Strap Hood - First try...

This is the third of the "special" hoods I've been working on for Karen Hsiao and our upcoming show in Tokyo at Vanilla Gallery. With the Pony and Asylum hood, this strappy number is intended to push the boundaries of what I can do, and to try something I have never done before. 

Initially the straps were going to be further apart, but as soon as I started wrapping the 3 straps around the neck I knew I had to go with smaller spaces between them.

My working method was to wrap the straps around the form and hold them in place with tape, then remove it when I was happy with the layout and sew the straps down. Unfortunately, the tape didn't hold once I removed it from the form, and as I was sewing the straps shifted and moved out of place. I had to rip the stitches and start over. 

On my second attempt, I used double-sided seam tape in addition to the blue painter's tape to hold the straps in position. I also didn't put as much stress on the piece while I put it through the sewing machine. Finally, I did one set of stitches at a time, re-placing it on the form between each set. This was time-consuming, but it worked. Now I know what to do next time. 

I will be taking another crack at this one, as I also messed up the position of the straps a little bit. It is actually a single strap that goes from the neck on one side, up and over the head, around the chin, and back up and over to the other side. If they were further back, as they were supposed to be, the straps at the top of the head would lay flatter. This also would make room for one additional strap between the first two.

Next time it will be a little closer to perfect...