come see me in line for @mothercain on 5/2 in Huntsville or on 5/5 and 5/6 in Tallahassee! bring your own item for me to stamp for free or pick one of the blanks i brought (while they last). can’t wait to see u there ♡
Get excited! Turn your post notifications on! Increase your screen time! Rachel is here and she’s ready to provide everything you didn’t know you needed. In addition to 2026 markets, (and new + exciting in-person shopping opportunities that are coming), every last Saturday of the month will bring you fresh, unique, and, (occasionally), bizarre art from ur local hookr!
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What’s that mean for you? Mark Saturday, January 31 in your calendar & prepare to be amazed! Or at least pretend to be! Mama (me) has been working on some goooood shit for all of yall! 🫶🫶🫶
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If there’s anything specific you want to see more of this year, please lmk! As always, happy hooking!
xoxo,
Rachel
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#crochet #womaninbusiness #fiberart #shopsmall #bhamartist
Sick With Want - Bog Jacket
~ Available now, link in bio ~
This jacket is made from an antique hand-embroidered tablecloth. The tablecloth was already cut into chunks when I spotted it, so I used this specific pattern (bog jacket, google it to learn how cool its origins are) in order to waste as little material as possible. I used every scrap of fabric larger than the palm of my hand to create this final product. The two large pockets on the front are lined for extra stability, and the tie closures are pieced from excess material. The collar is scalloped all around, forming a point in the center of the back somewhat reminiscent of a sailor collar. The material is a light linen, perfect for summer. The all-over embroidery is all done by hand (not by me) and makes this piece delicate in both form and feature.
as I said above, I used the bog jacket pattern because it inherently creates very little waste. I didn’t have much material to work with from the start, so it was important to me that every cut be absolutely necessary. I am very happy with the outcome of this piece, and I’m so glad that this beautiful hand embroidery did not go to waste. Even the tiniest scraps of material that were left I used to make the tie closures in the front of the jacket. As I’m sure the original tablecloth was, this creation was truly a labor of love.
model: @twiggsmcgee
photography: @cwblakecalhoun
Held - Bird’s Nest Basket
~Available now, link in bio~
This is a handmade basket woven from reeds, burlap, cotton, and other natural fibers. It is lined with a handmade, cotton lining that is hand embroidered with cotton thread and hemmed with hand-spun 100% wool yarn. The basket lining attaches to the actual basket with durable crocheted ties that are also made of hand-spoon wool. The outside of the basket is also hand embroidered with black cotton yarn to read, “to be held is to be loved“.
Like the rest of the items in this collection, this basket is inspired by the strength, flexibility, and softness of women. For about two years, I’ve been constantly and frustratingly fixated on the fact that there is no word for a woman who is actively having sex.
As I’ve pondered this idea, this lack of language, I’ve been left to wonder what sex would be like (culturally speaking) if it was described from a woman’s point of view or, more specifically, what would the word be for a woman who is actively having sex? If the clinical word for sex that we currently have is penetration, then I think that the more femme equivalent would be enveloping or enfolding. What would be different if sex was not inherently viewed as something that splits, pierces, or invades, but rather something that holds and simply accepts another human being?
As I made this basket, I used a variety of materials and textures ranging from soft and smooth — like reeds and cotton — to course and rough — like burlap and wool. In weaving all of these together, I created something that is both soft and flexible yet sturdy enough to hold weight that far surpasses its own. Woven into the integrity of the basket are tiny bits of ribbon and lace, to represent traditional ideas of femininity while the Inside is embroidered with the more controversial ideas that I’ve expressed above.
photography by @cwblakecalhoun
Heaven Boxer Shorts - available now (link in bio)
These checked boxers have an elastic waistband and are made of a thin cotton material perfect for summer. They feature a vintage handkerchief sewn to the right leg and vintage lace detailing on the left hip. They are also hemmed in vintage lace and hand embroidered to depict Ethel Cain and the Ring, as it appears in her album Perverts.
I knew I wanted to include some boxers in this collection, and once I started working on these I really felt like I reached some kind of flow state.
First, I attached the lace on the hip as well as the vintage handkerchief. I felt like their placements were the most important before deciding what motif I wanted to embroider and where to place it. Once those were sewn down, I felt like the handkerchief gave me an almost canvas-like space to work on. I embroidered Hayden Anhedönia by hand, surrounded by The Ring which is so central to much of her work. i used a gorgeous drawing by @teetheater333 as a reference (follow them on instagram and tumblr if you don’t already!) Once the embroidery was done, I added the lace around the legs.
( if u saw me at an Ethel Cain concert wearing these, just mind your own business)
photography by @cwblakecalhoun
Forgive These Bones - Ribcage Harness
Available for purchase, link in bio
“And Christ, forgive these bones I’ve been hiding
Oh, and the bones I’m about to leave”
-“Family Tree,” Ethel Cain
This harness is composed of 17 individual crocheted pieces, all joined together to simulate the fragmented structure a rib cage. Each “bone“ was crocheted individually and tediously (trust me) until I was satisfied with its shape. While some joints are sewn, others are attached using metal hardware to make this piece adjustable and to give it a subtle armor-like quality.
The crocheted “bones” of this project have lived in a box under my couch for about a year while I marinated on ideas for their final form. Even though their original purpose was to be a harness, I hit a wall with the execution of the piece when i began to sew them all together. The various strips felt simultaneously too flimsy for bones and also too rigid for comfortable wearing. I got frustrated, and into the box they went.
