Tag: got shawls

GoT Shawls KCal: Week 1

Welcome to Week 1 of the Knit/Crochet Along!

Week 1: March 4-10th

Week 1 GoT Shawls KAL CAL

The Projects and Patterns

Welcome to the kickoff of the Fandom Knitting & Crochet GoT Shawls Knit/Crochet-along! This week, we begin work on some lovely, dragon wing-inspired creations, either the “Lizard” crochet shawl or the “Martinmas” knit shawl.

If you are new to this and haven’t selected a pattern, go back to the original Knit/Crochet-along post to see the options and get all the specifics.

Also, if you landed on this page and haven’t already joined the Knit/Crochet along, you can do that by signing up right here to get all the updates: JOIN THE KCAL NOW!

So, let’s do this thing!

(This post is in no way affiliated with Game of Thrones or HBO. It is simply a fan activity. This post may contain affiliate links.)

Week 1 Schedule: March 4-10th

Have your pattern selected? Your yarn ready? Your hook or needles in hand? Then you are ready to start the Week 1 portion of the patterns. In other words, this is the fun part!

For “Lizard”:

For Week 1 on “Lizard,” work Rows 1-19 of the pattern.

I highly recommend using the written translation instead of/in addition to the chart. I like to print my patterns out, so that’s what I did to begin.

Even with the written-out instructions, “Lizard” can be a bit confusing at first. It is not written in the same manner as other patterns I’ve seen, so it took a bit of deciphering.

Helpful things to note:

  • The instructions don’t say to turn at the beginning of each row (they do, but only at the top fo the pattern, rather than within each row’s instructions. So, don’t forget to turn.)
  • The instructions will indicate things like “DC in the last dc from Row 1.” It might help to think of that as the “first DC” facing you.
  • ALWAYS check your counts at the end of each row. For instance, if the pattern indicates “total of 6dc and 5 ch spaces” make sure that is what you have. If not, go back and see where you went wrong. You will want an accurate count.
  • The turning chain is counted as a stitch throughout the pattern.

Here’s what my progress looked like after completing the first 19 rows. I did use fingering weight yarn and an E-4 hook, as recommended in the pattern. I love the way it is looking so far!

Are you working on the “Lizard” pattern? Be sure to share with us in the Fandom Knitting & Crochet Facebook Group. We’d love to see all of these fantastic shawls in progress!

For “Martinmas”:

For Week 1 on “Martinmas,” complete the Setup and Section 1.

This may not sound like much, but “Martinmas” is a bear to cast-on and setup. You are starting with the bottom of the shawl, which is the largest number of stitches. So, it is an undertaking right from the get-go.

Yarn and Sizing Notes

I worked my “Martinmas” is medium weight yarn. So, the pattern recommends fingering weight (or light fingering, even), but I went with the gorgeous Lion Brand Heartland yarns in Badlands and Black Canyon (which I recommended in an earlier post) because I couldn’t resist the color combo and because it would make a larger shawl. I did size up the needles, too, to a size US 9. With the larger yarn and needles, I opted to work the “small” version of the shawl, knowing it will work out to be pretty sizable.

Helpful things to note:

  • You will need looooooong circular needles. The pattern calls for 40″ circular needles, and I was all, “no one needs that long of a circular cord.” But, turns out it is very challenging to squeeze all the cast on and setup stitches onto a 29″ cord. So, do yourself a favor and go with at least a 36″ cord.
  • You will need stitch markers. 3 to be exact (and more in a contrasting color if you are worried about keeping track of all those stitches). It will be very hard to keep track of where you are and what you are doing without them.
  • The pattern suggests using a cable cast-on. I am solely a long-tail cast-on gal, so I just pulled out about 10 yards worth of yarn before starting my long-tail cast on. It may have been a bit excessive, but I would much rather have too much yarn pulled out than not enough and have to start over.

Here’s what my progress on the “Martinmas” looks like after the cast on, and first four rows of Section 1 (before the repeats and color changes). Hard to tell what it will look like at this point, but I am hopeful!

ARE YOU WORKING ON THE “Martinmas” PATTERN? BE SURE TO SHARE WITH US IN THE FANDOM KNITTING & CROCHET FACEBOOK GROUP. WE’D LOVE TO SEE ALL OF THESE FANTASTIC SHAWLS IN PROGRESS!

The Inspiration: The Dragons!

My Lizard shawl is very much a Viserion-inspired color and the Martinmas is all Drogon. Sorry, Rhaegal. Maybe next time.

via GIPHY

Share your KCal Progress!

If you are on Instagram, share your pics with the hashtags #gotshawls #fkcal #fandomkal or #fandomcal. Follow me there to see my photographic updates, too: @fandom.knitting.crochet

Again, if you haven’t already signed up for the email list, you will want to do that to get all the official KAL/CAL updates and weekly schedule.  Also, be sure to join the Fandom Knitting & Crochet Facebook Group to share your progress and interact with your fellow stitchers throughout the process!

Happy KCal-ing!