Pride Rainbow
Today, July 1st, marks 50 years since around 500 Gay Liberation Front (GLF) members marched through the streets of London, in what became known as the nation's first ever Pride March.
I firmly believe that Love is Love and stand as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. You will always find a safe space in my woolly world.
I've created a new rainbow knitting pattern (you can find my previous one here) to celebrate Pride, but to also highlight that there is still progress to be made. This pattern was inspired by the Progress Pride Flag.
This is a free knitting pattern, but you can donate as you feel/can. You can donate to any LGBTQ+ charity of your choice, I personally have donated to akt Queen to Stay.
If you don't know about the Pride Flag and the variations of it, there's no time like the present to learn. The colours represent:
Red - Life
Orange - Healing
Yellow - Sunlight
Green - Nature
Blue - Serenity
Violet - Spirit
In 2018 Daniel Quasar released a redesign of the Pride flag, called the Progress Pride flag. This flag includes black, brown, pink, pale blue and white stripes, to represent marginalised people of colour in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the trans community, and those living with HIV/AIDS.
"The arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made." explained Daniel Quasar.
In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights UK, shared an updated version to the Progress Pride flag, which included a yellow triangle and purple circle to represent the intersex community. Intersex people are born with a combination of male and female traits, including hormones, chromosomes and genitals.
RECOMMENDED MATERIALS
YARN:
Stylecraft Special Chunky
100% acrylic, 144m per 100g
A - Red x 1 ball
B - Orange x 1 ball
C - Yellow x 1 ball
D - Green x 1 ball
E - Blue x 1 ball
F - Violet x 1 ball
G - White x small amount
H - Pink x small amount
I - Light Blue x small amount
J - Brown x small amount
K - Black x small amount
OTHER MATERIALS
- 6mm (US 10) knitting needles
- 100g of toy stuffing
- Darning needle for sewing up
FINISHED SIZE: 48cm x 40cm x 4cm (19in x 16in x 1 1/4 in)
CHANGING THE YARN WEIGHT
You can change the size of your rainbow by changing the yarn weight. Follow the same pattern, but change the yarn weight and use the needle size recommended on the ball band.
If using DK you'd need around 40g of A, B, C, D, E and F.
You'll need a small amount of G, H, I, J and K.
If using Super Chunky you'd need around 200g of A, B, C, D, E and F.
You'll need 50g of G, H, I, J and K.
ABBREVIATIONS
K Knit
K2tog Knit 2 stitches together, decreasing from two to one stitch
Kfb Knit into the front and back of the same stitch, increasing from one stitch to two stitches
P Purl
SKP Slip a stitch, knit a stitch, pass the slipped stitch over. Decreasing from two to one stitch
Sts Stitches
PATTERN
Rainbow - Make two of these pieces. You'll sew them together later.
Cast on 96 stitches in A (red).
Row 1 K
Row 2 P
Row 3 K
Row 4 P
Row 5 K22, SKP, K8, SKP, K8, SKP, K8, K2tog, K8, K2tog, K8, K2tog, K22 (90 sts)
Row 6 P
Row 7 K
Row 8 P
Row 9 Change to B (orange), working all stitches in it until stated. K
Row 10 P
Row 11 K22, SKP, K7, SKP, K7, SKP, K6, K2tog, K7, K2tog, K7, K2tog, K22 (84 sts). Pattern note: the K6 is intentional and is not an error.
Row 12 P
Row 13 K
Row 14 P
Row 15 Change to C (yellow) working all stitches in it until stated. K
Row 16 P
Row 17 K22, SKP, K6, SKP, K6 [adding a SM to the 4th of these 6 stitches], SKP, K4, K2tog, K6 [adding a SM to the 3rd of these 6 stitches], K2tog, K6, K2tog, K22 (78 sts)
Pattern note: only add the SMs to one side of the rainbow, or if you'd like it to have a face on both sides add them to both pieces. You'll need an extra pair of eyes if doing this.
Row 18 P
Row 19 K
Row 20 P
Row 21 Change to D (green), working all stitches in it until stated. K
Row 22 P
Row 23 K22, SKP, K5, SKP, K5, SKP, K2, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K22 (72 sts)
Row 24 P
Row 25 K
Row 26 P
Row 27 Change to E (blue), working all stitches in it until stated. K
Row 28 P
Row 29 K22, SKP, K4, SKP, K4, SKP, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K4, K2tog, K22 (66 sts)
Row 30 P
Row 31 K
Row 32 P
Row 33 Change to F (violet), working all stitches in it until stated. K
Row 34 P
Row 35 K22, SKP, K3, SKP, K3, K2tog, K3, K2tog, K3, K2tog, K22 (60 sts)
Row 36 P
Row 37 K
Row 38 P
Row 39 K
Row 40 P
Row 41 Cast off, leaving a tail for sewing up.
FLAG CHEVRONS
Make one chevrons in each of these colours:
G (white), H (pink), I (light blue), J (brown), and K (black).
Cast on 5 stitches.
Row 1 K
Row 2 P
Row 3 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 4 P
Rows 5 - 20 Repeat Rows 3 and 4. I've included them below for you to tick off.
