GENEies March!

My family at the Boston March for Science

The March for Science happened just over two months ago.  The journey of designing the GENEie collection of DNA beanies, headbands and pussyhats was a whirlwind.  Not only are these some of my favorite designs ever, but you responded so positively to them, too.  The Boston March for Science was the first time that I saw someone wearing one of my designs... and I saw at least 10!  

The first time I ever found my designs on the street!  GENEies at the March for Science Boston.

I didn't take pictures with everyone I found wearing a GENEie (one of the kid speakers was wearing a plasmid headband!)  When I asked you, my amazing followers, to submit pictures of your GENEies that marched around the world, you delivered.  In Ravelry you can find pictures of many finished GENEies, but you don't always get to see them in action at the marches.  Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to submit pictures and give me permission to use them here on ChemKnits.  

GENEie Hats go Marching - Your Photo Submissions

Submitted by Reneta P., Boston, MA

Reneta P marched in Boston, too.  I didn't speak to her at the rally, but her sign caught my eye and when I realized she was also wearing a GENEie I was thrilled.  Reneta marched "because science is the way to understand the world and make it a better place."

Submitted by Jessica McGrath, Boston, MA

Jessica McGrath marched in Boston because "I'm a scientist and because science makes everyone's life better."  Puppies marched for science in GENEies, too!  I love the DNA helix of the GENEie Pussyhat in a contrasting color, it really pops.  

Submitted by Laura Patterson.  Washington, D.C.

Laura Patterson took a fantastic selfie at the Washington Monument.  "I'm from Sacramento, but I marched in D.C. representing California State Scientists. Critical thinking using empirical evidence is so important to tackling every issue we face, and I find the increasing disregard for science and facts as the bases for making decisions dismaying." I would have loved to travel to DC for the March for Science, but I am impressed by how many satellite marches there were.  

Submitted by Heather Kvale, Washington, D.C.

Heather Kvale also marched for science in Washington, D.C.  "me (headband), my husband (didn't have time to make him a hat), and our friend Katie (hat). :) Thank you so much for the patterns!"  It was my pleasure, Heather!  

Submitted by Bridget Shobe, Washington, D.C. 

Submitted by Bridget Shobe, Washington, D.C. 

"My name is Bridget Shobe and I marched in Washington DC. I knit several of the DNA hats for myself and friends! I am an environment science student at UMBC."  I love her slouchy version of the original cable GENEie hat!  I also love the picture of Bridget and her friends wearing brain hats.  There were so many interesting pro-science outfits at all of the marches.  It was wonderful to see what people created!  

Submitted by Lori Cambell.  Vancouver, BC, Canada

Lori Campbell submitted a photo she took while at the march in Vancouver, BC.  She didn't make or wear the hat, but she "did complement [the owner] on her lovelywork."

Submitted by Lauren Ross Feldman, Princeton, NJ

Lauren Ross Feldman marched in Princeton, NJ.  She has a PhD in linguistics and marched because "I believe in facts and research.  I do not believe that science is partisan."

Submitted by Lauren Ross Feldman, Princeton, NJ

Feldman added with her next photo submission, "I marched because my child - the one whose hand I am holding in this picture - almost died in October 2014 because of a mesenteric defect we didn't know she had. She is alive and well today because of science. Because of research and medicine. The first thing I said to my husband the morning after the election was 'How much federal funding do you think CHOP gets?' I am terrified for us and for all our children that there are answers out there, cures and treatments and prevention, that we desperately need funding & research to discover, and that this administration will set us back decades and we will lose lives and suffer quality of life."

Submitted by Lisa Hansen, San Francisco, CA

Lisa Hansen marched in San Francisco.  "We marched because we believe science is the best way to find solutions for problems, and that it has to be ALL science. You can't just pick the parts you like. Yes, science has got it wrong, but we always strive to be right. We study, we think, we challenge."

Submitted by Kathy W, San Francisco, CA

Kathy W marched in San Francisco with her sister-in-law, Catherine D.  I enjoy the peek of a palm tree in the background.  I'm not sure how the weather in CA was on April 22 but I bet it was warmer than Boston!  

Submitted by Katie Cabral, San Francisco, CA. 

Katie Cabral marched in San Francisco.  She took this photo at the UCSF pre-rally.

Submitted by Amy Replogle, Tacoma, WA.  

Amy Replogle  "marched in Tacoma, WA with a group of faculty, staff and students from the University of Puget Sound (it was my job to gather the contingent, hence the banner I'm wearing)."

Submitted by Rachie MGruis, Salt Lake City, UT

Rachie MGruis marched in Salt Lake City.  I love her crochet applique GENEIE (aka spliced.)  I still wish that I had been able to design a full crochet version of the DNA cable, but I'm glad that some crocheters liked the spliced work around.  

Submitted by Rachel Smith Gebauer, Klamath Falls, OR.

