Shorn - Hank Vest tops

Category: Apparel

The Hank Tops are a collection of hand-knitted vest tops made from 100% British Shetland wool. Each piece is spun, dyed and knitted by hand in my home studio in the East Midlands. The project began during my final-year at university with a project researching circular textile design, this led me to learn about traditional craft processes and how they could offer a more sustainable alternative to the synthetic textiles and fast fashion systems dominating today. The idea behind these pieces was to reframe people’s idea of wool, a material that is often seen as old-fashioned or uncomfortable, and show how it can be modern, soft, and beautiful. Shetland wool was my fibre of choice because of its durability and comfort. I spin the yarn myself and dye it using plant-based sources such as madder root, onion skins, indigo and turmeric. The colours vary naturally with each batch, which I embrace. Instead of striving for uniformity, I lean into this variation to create soft, tonal palettes that reflect the organic beauty of the materials. The collection is called “Hank” as a nod to the hanks of yarn that each piece begins as. Like the name, the process is simple, honest, and rooted in traditional slow crafts. I don’t waste any fibres, working to zero waste principles, every offcut is reused, spun back into yarn, or repurposed for other products. Every decision, from the materials to the methods, is made with sustainability in mind. All the fibres are traceable to farms that follow good animal welfare practices, and everything is biodegradable at the end of life. What makes these pieces original is the way they combine the heritage of handcraft with a contemporary silhouette and colour story. They're soft, wearable, and thoughtfully made, and designed to last. Each top is unique, both in colour and story, and made with a level of care and slowness that’s rare in today’s clothing industry. With the right scaling adjustments, such as using small-scale batch machinery or working with local spinners and knitters, this design could be produced on a larger scale while staying true to its values. The Hank Tops offer something timeless and tactile that connects people to their clothes in a more meaningful way.