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The Knitting Activists of Ferguson, Missouri

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the yarn mission ferguson missouriKnitting somehow seems to make its way into all aspects of life if you pay attention. There are knitters who knit for fun, to clothe their families and other loved ones in warm garments, and those who knit to support a cause or to make a stand against overseas garment production.

There are knitting grannies in several places protesting fracking with knit ins, and there’s The Yarn Mission in Ferguson, Missouri, a group of knitters who sit and knit at a local coffeshop, giving protestors a respite from what’s happening on the streets, and giving knitters a chance to talk about social justice with people who might not otherwise talk to them.

Group member Taylor Payne told the Guardian:

If someone asks me what I’m doing, I say, ‘I’m knitting for black liberation.’ Sometimes they respond and sometimes I just get ‘Oh, my grandma knits,’ like the person didn’t hear me. But at least it opens the door to talking about my experiences.

They also make the point that people simply don’t see a lot of black knitters, so it raises the profile of diversity in the craft as well, which is always a good thing. And knitting is a great way to start conversations — even difficult conversations — among people who might not have much or anything in common beyond that “Oh, my grandma knits” kind of statement.

I kind of want to send them yarn, but if you’re local you can buy some of their knits at MoKaBe’s, a coffee shop where the group often meets. You can also follow the Yarn Mission on Facebook.

[Photo via the Guardian.]

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Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.