There are lots of potential New Year’s resolutions a knitter might have — and I’d love it if you’d share yours! — but one thing that’s fun and a way to build your knitting skills is to join a knitalong.
You can find all sorts of knitalongs on Ravelry, related to everything from knitting a particular kind of garment or project to knitting along to “Downton Abbey” or another television show. (And of course they’ll be whatever they decide to call the knitting marathon that happens to coincide with the Winter Olympics.)
Knitalongs can be events where you choose the pattern you want to knit, sometimes along a theme (like 1920s inspired, or socks), or where you are knitting the same pattern as all the other participants (these are often run by the designer or a yarn company). Then there are the mystery knitalongs, where you don’t really know what the finished object is going to look like until you’ve knit it. These always sound a little scary to me.
But I recently heard about one that Underground Crafter is doing in 2014 that could be a lot of fun for newer knitters. It’s a mystery sampler that will take you through basic knit and purl stitches on to cables, bobbles and more fun techniques. In all there will be 25 blocks, and there are monthly prizes for participants, too.
Would you ever take part in a mystery knitalong? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
the mystery sampler sounds like a lot of fun, and a way for a new knitter to get some practice on the basics.
KALs are so a great way to take the mystery out of a project especially if you’re newer to knitting. I really like them because good ones explain how to modify patterns to fit, or adjust garment dimensions to suit.
I hadn’t realised you get KALs for programmes! Great concept.