The East London pair have created a safe place for Black women to be creative

Finding a hobby that falls in the sweet spot between enjoyable and challenging can be a difficult task, but for Black people women there are often deeper issues preventing them from taking up a new activity. After struggling to find a knitting club where they felt comfortable, British-Ghanaian duo Sicgmone Kludje & Vanessa Koranteng founded the Black Girl Knit Club in January, 2019 - which runs regular online workshops, in-person classes and pop-up stalls.

In the three years that have followed, the club has gone from being space where women can develop their skills, to a safe haven for those looking to talk about their experiences of discrimination, build lifelong friendships and connect with their culture. Speaking to MyLondon , Sicgmone, 34, said: “When I began my search for a knitting club, I noticed that there weren’t many groups that were led by Black women and moreover, most of them didn’t even have any Black women as members of their classes.

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“This made me reluctant to join any of them. I didn’t see anyone who looked like me or who I felt like I could identify with. I had already had a similar experience during higher education and it wasn’t something that I wanted to relive."

Sicgmone, who had studied at the prestigious Central Saint Martins, University of Arts London, found the transition between her diverse upbringing in Waltham Forest to be challenging at times, and recalls being one of only five Black students in a class of 400.

Sicgmone and fellow east Londoner, Vanessa had worked together on creative projects in the past and believed that their combined skills would be enough to get their idea off of the ground. Sicgmone comes from an academic background and lectures in textile design at University of the Arts, whilst Vanessa, 34, specialises in styling.

“We marry quite well. I bring the making, research and theory and Vanessa brings the styling, social media branding and handles client collaborations. Neither of us could have done this without each other,” said Sicgmone.

In the workshops, members will have the opportunity to learn how to make colourful pieces like headwraps, scarves and baskets. The pair’s online workshops have also been a big hit with women from around the world. “We’ve had women from Dubai, Jamaica and the USA all tune in to our workshops, which fills me with so much joy. It’s about building a sisterhood”.

Whilst the main goal of the club is to empower Black and mixed-race women to be creative, Sicgmone believes that it has also provided a platform for conversations about the Black experience amongst people from different walks of life.

“There was no second guessing when we chose the name. We knew that some people would be triggered, but the name was also supposed to be bold and unapologetic. She added: “To be honest we haven’t received any negative feedback about the name. We’ve been invited to hold workshops in very white spaces, with both white women and Black women and it’s been a gateway to ask more questions and conversations.”

Black Girl Knit Club was an instant success, but its popularity skyrocketed during the ‘Black Lives Matter Summer’ in 2020 after American George Floyd was murdered by police in Minnesota.

“After that tragedy, companies started to look inwards about what they could do to be part of the solution, whilst Black people were also in desperate need of a safe place, and they both turned to us. This was really humbling.”

Sicgmone continued: “It meant so much more than knitting from that point onwards.

“There’s something about when you are connecting with your hands that allows your mind to switch off. Knitting is a bridge to discuss our emotions, especially as Black women. We go through microaggressions and carry a lot of pain. It allows us to unpack all of that in a space and the making allows your mind to relax and just be more present.

“A lot of Black women often create things in isolation. There’s something about being in a space with people that look like you that can create ease. Black women just want what everyone else does, and that’s to be in a warm space where we can be our truest self.”

Black Girl Knit Club has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, amassing over 10,000 followers on Instagram. Sicgmone describes the opportunities that have come in the last few years as ‘beyond our wildest dreams’.

The club has collaborated with the likes of the Crafts Council, Black Girl Fest, Wool and the Gang and are in a partnership with the department store - Liberty London, who currently stock their upcycled wax print yarn balls, Peacock of Ademe.

This year also marked the release of the duo’s first book, ‘Conscious Crafts: Knitting: 20 Mindful Makes to Reconnect Head, Heart & Hands’, which has been published in both the UK and the USA, and has also been translated into French.

“We never could have imagined that this club would have grown into what it has become when we started it three years ago. People feel relaxed. Some people come to the workshop and they don’t even finish what they’re making. They just want to come and talk about their careers, their children and everyday life.

“The age range of attendees can be anywhere from 15 years old to 60 on any given day. It’s intergenerational too! We’ve had mothers and children, grandmothers and grandchildren and people reconnecting with their heritage with conversations with elders in our community.

“It’s all about bringing visibility to the amazing things that Black women are doing and allowing them to have that spotlight and shine. It has been a very long journey to get to this point, but we’ve got so much more planned for the future.”

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