Crowning glory hat: The Blog
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Like any good fiber art project, my natural hair has been a journey.
It started, like most things, after some good advice and well-researched direction from my cousin. I was a junior in college when I realized that the relaxer I had been getting since I was 6 years old was now causing my hair to fall out. So I was thrust into the world of natural hair.
How Black people wear our hair has always been part of our rich culture and heritage. However, from the times of slavery all the way to even now, Black hair has been discriminated against and made to be a source of shame for Black people, particularly Black women. Black women were forced to cover their hair because white people were threatened by the elegant and intricate ways they styled their curls for fear of “tempting the white man.” Since then, we’ve done everything from wrapping our hair in scarves to chemically relaxing our curls to make them more acceptable to white people and “assimilate” into white society. That changed in a major way during the Civil Rights Movement and the modern natural hair movement when we chose to take back our idea of what it meant to be Black and beautiful. We chose styles like afros and other naturally curly options as a symbol of resistance and rejection of whiteness being the standard of beauty for us (and in many cases, for the sake of our health—have you seen what’s in a relaxer??). Regardless of how we’ve choosen to style our tresses, as a people, we have always been expressive with our hair. It is only because of white supremacy and ignorance that we have been made to feel less-than. Unfortunately, the discriminatory effects of slavery are still being felt today. Black women are 1.5x more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair. Little black girls have been kicked out of school because their afros or their braided protective styles “violate the dress codes.” Currently it is legal to discriminate against a person in the workplace or school because of their natural hair in 43 STATES!
So I sat in the bathroom of my college dorm cleaning up clumps of hair and realizing that I had to reckon with how much my hair defined my identity. 400 years of oppression and stigma, generations of motherly advice, “good hair” wishes and nappy-headed taunts filled my internal narrative.
“I’m too fat to keep it short. My curl pattern don’t sit right for a wash and go. I’ll make people uncomfortable if I wear an afro.”
Eventually I got the courage to cut off my relaxed ends and embraced my curly hair right before grad school. For the most part, I was sheltered because I worked in a lab run by a Black man who celebrated Black women and respected their hair choices. I was also blessed to have several Black women as lab sisters to comfort, admonish, and support me in many ways, including my hair journey. But then, I graduated and went into the real world. And then that internal narrative started again.
“Can I wear natural hair to work? Are white people really gonna try to touch it, like they don’t have no home training?? What about my scarves and head wraps? Would they really discriminate against me?”
It has taken lots of work, but through prayer and therapy I have adopted a new narrative:
“I am not my hair, but it is a big part of me and I must love the whole of me, no matter what others think or say.”
As we transition into Women’s History Month and the month of my 30th birthday I want to say to Black women everywhere:
We are beautiful
And our hair is beautiful
We are the soul of this country
And the mothers of the earth
We are powerful and wonderful
Complex and diverse
Creative tastemakers
Vulnerable and checkered
Colorful and blessed
And magical to unimaginable depths
The Crowning Glory Hat celebrates just this. Inspired by the Deja earrings created by Hello Charlie Blu, this hat represents the beauty of Black women and Black hair. The hat incorporates a simple knitted construction for the “hair” as the base, then a chart is used to duplicate stitch in an abstract facial design. But I have to say, my favorite part is the Curly-Haired Pom! This pattern also includes instruction to create a full and fluffy pom that resembles naturally curly hair using the crochet chain loop stitch. The piece is seamed and attached like a normal pom to create a beautiful curly-coiffed hat. Feel free to adorn with hair jewels as well, if desired. I hope you enjoy this pattern and all that it stands for. I’m excited to see what you create! Tag me on Instagram @drcharlieuntangled and use the hashtag #CrowningGloryHat if you do choose to make one!
Also, check out the Crown Act campaign so you can support the legislative efforts to end Black hair discrimination in your state. Cultural expression is a human right.
Materials and Pattern Information
MATERIALS
US 9 (5.5 mm) (or size needed to get gauge) 16” circulars or double pointed needles or 32-40” circulars for magic loop
Hook:
US K/10.5 (6.5 mm)
Bulky yarn (2 colors)
Lion Brand Color Made Easy (247 yds, 200 g)
Caviar (color A)
Hat body: ~ 225 yds
Curly-haired Pom: ~115 yds
Patons Classic Wool Roving (120 yds, 100 g)
Yellow (color B)
Duplicate stitching: ~35-40 yds
Stitch markers
Large eye tapestry needle
Tape measure
Scissors
MEASUREMENTS
Knitting gauge is ~13.5 st and 22 rounds in 4” of stockinette (stitch gauge matters more than round gauge)
No need to measure gauge for crochet Curly-Haired Pom
Finished hat measures 9” wide, 10” in height (not including pom)
Finished pom measures ~5” tall and 16” in perimeter (around widest part)
TECHNIQUES TO KNOW (Intermediate Beginner)
Knitting
Knitting in the round
Stockinette stitch
Duplicate stitch
Crochet
Working in front loop only
Extended single crochet stitch: insert hook into next stitch to be worked. Yarn over and pull up a loop. Yarn over and pull through 1 loop only. Yarn over and pull through remaining 2 loops.
Chain loop stitch (see instructions in Section 4: The Curly-haired Pom)
ABBREVIATIONS
BO – bind off
ch – chain/chains
CO – cast on
DPN – double pointed needle
FLO – front loop only
K – knit
rep – repeat
sc – single crochet
st – stitch/stitches
TIPS FROM THE DR.
Color choices: Feel free to use whatever colors that move you for your “face” and “hair”, but I’ve found that the chart looks best if the hair is at least a slightly darker color than the face