Are You Ready for Some Football Knitting (Again)?

Do you remember the Scoreboard Knitalong from last year? Maybe you took part in it?

The idea was to knit a scarf or cowl in two colors throughout the football season, with each row representing a point scored either by your team or the opposing team. Nearly 900 people posted projects on Ravelry during last year’s event, and it’s just about time for version 2.0.

This year’s knitalong is starting earlier, August 1, to be able to accommodate people who want to knit the score for their favorite high school football team (wouldn’t that be a cool gift for a guy on the team?).

In order to entice people to sign up this year, Skacel is hosting a giveaway of 13 skeins of HiKoo Simplicity, the yarn of choice for the knitalong. The winner will receive 6 skeins each in their team’s two colors, plus one contrasting color, which can be used to mark where a new game started.

If you’d like a chance to win, send an email that includes your football team name, your name and address to skacelcontests@gmail.com. Their newsletter didn’t say when entries close, but the winner will be announced May 30, 2016, so get your emails in before then.

Are you going to take part in Scoreboard 2.0? What team are you knitting for? Or if you did it last year I’d love to hear about that, too.

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Not too long ago my daughter and I had a discussion about what a chestnut really looks like. The nut itself is small and brown, of course, but on the tree they’re covered with this weird kind of spiky, kind of fuzzy shell. It’s a wonder anyone ever figured out they were edible.

If you didn’t know that, you might wonder why this project is call Chestnut balaclava, but now you know.

This fun design from Yevheniia Pyroh is covered with spikes just like a chestnut shell, and is even the same color, though of course you can make yours whatever color you like. It uses two strands of fingering weight yarn held together (which it says is fingering weight but you could try a light/DK yarn and see if you get gauge with it if you’d rather).

There are two different design options in the pattern. One is a more fitted balaclava style hat (it doesn’t cover the face but does go around the neck) and a looser fit hood.

It’s worked primarily in garter stitch, with shaping done by knitting and purling in the same stitch and through various decreases (including a knit 3 together).

The pattern is charted but also explained in words. It’s worked flat to the size you want, and then joined into a hood shape with ribbing at the neck. The opening for the face is finished with I-cord.

This hood/balaclava would definitely be a conversation starter and in different colors it might read more dinosaur than chestnut, which could also be fun. The sizing is totally custom so you can make it fit whatever head you’re stitching for.

If you want to try it for yourself (and I’d love to hear about it if you do!) you can download the free pattern from Ravelry.

[Photo: Yevheniia Pyroh]

Balaclava Knitting Patterns

Colorwork Balaclava Knitting Pattern [Knitting]

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