"cat skiing" beanie for flylow gear
While I was at Coal Headwear in their Custom Headwear Division, one of our regular clients was Flylow Gear, a ski-centric outdoor brand. For one of their pom beanies they wanted to have a playful graphic riffing on the pun of "cat skiing" -- a term generally used to refer to using a snowcat to access fresh powder outside of resorts. They left the project open-ended, only asking for a cat on skis.
While looking at cat pictures for this important professional research, I noticed a slouching cat is basically the same physical shape as a skier doing a ripping spread eagle maneuver.
First, I created a simple illustration that would be achievable with our supplier's jacquard machine - a knitting machine that allows graphics to be knit directly
into the hat.
Then, I used the graphics to design a playful pom beanie using some of their searonal colors -- with a little bonus under the fold for those who still like to run a slouchy, uncuffed style beanie.
Construction samples came in and looked good.
Colors don't always match on construction samples since custom colors for yarn need to be dyed and approved separately, but this is a chance to make sure the fit and the graphic meet quality standards.
In the end, they chose three colorways and the beanies were a hit. They liked the graphic enough that they expanded it into their sock program as well.
