We're casting on April 21st!
Thank you for your interest in joining the Shawl Kal Knit-Along! Sign up below and read on for more information and inspiration. Knit and crochet shawls are all welcome!
Frequently Asked Questions
A Knit-Along (KAL) is when a group of knitters work on the same or similar projects at the same time while learning from and supporting each other.
Cast-on day is April 21st, and we'll have a Facebook LIVE that day where we'll kick things off. The KAL ends on June 2nd - you have until midnight ET (give or take) to post a photo of your finished project to be entered for a prize.
Please let us know you're participating by signing up for free on our website here. We'll send a couple KAL related emails leading up to and throughout the KAL.
To share your project, see others, and be eligible for prizes, join our Facebook and/or Ravelry group. If you're not in either of these places, you can submit a photo of your finished project via email to info@thewoollythistle.com to be entered for a prize.
When sharing on Facebook, Ravelry, or on Instagram, use the hashtag #2023twtshawlkal so we can all find you! You can follow that hashtag as well to see others' work.
To be eligible for prizes, project should mostly be made with TWT yarns (around 80% or more).
Your project can be any shawl design (pie shawl, asymmetrical, triangle, traditional Shetland hap, stole, wide scarf, etc). Small handkerchief style scarves and cowls will not qualify. It can be a completely garter stitch shawl, colorwork, intricate Shetland lace, or any other pattern, depending on your ability and preference!
A hap is a Scottish dialect word for a simple shawl or wrap. Haps have a particular association with the Shetland Islands where, for more than a century, they were knitted for everyday wear as well as for sale.
A grand prize of a $75 gift card to The Woolly Thistle, plus several other prizes to be announced soon!
Upload a photo of your finished, qualifying project within the KAL timeframe to one of these places:Our main Facebook group, being sure to use the hashtag #twt2023shawlkal so we can find it.Our Ravelry group - we will open a discussion thread specifically for FOs soon.If you're not on either of these platforms, you may email us a photo of your project toinfo@thewoollythistle.com
You are still welcome to join us if your project doesn't fit these requirements (you bought the yarn elsewhere, your project isn't technically a shawl or large scarf, etc). The point is for everyone to join in, feel welcome, and knit and learn together! However, only qualified finished projects will be considered for the prizes at the end of the KAL.
I started my yarn journey on the longest night of the year, back in December 2011, when I embarked on knitting Kate Davies' Owlet Sweater for my then 5 year old daughter, Maya.
I had learned to knit (and had knitted various garments) as a young girl in Scotland but had put the knitting down for several years. Upon picking up my new circular needles on that December night, and while following the well written and friendly pattern by Kate Davies, a new appreciation and enjoyment for knitting grew and quickly became a passionate pursuit. I am from Scotland and immigrated to the USA in 1992.
Through knitting and actively participating in the world-wide knitting community, I have been able to keep connections with Scotland in a way that wasn't possible before. The act of knitting as well as being a part of a community of Knitters has brought a lot of happiness to my day-to-day life and now provides me full-time employment importing British and European yarns for those of us here in the USA.
Now it is my wish and desire to bring that same joy and happiness into the lives of others as well.Come join the fun in our free group! See you there!
