Knitting

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Looking for a Challenge for the New Year? Join a Knitalong

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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!

Comments

  1. the mystery sampler sounds like a lot of fun, and a way for a new knitter to get some practice on the basics.

  2. 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.

Have you read?

Classic Dishcloth Knitting Patterns

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use. 

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make. 

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!). 

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn. 

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart. 

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern. 

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.