Row 5 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 6 P
Row 7 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 8 P
Row 9 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 10 P
Row 11 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 12 P
Row 13 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 14 P
Row 15 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 16 P
Row 17 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 18 P
Row 19 K1, Kfb, K2tog, K1 (5 sts)
Row 20 P
Row 21 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 22 P
Rows 23 - 38 Repeat Rows 21 and 22
Row 23 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 24 P
Row 25 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 26 P
Row 27 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 28 P
Row 29 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 30 P
Row 31 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 32 P
Row 33 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 34 P
Row 35 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 36 P
Row 37 K1, SKP, Kfb, K1 (5 sts)
Row 38 P
Row 39 Cast off, leaving a tail for sewing up.
INTERSEX FLAG - Make One
Cast on 3 stitches in C (yellow).
Row 1 K
Row 2 P
Row 3 K1, Kfb, K2 (4 sts)
Row 4 P
Row 5 K1, Kfb, K3 (5 sts)
Row 6 P
Row 7 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (6 sts)
Row 8 P
Row 9 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (7 sts)
Row 10 P
Row 11 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (8 sts)
Row 12 P
Row 13K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (9 sts)
Row 14 P
Row 15 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (10 sts)
Row 16 P
Row 17 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (11 sts)
Row 18 P
Row 19 K1, Kfb, K to the end of the row (12 sts)
Row 20 P
Row 21 K1, SKP to the end of the row (11 sts)
Row 22 P
Row 23 K1, SKP to the end of the row (10 sts)
Row 24 P
Row 25 K1, SKP to the end of the row (9 sts)
Row 26 P
Row 27 K1, SKP to the end of the row (8 sts)
Row 28 P
Row 29 K1, SKP to the end of the row (7 sts)
Row 30 P
Row 31 K1, SKP to the end of the row (6 sts)
Row 32 P
Row 33 K1, SKP to the end of the row (5 sts)
Row 34 P
Row 35 K1, SKP to the end of the row (4 sts)
Row 36 P
Row 37 K1, SKP to the end of the row (3 sts)
Row 38 P
Row 39 Cast off, leaving a tail for sewing up.
1. Take the two rainbow pieces and place them together with the wrong sides facing in. The edges will curl, so pin or tack them together so they match up. You can weave the loose ends in before sewing up, but I find it easier to tuck them in and sew them into the seams as I go along.
Sew the cast on edges (the red sections) together using horizontal mattress stitch in A, as shown by the dashed line. This is the kind of stitch that's used when sewing a shoulder seam together. You can YouTube this stitch if you're unsure how to do it you can check out my knit along I posted on IGTV. This knit along was for my NHS rainbow, but you can apply the techniques to this rainbow.
Then sew one of the shorter multicoloured sides together using regular mattress stitch, as shown by the purple dashes, tucking in the loose ends as you go. As you're using mattress stitch you can still use A when sewing up, as you shouldn't be able to see the stitching on the finished knit. Then, sew up the other side of this shorter multicoloured using A. Weave the loose ends in to the inside seams.
Then sew the cast off seams together using horizontal mattress stitch, leaving a hole for stuffing. You can use F to sew this up, but I continued with A as you won't see the stitching.
If you prefer you could use backstitch and place the pieces with right sides facing in, pin or tack them and sew up leaving a hole, then turn the rainbow inside out.
2. Next you'll need to sew the chevrons and the Intersex Flag together to create an arrow.
Point all the chevrons so the points in the centre are facing to the right, and the right sides of the work are facing towards you. Place the pieces, as shown above.
Sew the black section to the brown section using regular mattress stitch.
Then repeat for the next section, sewing the brown section to the light blue one.
Sew the light blue section to the pink one.
Sew the pink section to the white one.
Then, sew the white section to the Intersex Flag.
Weave the loose ends into the seams on the wrong side of the the work.
Finally embroider a circle using the F violet yarn. Embroidery is not my strongest skill, so I probably spent the most time getting this right!
3. Place the arrow to the left of the rainbow, with the edge of the Intersex Flag along the left edge of the rainbow and sew in place. I used each yarn colour to sew up each section, so the stitching wasn't visible.
Plump up the toy stuffing to make it nice and fluffy. Stuff the rainbow following the shape of it. Take some time and care to make sure the stuffing is nice and even. I always think you should take as much care stuffing a project as you do knitting it. You may find your rainbow looks a little misshapen as you stuff it, but I find that pressing on it as you stuff it helps with the shaping. Stuff all around the rainbow, filling out the edges. Don't over stuff the rainbow. You'll know if you've over stuffed it if you can see the stuffing between the stitches. Though if you're making your rainbow to be a cushion you may actually want to slightly over stuff it, as it will start to flatten once it's in use.
Then sew up the right edge of the rainbow using regular mattress stitch. To weave in the loose end push the needle in and out of the seam a few times and then trim it down.
4. If you're displaying your rainbow in a window hanging it up will depend on the kind of window you have. To hang it up you could use fishing line (or you some strong yarn). I sewed through the back of my rainbow in two different places along the yellow section and securely tied the fishing line to the the window handles. You might need to get creative to hang it or you could just rest it on the window sill instead.
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