BIPOC in Fiber Launches Crowdfunder for Website

Jeanette Sloan has been at the forefront of discussions of diversity in knitting and the list of POC designers and crafters on her website has proven a valuable if rather low-tech resource both for consumers who want to support BIPOC designers and for knitting companies and event producers who want to be more diverse in selecting who they work with.

She’s teamed up with Lorna Hamilton-Brown (whose dissertation was about dispelling the myth that black people don’t knit) and website designer Alyson Chu to launch a dedicated website for BIPOC in fiber that will include a directory, profiles, support and more for designers and yarn crafters of color.

The project has been on Crowdfunder for just a few days and has already surpassed the goal of £20,000 raised. The money will go to producing the website and compensating people who are producing content for the site and rewards for the campaign.

This will be such a great resource for knitters, yarn companies and those who hire designers and teachers, and is another way to bring more attention to the diversity of the knitting and crafting world.

[Photo: BIPOC in Fiber.]

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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