highland wool, this is truly a garment for the Scottish Play.
This sweater is inspired by Macbeth’s lamentation in Act 3 that his mind is “full of scorpions” (3.2.41). Though a succinct statement, these words perfectly illustrate the encroaching paranoia and complex demons overtaking Macbeth. The more he tries to solidify his place on the throne, the less secure Macbeth feels, his insecurities like poisonous stings to his once-peaceful mind.
Horseshoe-cables with wrapped stitches mimic the sectioned bodies and outspread pincers of a scorpion, climbing up and around the sweater’s hood, and into the consciousness of the wearer. Allover moss-stitch, and cables down the sides and back of the sweater call back to traditional, rugged sweaters of Scotland. Columns of three slip-stitches at the raglan increases, and on the hems of the garment, reflect the repeated use of the number three throughout Macbeth: 3 witches give 3 prophesies, and meet with Macbeth 3 times; Banquo’s ghost appears at the banquet 3 times; 3 times, Macbeth repeats “tomorrow,” in his famed soliloquy in Act 5.
Macbeth is very much a play about its country: Scotland. From the title character’s fight for the Scottish throne, to the ties to the Scottish environment through recurrent natural imagery, it is a play impossible to uproot and set in another place. As such, there was no decision to be made in terms of material; it simply had to be Scottish Highland wool, directly from Scotland. This natural, woolen-spun yarn with its earthy, clay color and red undertones perfectly reflects the Scottish King, and the blood he has spilled across his homeland.
Macbeth is by no means a soft or even approachable character. To translate his harshness, paranoia, and anger into an attractive sweater was no easy task. However, the beautiful Hoodful of Scorpions cardigan is every bit as coarse, and every bit as Scottish, as its inspiration
The Damn'd Spot cardigan is an open-front cardigan designed by working a neckband flat, then picking up stitches around three of its edges to work the body of the sweater. The body of the sweater is a simple stockinette stitch, while the sleeves incorporate traditional Fair Isle colorwork in a deep, blood-red. Knit from Scottish Highland wool, this is a durable, warm piece perfect for cold nights.
Inspired by Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking speech in act 5 of the Scottish Play, the sweater features a dramatic fade of stranded colorwork from a rich, dark red to a clean, natural white. The bottom of the sleeves are solely red, with no white spots left; each ends over the palm, with thumbholes, recalling the “damned spot” of blood that Lady Macbeth cannot wash from her hands. Patterns in the colorwork echo traditional Fair Isle patterns native to the Shetland Islands of Scotland, reflecting Lady Macbeth’s role as the Queen of Scotland.
When most of us consider Lady Macbeth, we think of a harsh, manipulative, and domineering figure. While she is, indeed, the ruthless soldier’s wife who pushes her husband to set their murderous plot in motion, she is also deeply affected by the consequences of their power-grab. The atrocious crimes the Macbeths commit, and their aftermath, eventually destroy the queen. Her guilty and disturbed conscience softens the Lady, so that by act 5 of the play, viewers are confronted with a figure who is not only not terrifying, but pitiable.
The rough Highland wool of this sweater is a beautiful metaphor for Lady Macbeth’s progressive descent through the play. During the knitting process, the wool is rough, coarse, and harsh, much like the Lady herself at the play’s beginning. However, with soaking and blocking, the wool breaks down, softens, and drapes—just as Lady Macbeth breaks down as the atrocities of her husband, and her own isolation, spiral out of her control. This is a sweater made not for the monster queen, but for the woman who is deeply human.
