My friend Steven is a Christmas Eve baby who loves decorating for the holidays. And he was complaining because he couldn’t find a black nutcracker that he loved. So what did I do? I MADE HIM ONE!
I’ve been calling him Nutcracker Tyrone. LOL And he’s one of a trio of nutcracker toys you can knit as ornaments. So I asked Steven to send me a picture of the nutcracker he already owned.
And I modeled Tyrone after what he already had. He told me he wanted him to be wearing all white with black boots. Now to be honest, he looks a little bit like a little chef to me but he fits the bill and I think Steven will be happy.
It’s 2018 and we still live in a world that doesn’t always include everyone. Why can’t nutcrackers be black? Or Latino? Or Asian? Why can’t we see ourselves in everything we do? When I was little I only thought Santa was black and would let anyone know that who tried to get me to take a picture with a Santa who wasn’t black. I saw myself in my Santa. So doing little things like this with my knitting makes me happy. We get to make toys and things however we envision them.
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Yards of Happiness 
Hi! I so agree with you so googled black nutcracker and found one at Target and Amazon. You are an amazing friend and it’s perfect! Holiday cheer and blessings to you.
He’s great! Did you use a pattern?
I love this!!! Your knitting is amazing and is totally inspiring me to do more.
I just love this! I am white with red hair and would have loved to have had a red haired doll as a child. Other than Raggedy Anne, but I didn’t exactly relate. My interest in dolls is long gone but I have still never seen one. They’re all blond! Inclusion is important, what a nice gift for your friend Steven.
He’s darling. If you fear his clothing looks too much like a chef’s, you might try sewing some gold sequins on his hat and tunic, to look like military decorations.
Well done DWJ! I always felt that way about Jesus and could never understand why our Church’s picture didn’t match my Grandma’s picture??? Hmmm?
Jesus at my church growing up was black. LOL So I was never confused. Now Santa…that was another story.
I love it!
Best Nutcracker ever! This is the joy of knitting — what we make really fits those we love, rather than requiring them to fit what is already made.
I’m with you (and I’m Irish, so it does not get much whiter than me.). There’s gradually more diversity in representation, but it’s taking a long time, and there’s a fair amount of backlash (e.g. all the ugliness in the Star Wars fandom about a black lead and an Asian lead and a female Jedi). At least the knitting world is doing better than before.
Oh! Those amigurumi are so hard! I made Black Panther and Groot for my grandson. All those tiny stitches. You’re bringing diversity and extending it across the culture. I know your example will inspire others.
Thank you for helping knitting be more inclusive! Your nutcracker is very cute!
I work at a well known Dept store. One of my coworkers took a called from a customer who wanted to return a toy because the little people in the toy were not white, they were black😢. Children need to be exposed to people of all races, how will they deal with people who don’t look like them in school, at work or just out and about????
Exactly!! That makes me a little sad.