Senior and comp-sci extraordinaire Marcella Hastings is quietly crafting a revolution, though it may not be in exactly the form one would expect. Spending considerable amounts of time walking the hallowed halls of Halligan,her true passion lies outside these walls in the up-and-coming art of swants-making.
Swants, or sweater pants,are created through a somewhat elaborate process of repurposing a sweater (preferably from Goodwill) into one’s own pair of pants. In an email interview with the Daily, Hastings explained her commitment to the art of swants. Considering one can pick his or her own swants pattern and add personal touches, such as a belt, it is no wonder that the attire has “played an integral role in [Hastings’] personal development for a little more than a year.”
After coming across the fashion phenomenon on Nov. 9, 2013, Hastings knew she would be dedicating a significant portion of her life to bringing the joy of this clothing option to a greater audience. The senior astutely notes “a lot of people know of swants, but don’t necessarily consider them a functional day-to-day clothing article ... I’ve really been working on breaking down those prejudices and stereotypes.”
Hastings has even reached out to the original creator of this clothes-making process, knitting instructor Stephen West. She describes the depth of her relationship with West as “quite close,” as demonstrated by his response to her inquiry on his blog and the fact that he both “liked and commented on [Hastings and her siblings’] original swants pictures in 2014.” For those still apprehensive about taking the plunge into wearing their own knitted creation, Hastings provides comfort with these words of assurance: “I’ve had a lot of positive interactions with people who were nervous about the whole swants movement, or considered themselves 'not crafty enough' to make a pair, [but then] realized that the barrier to swants is much smaller than it appears.”
Ready to join the growing community of swansters? Take a look at West’s tutorial.
