Ruth Grace Wong
The
• A Pinterest engineer created a sweater that can zip up past your head.
• She did it in her spare time, and it's now going viral.
• The sweater can be worn multiple ways.
• She's already released a sewing pattern for the sweater.
• Now she's trying to get the design funded and up for sale.
Meteorologists expect this winter to be colder-than-average. Luckily people like Ruth Grace Wong are here to make it go by a little bit smoother.
This "Pinterest engineer by day, maker by night" went viral last week for creating what is easily the best sweater ever. She calls it the "Leave Me Alone" sweater, mainly because it can zip up all the way past your head to enclose you in a comfy cocoon and, more importantly, ensure that no one bothers you.
Here's Wong in the sweater without the neck hole zipped.
Ruth Grace Wong
And here she is in "leave me alone" mode:
Ruth Grace Wong
On her Medium page, she explained that she was inspired to create it after her coworker sent her a picture of the Compubody Sock.
While that item may be hilarious, it isn't exactly wearable, which is where Wong's design comes in. Her "wearable version" provides the privacy, but can also act as a normal sweater. The garment actually has three modes: an off-the-shoulder look, turtle-neck mode, and everyone's favorite "Leave Me Alone" style.
Ruth Grace Wong
As of right now, the sweater isn't available for sale, but Wong's working on it.
"Since I've gotten all this positive feedback, I'd love to have the sweater produced and sold," she told INSIDER. "I just had a call with Betabrand, a local San Francisco company that works with designers, and they said that if I get enough votes, they'll connect me with their manufacturers and material sources to make it happen."
You can wait until the project gets crowdfunded - and earn 30% off the sweater when it becomes available with a vote - or you could DIY it yourself. Wong, who is a Pinterest employee afterall, uploaded the helpful instructions for the sweater to Instructables and depending on what kind of material you use, you could make it for as little as $25.
Ruth Grace Wong
Ruth Grace Wong
If you follow the directions, you'll have a fully functioning "Leave Me Alone" sweater all to yourself. Well, almost fully functioning.
"The leave me alone mode is more of a statement than a functional piece of clothing," Wong wrote on Instructables. "I can't see anything through my sweater. If you find yourself using the leave me alone mode a lot, you could add eye holes."
You can learn more about the project here.