Some people marched with crowds of thousands of people.  Rachel Smith Gebauer marched in Klamath Falls, Oregon with "100+ marchers in a rural Red town."  Rachel said, "I wore it proudly at our local March. I wore my Science Not Silence button on the opposite side."

Submitted by Nancy Adams, Portland, OR.

There were so many different science hats representing many fields across the country.  Nancy Adams submitted a photograph of her daughter and her friends at the Portland, Oregon march.  "In addition to the GENEie hat are the Science March Forest Beanie and Swimming Bacteria hats."  

A post shared by Erin Huggins (@erin.hugs) on Apr 22, 2017 at 12:39pm PDT

Erin Huggins (@erin.hugs) marched in Columbia, South Carolina.

A post shared by Patricia (@madlycreativeme) on Apr 3, 2017 at 2:16pm PDT

Patricia (@madlycreativeme) marched in Seattle, WA.   Her science pins were really epic and really elevated the knit GENEie hat.

A post shared by Patricia (@madlycreativeme) on Apr 29, 2017 at 11:58am PDT

Thank you so much for sharing these pictures with me, and giving me permission to share them! Writing up this post I am feeling all of the feels. I love connecting with different knitters and crafters, but to connect through our love of crafting and our commitment to raising our voices was especially inspiring. Please don't forget to use your voice to speak up about the issues you care about. Take time to contact your elected officials (I like 5calls.org and I've heard positive things about Resistbot.)

Pride Headband - DIY Rainbow Tulle Flower

June is Pride month!  I designed some fun twisted rib Celebrate Equality Wristbands, but Lucky claimed these "bracelets" as his own.  I planned to create some kind of fascinator to show my support for the LGBTQ communities.

I picked up some tulle in rainbow colors.  There were many different options to chose from, so I selected the brightest options I could.  I purchased 1/4 yard of each color which would be more than enough for multiple headbands and was only a couple of dollars total.

When I laid the squares out on the table, the gradient they formed was stunning.  I took MANY photos!

My original inspiration was to create some kind of rainbow poof headband.  However, I LOVED the way the tulle stars came out from my patriotic headband, so I wanted to create similar petals for my rainbow pride headband.  (Even if the tulle was a pain to work with!)  The plan for this headband is to make six petals in a ROYGBP colorway.

I cut two 5" squares in each color.  Just like with the tulle patriotic star flowers, I folded the double tulle on the diagonal twice and then created a running stitch through the raw edge.  As I pulled these closed I formed a six petal flower.  

The finished star is about 5" across in either direction.  

The star/flower went together quickly.  The frustrations that I had working with the tulle last time were absent this time.  I think that after I had created a few petals I got the hang of it and it was much easier to complete.

The finished flower is adorable, but it was missing something.  I decided to add a huge rhinestone to the center of the flower to give it some sparkle.

Next, I turned the flower over and glued it onto a plastic headband I purchased from the dollar store.  I got a pack of four headbands for $1!  I made sure to put glue under the headband to help the flower keep its hold on the hair accessory.  

This cute little headband was complete!  Notice how I glued the flower off center. I wanted it to be on the side of my head, not on the top of my head.  I also placed the flower so the purple, blue and green petals would show on the side of my face since these are my favorite colors.

This flower is darling.  It doesn't have the poof exuberance that I initially envisioned, but I am so excited about how this flower turned out.  I have a feeling that I will be making more tulle headbands in my future, and I look forward to wearing this flower proudly for Pride month.

I have some ideas for knit Pride hats, but it is just so hot right now that I can't even think about trying on wool hats with the air conditioning running.  Showing support for Pride is relevant for more than just in June, so these designs will come out of my sketches someday!  For this Pride month, we are sharing our support for our friends, family and community with warm weather friendly wristbands and headbands.  

Lucky is 3.5 years old.  We told him that this year that his "bracelets" mean that we believe in equality for everyone as a family, and that we believe that people should be able to express who they are.  Marriage equality doesn't seem like an issue for debate to Lucky, it is just a fact and is completely normal that people can marry who they love.  Working for acceptance and tolerance starts in the home, and I hope to teach my boys to stand up for their friends.  

Celebrate Equality Wristbands

It was a proud day in college in 2004 when Massachusetts recognized same-sex marriage.  It was even more exciting in 2015 when the verdict in Obergefell v. Hodges was announced, indicating that same-sex marriage is guaranteed by the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the 14th amendment.  While one big milestone has been reached, there are still laws in many states that allow discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender expression in cases of employment, housing, providing service and more.  To say that this is a huge problem is an understatement.

June is LGBTQ Pride Month. There are marches all over the country to celebrate Pride.  This year I felt a need to do more than just type my words of support to the LGBTQ community.  I wanted to create something with my hands to express my support.  The Celebrate Equality Wristbands come in two colorways, a rainbow to represent the Gay Pride Flag and stripes of Blue, Pink and White to represent the Trans Pride Flag.

