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Mason-Dixon Knitting Changes Name

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Mason-Dixon Knitting started in 2003 as a blog written by two online knitting friends — Ann Shayne in Tennessee and Kay Gardiner in New York — who had never met in real life. Together they published two books and have since turned the website into a space for daily knitting content and a storefront where they sell their own field guides to knitting as well as yarn and other goodies.

But the name of the site is problematic because of the racist history of the Mason-Dixon line as the dividing line between slave states and those where slavery was prohibited.

Dana Williams-Johnson, a regular contributor to the site, wrote that the name “always felt like a punch to the gut” when it would come up in web searches. “Eventually, I stopped looking at the name and focused on what their site was doing and I found that I had a place there. Just like with my site, I found a place where I hoped I could be seen.”

She said that she “can’t just get back to knitting” amid the protests and mistreatment of Black people in the news.

Lately, with everything going on in the news, I’ve been thinking, as much as people love my photos and tell me just how cute my husband is, if you saw him walking in Central Park wearing one of his hand knit sweaters and he asked you to put your dog on a leash—would you threaten to call the police on him and tell him he’s threatening you when he’s not? Like what happened to Christian Cooper. If you saw him going for a run in your neighborhood, would he get gunned down like Ahmaud Arbery? For as much love and support I get online about my knitting, if I was murdered in my own home while I slept like Breonna Taylor, would you demand justice for me? Or would you just keep knitting?

Ann and Kay responded by changing the name of their website to Modern Daily Knitting. In an Instagram post announcing the change, they said “We are deeply sorry for the pain we caused by having a name that did not communicate a warm welcome to all knitters, including Black knitters and knitters of color. We apologize for taking so long to realize that our name could not and should not stand.”

They noted that changes are being made across platforms and printed materials to complete the change.

I post this as news, not to get into a political debate and whether the change was necessary, and I hope any comments on this post will reflect that as well.

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Comments

  3. The gals at MDK just now figured out that there might be a problem with their name? How amazingly stupid of them.

  4. I am so delighted with the name change! For many years I stayed away from your book and sight because of the name. Then I got entranced by the blog. So I say YIPEEEEE! Change is good.

  8. This change is long overdue: the name WAS alarming and stupid. Who ever thought it was cute or clever???.

  9. I applaud your name change and your reasoning. I have and will continue perusing your site, with a lighter heart.

  10. Thank you for being so open with your decision, and it makes me feel so much better about it too… Happy knitting and honouring us with your decision

  12. The name always made me cringe, and I was surprised that two women who seemed so intelligent didn’t realize that it was offensive, not just to Black people, but other people who don’t appreciate the legacy of the old South.

    I liked their projects, but could never let myself follow them or buy any of their projects.

    This is the ignorance and contempt that Black people feel from whites, which we be so oblivious to. But this was glaring and obvious. I’m glad they changed the name, but damn it took a very long time.

Have you read?

Summer T-Shirt Knitting Patterns

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.