A Low-Pressure Make-along to Support Designers of Color

I love the idea and the spirit behind the BIPOC Make Along, hosted by Desamour Designs.

One of the important things I’ve learned — and I think a lot of other people have learned, too — in the past year is that it’s not enough to say you’re not racist or that you support diversity in the fiber arts community, you need to really show it.

And one way to show it, of course, is through financial support, such as buying a designer’s pattern or a maker’s yarn.

To that end this make-along was designed to encourage people to support BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) designers while also making something great to give as a gift or to keep for yourself. And of course you can use a free pattern as well.

The make-along officially runs from Sept. 2 to Nov. 4 and is meant to be casual and stress-free as well as a supportive environment for making new friends in the fiber community around the world.

Of course there will be prizes, too, for people who share their progress online. Click the link above for all the details.

I’m thinking hard about a My Boy Lollipop, which has been on my mind all summer. If you join in, I’d love to know what you’re knitting!

[Photo via Desamour Designs.]

Next Pattern:

Just about anything you can make in fabric you can make in knitting, but there are some styles that you just don’t see that often translated into knitting.

For example, a button down collared shirt. This is a classic design, of course, and it looks great in a knit version, but it’s just not something you see much of.

Noma Ndlovu’s Guglethu shirt is the pattern to try if you want to knit your own button down shirt. This one is inspired by cashmere tops (though the sample was made out of yak yarn, not cashmere, and uses two strands of lace weight yarn held together) and includes lots of high-fashion details like double-knit cuffs, collar and shoulder seams.

It has a patch pocket on the front and 10 buttons including the button band and the cuffs.

The designer says you can also use a DK weight yarn held singly if you’d rather, and that the shirt looks good in a variety of yarns. There is another version on Ravelry that uses Berroco Remix Light, which is a mix of nylon, cotton, acrylic, silk and cellulose fibers. It has a more relaxed look but it still really pretty.

The pattern has 12 sizes, with a full bust measurement ranging from 32.35 to 72.25 inches, or 82 to 183.5 cm. The designer suggests 2 to 6 inches, or 5 to 15 cm, of positive ease when you pick your size. I could totally see knitting one that’s even bigger to wear more like a jacket, because I do that a lot with button down shirts I already own.

I love all the details on this shirt, which isn’t necessarily difficult to knit, but might introduce you to some things you’ve never knit before (like those cuffs with the plackets, or a shirt collar like this).

To learn more about this shirt and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself, head to Ravelry.

[Photo: Noma Ndlovu]

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