emPower people is a purple colored craftivism project aimed at uniting crafters to spark conversation, engagement, and action. Wear it when you vote, grocery shop, march, or knit in your socially isolated bedroom. We would love to see a sea of purple to represent unity so please tell your friends, family, knitting groups, or anyone who can knit, crochet, or sew a simple pattern. Make a bandana and a commitment to vote!

This is the emPower People Knit bandana and there is also a crochet pattern here and a sewing pattern and all three are free and available at the emPower People website. Please spread the word!

Patterns Designers
Knit: Casapinka - check out her security guard!
Crochet: BzyPeach - check out her yarn and yarn journals!
Sewing: Broke and Crafty - check out her project bags!

Read about our goals on the website and above left. Purple van logo is by Ashley Nelson Jackson and the model is Cambria Washington.

Yarn
Lady Dye Yarns For the People color way is the kickoff yarn but there are soooo many other colors available so please go and give these small businesses some love!

There is a list of dyers who have purple yarn as well and BIPOC dyers are noted by an asterisk so please support them.

There is a list of Local Yarn Stores that have purple yarn as well.

Dyers please email me casapinka2@yahoo.com with your email, business name and link on one line but only if you have purple DK yarn currently available - and if you are BIPOC and would like me to note that, please let me know, just to be sure. We want to send people your way so please dye yarn!

Pattern
The pattern is a cowl/bandana that is all garter stitch, knit flat with a small seam at the end. It is a beginner pattern. Gauge isn’t terribly important because you knit to a specific length and you usually don’t even need to block it. It is sized to also fit over natural hair if you want to wear it on your head. It is also easy to adjust sizes for your children, cat or dog. Sharon From Security has one and loves it (except she’s not so good at keeping it clean while patrolling and issuing citations to trespassing wild turkeys.)

Yarn requirements: No more than 225 yards of DK yarn. The yardages varied greatly so I put 225 to be safe. Mine required about 150 yards, some more some less, depending on what yarn you use. If you wish to use fingering yarn, simply double it, and sport weight, go down in needle size until you get a fabric that you like. Worsted can be done on a US7 or 8 and bulky has not been tested (hey, I live in RI with no air-conditioning, you’re asking for miracles here.)