Knitted Heads Journey

September 1, 2026

Earlier this year, after installing large woven "forest heads" made from basket cane and branches, I started wondering whether a head could be knitted -- or if anyone had ever knitted one. I wanted to continue exploring the forest‑head idea but in a repeatable form that felt like a three‑dimensional drawing, where the material itself could stand in for the lines of a sketch.

Searching for knitted head patterns turned up nothing, so I did what any “accomplished” knitter of scarves and flat rectangles would do: I began learning how to shape a head from scratch. YouTube tutorials, a generous local knitter, and a lot of trial and error taught me how to curve a skull, turn a nose, and define a chin.

Attempts piled up. Pages of notes, yards of paper‑wrapped wire, and frequent cat interference later, the forms finally began to emerge. It’s the very feeling of having created a magical being -- of giving life to an idea in the form of a head.

The process feels familiar because it draws on decades of making with my hands: sewing and crocheting as a child, painting and sculpting as an adult, and even the tactile knowledge from years of massage work, learning the structure of the body through touch, seeing with my fingers.

I hope you enjoy these knitted forest heads. They carry all of that history in their lines.

Please contact me for pricing and more info: jujuishmaelstudio@gmail.com