Six months later, I pulled them out and decided that modpodge was obviously the answer (spoiler: it wasn’t). I diluted the modpodge in water and submerged the “bones” that I thought could use the most structure, then set them to dry on a mold of my own torso (don’t ask). Once the pieces dried i still found myself lacking the imagination to complete the project. Back in the box they went.
Six-ish more months later, i was falling asleep when the idea struck me. I have so many jump rings harvested from various jewelry projects, what better way to solve my problem than to use the tools already at my disposal?
In the final form of this project, jump rings and lobster clasps are attached at the shoulders and side pieces of each rib to accommodate multiple sizes. Each closure (sides and shoulders) has multiple length options as well, and regardless of whatever length you set it, the modpodge (still don’t know why i initially did that) keeps the central breastbone in place, reducing the likelihood of becoming misshapen during wear.
Photography: @cwblakecalhoun
Model: @twiggsmcgee
Easy on the Eyes - Kerchief Bolero 🌸
Available for purchase, link in bio
If you are unaware (as I was until I googled it about five minutes ago) what a bolero is, it’s a top that is basically just sleeves. There is no Body. I’m unsure how to categorize this top of its not a bolero. she is constructed from an infinity scarf and an antique handkerchief. The handkerchief features hand-embroidery that I placed front and center on the final product. The stretchy quality of everyone’s least favorite souvenir from 2014, the infinity scarf, lends this item a very nice, billowy bell sleeve. Who knew that’s what they were good for? This piece is perfect for layering as a statement over a simple tank top or for a little extra warmth on a chilly evening. Not much warmth though, honestly. It’s pretty thin.
One of the best things about my job is that people are constantly giving me shit that they don’t want, but feel guilty throwing away. I don’t say that with malice or contempt, I also don’t say it with love, it’s just a fact. Actually, I do love it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. Because it gives me things like this to fuck around with. One of my friends (hi emily) gave me about three infinity scarves that she said she didn’t want to throw away because she knew they would end up in the landfill, so…here we are.
It’s also worth mentioning that the hand embroidered handkerchief is from the Goodwill closest to my grandmother’s house in Florida. I found it last time she and I were together, and I think this is a lovely way to keep the stitch-work on display to be appreciated for years to come.
photography: @cwblakecalhoun
model: me @rachelaina_
Stinging Nettles Apron Top
~available to purchase, link in bio~
This top is made from a pillowcase featuring a grid design on dark green fabric. It has ties on each side for adjustability and to allow it be worn a variety of ways. The embroidery is all done by hand in a cross stitch style with gold embroidery floss.
About the Process:
One day when I was at the dumpster of my apartment complex, I saw one of the people from our front office throwing away some dark green pillowcases. He said they got new ones in the office and didn’t need those anymore and asked if I would like to have them. Of course I took them home, knowing that I did not, in fact, need any new pillowcases at my house, but I also didn’t want them to go in the landfill. I was able to find a more traditional use (encasing pillows) for two of them but…the third one had a higher purpose.
The grid texture of the pillowcase was easily charted for cross stitch and because the pillowcase naturally had a lining, I was able to encase all of the embroidery, leaving no exposed threads on the inside of the finished product. Ultimately, this makes it more durable item and provides a cleaner, more finished appearance. The ties are made from the excess inner lining, and they’re long enough to be tied around the body for a tighter look, or tied to each other on each side for more loose, relaxed fit. The word “Nettles” is in reference to the Ethel Cain song of the same name.
modeled by @twiggsmcgee
photographed by @cwblakecalhoun
The Mourning Lamb Collection is available on my website now, link in bio ♡
This is a collection of art exploring the ideas of femininity in conjunction with rot, the assumed nature of sexuality, and the loss of innocence as a consequence, all set amidst the kudzu cathedrals of Alabama.
This collection gets its name from Ethel Cain’s, “Ptolemea”:
“You poor thing
Sweet mourning lamb
There is nothing you can do
It’s already been done.”
I created this collection in honor of women and our inescapable, unconquerable task of holding on to whatever softness and innocence we can find while always knowing that in the end, the loss is coming. “run then, child / you can’t hide from me forever.”
Huge huge huge thank you to @cwblakecalhoun for photographing this collection so authentically and seamlessly. I can’t express enough how grateful I am to you for not blinking twice when I sat a basket of bones in your car.
And MASSIVE thanks to @twiggsmcgee for swooping in and literally saving my ass by modeling at the last minute. You are a gorgeous superstar of a human. I couldn’t have asked for a better model if I had given myself more than 24 hours to find one, truly. You killed it.
I hope to work with both of y’all again soon ♡
Lastly, to all of y’all freaks who are still reading, please enjoy this collection. It was truly all for u.
xo,
rachel
happy my birthday to all u freaks ♡
hookr merch is available at the link in my bio. whether u buy something or not, thank u for being here, reading this, & supporting ur local hookr.
each of these items are hand printed (by me) from a linograph (carved also by me). This makes each item a complete original, different from any other. The material I stamp on is typically a thrifted tea towel that I adhere to the shirt and hand stitch around the edges to make it extra secure.
this brand started as something kind of silly and has turned into something bigger and more meaningful than i ever could have imagined.
i love my job ♡
