BLM-Bogolan scarf: The Blog

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Let’s talk about self-love. Like for real, for real.

If you were truly honest when I asked if you loved every part of yourself, would that answer be yes? For me that answer would definitely be a hard no. I have struggled my whole life with loving many of the facets that make up who I am, whether or not I technically have the power to change them. I have internalized a lot of self-hate about the way I look, my body, my hair, and my Blackness, and it’s only been through very intentional changes and lots of therapy that I’m even beginning to learn to love myself regardless of what I may think are my “flaws.”

I could dedicate a number of blog posts about a specific element of myself I have struggled to love (and I might) but today I want to talk about my journey to freely and openly expressing my love for being Black. It’s no secret that if you analyze any societal metric of success and you insert a Black woman’s face (particularly a dark skinned woman’s face, but again…for another time) it’s viewed as the exception and not the rule. Picture a woman who’s pretty, smart, fit, happy, emotionally stable, financially literate with familial support, community protection, and an overall bright future. Did she look like me? Here’s to hoping she did, but it’s likely she did not. This idea of being less-than is a concept that a little Black girl learns even before she has the language to express race/racial injustice. Couple that with the constant comparison to other girls, even ones that look like her—again, too fat, too skinny, too Black, not Black enough, too nappy, tryna be white and so on—and she’s setting herself up for some major self-love issues. At least that’s how it worked out for me. And this was all with the incredible privileges of being light-skinned, cis-gendered & heterosexual, able-bodied, with loving parents, a good education, and minimal interactions with the justice system. 

Fast forward to adult-me and I’m working everyday to love the woman that I am better than I did the day before. That’s certainly easier in some areas than it is in others, so there’s definitely still work to do. At least as far as my Blackness is concerned, I’ve come to the realization that even though I don’t have a ton of information about where my family is originally from because #slavery, I am proud of the rich history and culture of Black people, specifically Black women, here and all over the world. I intentionally inundate my social media experiences with learning about how Black people are killing the game in all arenas in all corners of the earth. And allowing myself to even be proud of me, in my own little corner in my own little chair. I’m practicing giving myself the encouragement that I would a best friend. Actual best friends help too. 🙂

“Picture a woman who’s pretty, smart, fit, happy, emotionally stable, financially literate with familial support, community protection, and an overall bright future. Did she look like me?”

I guess that brings me to this pattern. I wanted to find a way to express my love for Black people everywhere. The social unrest here and abroad, like the injustice surrounding Breonna Taylor’s murder and the #endSars campaign in Nigeria, remind me that anti-blackness is global. But it has no place here at DCU! Here we like to find ways to celebrate Blackness. Speaking of which, have you heard of mudcloth, also called Bògòlanfini or Bogolan fabric? This fabric that originated from Mali, West Africa, was traditionally woven by men and dyed by women. It could then be used to ritually cover hunters for protection and wrap women after childbirth to relieve pain. Each of the symbols used have specific meaning and the patterns tell stories. Mudcloth was brought to the forefront of international fashion by Malian designer Chris Seydou. I learned some really interesting things about it and found a great cause to support at expeditionsubsahara.com. I’ve seen mudcloth motifs everywhere and loved them since I was a kid but was afraid to wear them and embrace their beauty because I felt so distanced from their origins. But I’ve learned that 1) mudcloth’s origins in Mali probably aren’t that far from my own ancestral roots, and 2) the best way to honor something that isn’t yours is to give it the credit and respect it deserves. 

In this scarf pattern I developed a Bogolan motif of my own and paired it with the reminder that Black lives matter everywhere! The contrast color tapering gives it some visual interest and allows for some fun pom-pom additions. It uses bulky yarn, knit it the round, so it works up really quickly. And I love that it’s super long and super drapey and wraps me in warmth and love all winter long! I hope you choose to make it and I hope you love it. And if you DO make one, I’d LOVE to see all your pictures and color variations.

Materials and Pattern Information

MATERIALS

  • Needles:

    • US 10.5 (6.5 mm) (or size needed to get gauge) 16” circulars or double pointed needles or 32-40” circulars for magic loop

    • 2nd set of US 10.5 (or size needed to get gauge) double pointed needles (only if using circulars or magic loop)

  • Yarn

    • Featured yarn: Lion Brand Color Made Easy bulky yarn (247 yrds, 200 g) (and alternatives)

      • 2 colorways, 2 skeins each

        • Birch (color A) & Caviar (color B)

    • Alternative yarn

      • 2 colors of bulky weight yarn, ~370 yrds of color A and ~335 yrds of color B

  • Stitch markers

  • Scrap yarn

  • Crochet hook

  • Tape measure

  • Tapestry needle

  • Scissors

  • Pom-pom maker (optional)

MEASUREMENTS

  • Gauge is 13 st and 18 rounds in 4”

  • Finished scarf (flattened tube) measures 97” in length (not including pom-poms) and 6” in width

TECHNIQUES TO KNOW (Advanced Beginner)

  • Knitting in the round

  • Decreasing

  • Knit 1 below

  • Crochet or other provisional cast on

  • Correcting the color jog in stripes

  • Fair isle/2 color knitting

  • Duplicate stitch

ABBREVIATIONS

  • ch – chain/chains

  • CO – cast on

  • Decr – decrease/decreases

  • DPN – double pointed needle

  • K – knit

  • K1b – knit 1 below

  • K2tog – knit 2 stitches together

  • sl – slip

  • st – stitch/stitches

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