When I’m doing something a lot, I tend to think about it while I’m half-asleep. I’ve been doing stuff like playing computer games, composing music, planning lessons, knitting, and designing in my head. Ideas seem to come easier to me in that state. One night, some months ago, I dreamt up red and black gloves that looked a bit like these.

Emil is a famous character from the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s books, but these wrist warmers have nothing to do with him. They have their name from my friend Emil, who asked me to knit me a pair of fingerless gloves for him, which I did. I later adapted them to fit myself, and it is this slightly more girlish version (mostly due to size)...