We Must Do Better by Dianna Walla

We Must Do Better

Knitting
November 2017
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
28 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches
in stranded colorwork on larger needles
US 1 - 2.25 mm
US 3 - 3.25 mm
135 yards (123 m)
Hand Circumference: 7 in/17.5 cm
English

UPDATE JUNE 20, 2018: Given the situation of migrant children on the US border, proceeds from this project will be donated to RAICES Texas until further notice.

These mittens are part of an ebook - Join Hands. All proceeds from the collection will be split evenly between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

I was in London for a day in January 2017, a bleak month for myself (and many of us), when I picked up a slim little volume from a bookshop near my hotel: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It’s a short, approachable text adapted from a TED Talk that Adichie gave, and can easily be read in an hour or two. I appreciated the approachability of this little book, since “feminism” is a word that seems to intimidate some people, and I thought Adichie’s arguments were good ones at that. I was inspired to use a quote from the book, “we must do better,” to create these mitts, and I paired the graphic motif from the cover of my version with the text. My hope is that these mitts can be a conversation starter as well as something warm and beautiful to wear.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Hand Circumference: 7 in/17.5 cm; fits hands up to 7.5 in/19 cm depending on elasticity of colorwork
Length: 7 in/175.5 cm

GAUGE
28 sts/36 rnds = 4 in/10 cm in stranded colorwork on larger needles

YARN
Fingering weight yarn in three colors:
55 yds / 50 m in color A
25 yds / 23 m in color B
55 yds / 50 m in color C
Shown in Brooklyn Tweed Loft (100% Targhee-Columbia wool, 275 yd/251 m per 50g skein) Color A: Cast Iron; 1 skein Color B: Fossil; 1 skein Color C: Cinnabar; 1 skein

NEEDLES
Needle sizes are recommendations only. Always use needle size necessary to obtain gauge. Use preferred small-circumference circular knitting method such as double-pointed needles, magic loop, or two circulars.
Needle A: US #1/2.25 mm Needle B: US #3/3.25 mm

NOTIONS
1 stitch marker
waste yarn
tapestry needle