Materials

• Yarn - Each wristband weighs under 10 grams and used less than 19 yards of yarn total.  I rounded up to the nearest full gram.
• Gay Pride: 6 colors of 100% cotton aran weight yarn.  Sample knit with Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran in Red (Pillar Red; 2 g, 4 yards), Orange (Blood Orange; 2 g, 3 yards), Yellow (Buttercup Yellow; 2 g, 3 yards), Green (Lime Green; 2 g, 3 yards), Blue (Sky Blue; 2 g, 3 yards) and Purple (Rich Mauve; 2 g, 4 yards). 
• Trans Pride:  3 colors of 100% cotton aran weight yarn.  Sample knit with Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran in Pale Pink (Candyfloss Pink; 3 g, 6 yards), Pale Blue (Duck Egg Blue; ) and White (Paper White; 2 g, 3 yards).  
• Knitting Needles - Size 6 (4.0 mm) DPN's or circular needles long enough for the magic loop.  
• Gauge - 15 sts/3" stockinette 
• Finished Size - approximately 2" wide and 7" around. 

In May, Love Knitting contacted me to see if I would be interested in trying some of their yarns.  I was about to place an order for rainbow cotton yarns to make this Pride project.  When I asked the Love Knitting representative if they would be interested in partnering with some of my Pride Month projects, they said "As a company, and as individuals, we have a very strong ethic of believing in and standing up for equality and we're not shy to support your projects!"  I am super happy to support and promote a company that supports equality!  Love Knitting carries a huge selection of popular brands of yarns in addition to some of their own exclusive lines.  They also carry patterns and other knitting and crafting supplies.

100% cotton isn't very stretchy, so I wanted to create a pretty ribbed pattern for these wristbands.  I created twisted stitches by knitting through the back loop (k-tbl).   This would give the finished object some stretch but also be slightly elevated from a standard ribbing pattern.

Abbreviations used in this pattern

• K-tbl - Knit through the back loop
• P - purl
• sts - stitches

Celebrate Equality Wristbands Knitting Pattern  Sizing Note: The pattern is a repeat of 2 stitches.  You can adjust the size by casting on more or fewer stitches, just make sure you use an even number.  

• Twisted Ribbing Pattern: *K-tbl, P1* around
• For the Gay Pride Stripes: 
• Cast on 40 sts in Red.  Join to knit in the round.  
• Knit 2 rounds in the twisted ribbing pattern:  *K-tbl, P1* around
• Switch to Orange and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds. 
• Switch to Yellow and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.
• Switch to Green and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.
• Switch to Blue and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.
• Switch to Purple and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.
• Bind off in pattern.  The linked video shows an example how to bind off following a 2x2 ribbing pattern.  For these wristbands, K-tbl, P1, pass the first stitch over the next.  K-tbl, pass one stitch over to bind off a second stitch.  Continue following the ribbing pattern until all stitches are bound off.  
• For the Trans Pride Stripes: 

• Cast on 40 sts in pale blue.  Join to knit in the round.
• Knit 3 rounds in the twisted ribbing pattern:  *K-tbl, P1* around
• Switch to pink and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.  
• Switch to white and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds. 
• Switch to pink and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 3 rounds.  
• Switch to pale blue and follow the twisted ribbing pattern for 4 rounds.
• Bind off in pattern.  The linked video shows an example how to bind off following a 2x2 ribbing pattern.  For these wristbands, K-tbl, P1, pass the first stitch over the next.  K-tbl, pass one stitch over to bind off a second stitch.  Continue following the ribbing pattern until all stitches are bound off.  
• Weave in all loose ends.  Enjoy your Celebrate Equality Wristbands.

 

Sizing Notes: 
My wrist is small, around 6.25" around.  If I were to create a wristband with 32 stitches (my gauge is 5 sts/inch) then it would stretch out completely and be a struggle to get over my hand.  I cast on 40 stitches to give myself a loose fit that was easy to slip on and off.  

Pride parades are a lot of fun.  There is more to being an ally than showing up to a parade or adding a rainbow to your profile picture.  Stand up for members of our communities.  Call your representatives (I like 5calls.org for sample scripts for a huge number of issues), show up at town halls, and tell our elected officials that we stand for equality and we stand against discrimination.  Contact your school boards and education committees to support students in your community.

I have some other projects I hope to create for Pride Month.  Stay tuned!

Love Knitting sent me the PaintBox Yarns Cotton Aran yarn for free to try.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  

Celebrate Equality Wristbands Knitting Pattern © 2017 ChemKnits & Rebecca Roush Brown.  This pattern is available for free via www.ChemKnits.com for your personal or charity use.  You are not to copy or distribute this pattern without the permission of the publisher, ChemKnits.