Free speech & headlight cowl: The Blog

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist, a women’s rights activist, an anti-lynching crusader, and a co-founder of the NAACP.

In 1892, she became a part-owner of a Memphis newspaper called the Free Speech and Headlight. Wells-Barnett used the Free Speech to launch her anti-lynching campaign and it became very popular. She published an article denouncing the egregious lynchings of 3 Black men—Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart—on March 9th of that same year for opening a grocery store across from a white competitor. Angered by the loss of business, he accused them of raping white women and had them arrested. They were then kidnapped from the jail and lynched. An angry white mob destroyed the Free Speech while she was out of town and threatened her life if she ever returned to Memphis. She traveled across the country raising awareness about lynching and attacked the weak excuses given to defend the atrocities. Later settling in Chicago, she continued her journalism and activism to advance women’s rights, ensure Black representation in local elections, and co-found the NAACP.

Ida is my shero. She spent so much of her time and energy shedding light on how horrible, how baseless, and how pervasive lynching practices were all over the South in the 1890s. As a Black woman, a craftivist, and a writer from the south side of Chicago, it was my absolute honor to partner with Lady Dye Yarns for this design. I hope the Free Speech & Headlight Cowl will pay homage to all that she has done for the Black community, women, and all the intersections in between. If you choose to knit this project, hopefully you can reflect on how far we’ve come in the journey to diversity, equity, inclusion, & justice, and how far we still have to go. Think of the women who have lit the way in your life and think of ways you can light the way for someone else.

Tag me @drcharlieuntangled and use the hashtag #freespeechandheadlightcowl.

Materials and Pattern Information

MATERIALS

  • Featured Yarn: Lady Dye Yarns fingering weight big minis 75% superwash merino, 25% nylon; 200 yds (183 m) per 50 g

    • Chadwick (MC): 1 skein 200 yds (183 m)

    • Lightning Rod (CC): 1 skein 200 yds (183 m)

  • Size US 4 (3.5mm) circular knitting needles (or size needed to get gauge), 22-30”/56-76 cm cable length

  • Stitch marker

  • Scissors

  • Tapestry needle

  • Tape measure

MEASUREMENTS

  • Gauge: 28 sts & 36 rows per 4”/10 cm in stockinette, blocked

  • Finished measurement: 27.5”/70 cm circumference, 8.5”/22 cm H

TECHNIQUES TO KNOW (Intermediate level)

  • Knitting in the round

  • Fair isle knitting/double-stranded color work

  • Tubular cast on (optional)

  • Tubular/grafted bind off (optional)

ABBREVIATIONS

Written in standard US terminology

  • BO: bind off

  • CC: contrast color

  • CO: cast on

  • k: knit

  • MC: main color

  • p: purl

  • rep: repeat

  • sl: slip (purlwise)

  • st(s): stitch(es)

  • tbl: through the back loop

  • wyib: with yarn in back (as if to knit)

  • wyif: with yarn in front (as if to purl)

TIP FROM THE DR.

  • Fair isle knitting/double-stranded knitting & floats: The newsprint & lighting elements of this design require a lot of very long floats. You’ll need to find the method for holding 2 strands of yarn and catching floats that works best for you. I recommend catching floats somewhere between every 3-6 stitches. Roxanne Richardson, Aurora Sisneros, and Staci of VeryPink Knits have some great resources for stranded colorwork and catching floats. Check them out!

  • Color choices: Feel free to use whatever colors that you like for your dark & light options. Higher contrast will create the best visual effect

  • CO/BO options: I’ve opted for tubular CO & BO, but feel free to sub for longtail CO and your favorite stretchy BO. Here are some helpful videos for tubular CO (Roxanne Richardson, VeryPink Knits, Andrea Mowry) and tubular BO (Roxanne Richardson & VeryPink Knits)

Paid PatternsAkia Parks