1x50g Ball of Baker (Purple) Sockmatician Edition Yarn (DK)

BAKER’S STORY

The Baker referred to in this instance is Gilbert Baker,  the man who designed the Pride rainbow flag that has become the symbol of equality and inclusion all over the world.

The first version of the flag was designed by Baker in 1978, and initially contained eight different coloured stripes. The two colours that were in the original design that were later dropped when the flag became the six-stripe version that we know today, were pink and turquoise.

Originally, each stripe of colour represented a value, or virtue of the human condition.

Hot pink: Sex
Red: Life
Orange: Healing
Yellow: Sunlight
Green: Nature
Turquoise: Magic/Art
Indigo: Serenity
Violet: Spirit

It felt very important to me that I included Gilbert Baker’s name in the list of pioneers for my collection for many reasons. Firstly, his flag is a symbol that I feel very strongly about, and it has become an important part of my life. It is something by which members of the LGBT+ community can feel a sense of belonging, and safety, and togetherness, wherever they see it.

As I was pinning the foundation of the entire collection around his work, it would have been very remiss of me not to take the opportunity to honour the man himself, as a way to thank him for what his flag has meant to me, and given to my community.

And finally, the sad timing of his death in 2017, the same year I was working on this range of yarn, put Gilbert Baker firmly in the forefront of my mind, and so this is my way of saying thank you to the great man, for the contribution that his art has made to my life, and to the lives of countless millions of others.