This has been spread all over the rest of my channels, so it's only fair to bring the blog in on the action! On 9/5, I'm kicking off another Instagram KAL collaboration with Spun Right Round: Aventail.
Side note: Proud of the fact that I took all these photos successfully on a nearby bike path, despite the morning joggers & bikers!
Just like the Shock Star Slouch KAL, I'll be releasing the pattern in pieces on my Instagram the week of 9/5, but this time you can also get the full PDF on Day 1 by signing up for my weekly newsletter. (See the signup box over there ----> in the sidebar!)
I decided to do this again for several reasons. The Shock Star KAL was an experiment--would people actually knit a pattern posted on Instagram? (Yes.) Would anyone buy the pattern in the months that followed, despite it still being available for free if you dug back in the KAL hashtags on Instagram? (Also yes.) I felt like it was a big success, and I really enjoyed the sense of community! I still have people who tell me they found my designs through that KAL, and I like the feeling of creating a community and giving something back to it.
I wanted to try out a different base from Spun Right Round this time around, and I knew I wanted to knit something that was not a hat. I'd seen cowlettes before--shawl/cowl hybrids--and really dug the look. As I said in my last post, I had a lot of struggles getting the yarn where I wanted it. Ultimately, I settled on a combination of brioche and eyelet ridges. This was my first time EVER knitting brioche! So if you've never tried it either, I know you can pull it off.
You can let Aventail hang down in front like a circular shawl wrapped around your neck, or pull it down over your shoulders poncho-style when cold. I've been test-driving it in my air-conditioned office at work and it's a great piece to throw in my purse on my way out the door, especially since it's smaller than a large shawl.
Will you be joining the KAL? Chime in over at the Aventail KAL thread!