Tag: kcal

GoT Shawls KCal 2019

Knit/Crochet Along Prep & Yarn Recs

March 4-April 14

Shawls are coming! It is almost time to kick-off our Game of Thrones-inspired Knit and Crochet Along here at Fandom Knitting + Crochet. We are going to be making some lovely shawls as we await the premiere for the FINAL season of Game of Thrones, which airs on April 14th.

So, how do you get started?

(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.)

Step 1: Sign up to Get the Updates

First thing’s first – if you would like to get the email updates, including the weekly schedule, tips, etc, you can sign up here: JOIN THE KCAL NOW!

Step 2: Choose your Pattern & Prep

We will be working two shawls – one knit and one crochet. These were the most popular choices (as determined in the Fandom Knitting & Crochet FB Group) (Not a member? Go and join – you will find many fandom/yarny friends and you can share your progress there.)

So, we have a knit shawl and a crochet shawl.  They are not meant to look the same, just a general “feel” in common. They are loosely inspired by the dragons from Game of Thrones. Here at FKC, we tend to lean toward the more “inspired by” rather than literal interpretations of fandoms. (Note: we LOVE literal fandom projects – we just try to skew toward loose interpretations for our KCals.)

GoT Shawls FKC KAL/CAL Patterns:

“Lizard” image ©Morben Design, “Martinmas” image ©Izamight

“Lizard” by Jasmin Räsänen (Crochet)

 “Martinmas Shawl” by Sarah B. Abram (Knit)

You can get the full scoop on these pattern choices by going to the original GoT Shawls KCAL post right here: GoT Shawls.

Step 3: Get Your Supplies

The beauty of a shawl is that you don’t have to follow the yarn and needle/hook guidelines precisely.  If you want to make the shawl larger or smaller, you can adjust your yarn size and how many rows you complete.  Easy peasy.  So, if you want to work up the shawl faster, try using a light weight yarn, rather than fingering.  Just be sure to size-up your needles or hook accordingly, as well.

The recommended yarn weight and yardages are here, and I have some specific yarn and supply recommendations included here, as well.

Note: I am providing two yarn weight suggestion options: fingering weight and medium weight. The patterns call for fingering weight, so I’m giving some of those suggestions, but I’m also including medium-weight suggestions for people that would rather use a larger yarn.

You will have time to find or order some yarn as we will be working on this over 6 weeks. So, you can catch up if your yarn is a few days late. 😉 Of course, any yarn from your stash dying to be used will work just as well, too.

The Inspiration: The Dragons!

I decided to go with color schemes inspired by Dany’s dragons from GoT, Drogon (black with red markings), Rhaegal (green with bronze markings), and Viscerion (cream with gold markings).

via GIPHY

Lizard Yarn Suggestions

  • Recommended Yarn Weight: Fingering
  • Yardage Needed: 776 yards. (if using a greater yarn weight, you’ll need fewer yards)
  • I recommend:
Game of Thrones yarn recommendations.
  1. Hawthorne Fingering Kettle Dye Yarn – Blackbird (Fingering Weight, Drogon) – http://shrsl.com/1h7gj
  2. Stroll Tonal Sock Yarn – Matcha (Fingering Weight, Viserion) – http://shrsl.com/1h7g0
  3. -5. Lion Brand Heartland Yarn – Black Canyon (Drogon), Acadia (Rhaegal), and Saguaro (Viserion) (Medium Weight, http://shrsl.com/1h7in)

Martinmas Yarn Suggestions

  • Recommend Yarn Weight: Light fingering/Fingering weight yarn
  • Yardage Needed: 350-420 yards each of two different colors (if using a great yarn weight, you’ll need fewer yards)
  • I recommend:
  • 1-2. Lindy Chain in Black and Hollyberry (Fingering weight, Drogon); Lindy Chain in Linen and Tumeric (Fingering weight, Rhaegal) – http://shrsl.com/1h7lb3-5. Heartland in Black Canyon and Badlands (Medium weight, Drogon); Acadia and Grand Canyon (Medium weight, Rhaegal); Heartland in Saguaro and Mammoth Cave (Medium weight, Viscerion) – http://shrsl.com/1h7in

Step 4: Mark your Calendar

Mark you calendar for the schedule of the Starting Date! You’ll want to get your supplies by the first week, if possible. Our kick-off is March 4th!

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!

GoT Shawls? 2019 FKC Spring K/CAL

Winter (Spring, really, but go with it) is Coming – let’s make shawls!

“Lizard” image ©Morben Design, “Martinmas” image ©Izamight

By popular demand in the Fandom Knitting + Crochet Facebook Group, here is the unveiling of the Spring 2019 GoT Shawls FKC Knit/Crochet-along. That is a mouthful, no? How about GoTFKCal, for short?

Join the KCal Now!

The Plan: How the KCal Works

Choose one of the common patterns to make.

Gather Your Supplies

Because these are shawls, gauge is not as important as in other projects. So, if you are not a fan of fingering weight yarn and want to size up, go for it! Just increase or decrease the hook or needle sizes to get the look you want for your yarn. I strongly recommend just making a swatch to see if you like the way the stitches look and the size of them.

For “Lizard,” the recommendations are:

  • Fingering weight yarn ( Category 1), 776 yards.
  • Size E-4 (3.5 mm) crochet hook.

I’ll try to put out some specific yarn recommendations based on GoT, too, so keep an eye out.

For “Martinmas,” the recommendations are:

  • Light fingering/Fingering weight yarn (Category 1), 350-420 yards each of two different colors.
  • Size 4 (3.5mm) 36-inch (or larger) circular knitting needles.

Just as for the crochet pattern, I’ll have some ideas on specific yarns to share with you, too, if you aren’t sure what to use. Remember – if you don’t want to work with fingering weight yarn, you can always size up with shawls!

Timeline

Kickoff March 4th working on sections each week for 6 weeks until April 14th.

As you may know, I’m seriously not big into having a lot of “rules” for our group or our K/Cals. No change to that philosophy now. But, I’m happy to give some guidelines so we can try to keep on pace with one another and have the fun of working along with our fellow Fanatics.

Of course, you can work at your own pace, faster or slower than this suggested schedule.  I just thought it might be helpful to break the patterns down a bit to help people stay on track.  So, we have a 6-Week timetable, which is designed to make it a comfortable pace for people to keep up but still get this baby done by the April 14 Game of Thrones premiere!

Specific weekly details will be given out week by week. Be sure to sign up for the FKC mailing list to get all the weekly KCal updates.

Let’s Do This!

via GIPHY

Sharing & Support

Throughout the process, no matter the stage, I highly encourage you to share and get support in the Fandom Knitting & Crochet Facebook Group.  We’re in this together, after all, so if you need help, have tips, or simply want to share pics of your progress, be sure to do so! I’d love to see it (and so will the rest of the group).

I can’t wait to see what everyone creates!

Join the KCal Now!