Knitmas : Day Zero

Welcome, Knitmasers from around the world!

We are SO glad you’ve joined us for the Twelve Days of Knitmas MKAL.

Think of this as the official entry into the land of Knitmas. We call this Day Zero, and it contains all the information that you will need to get off to a great start on Knitmas morning.

This post is formatted exactly how the rest of the posts will appear during the KAL. There is a downloadable PDF at the bottom of this post. If you would like to print Day Zero, using the PDF will provide the best results. You can also save it in an app, such as GoodNotes, which will allow you to make notes directly on the pattern as if it were paper.

Remember: All of the giveaways are taking place via our Knitmas emails. If you haven’t signed up yet and you want the freebies and discounts, NOW IS THE TIME TO SIGN UP! You can do that here.

OK – now that that’s taken care of, on to the details!

DAY ZERO

Size: 25”/ 63 cm circumference, approximately 22.5”/ 57 cm length.

Needles: US 5/ 3.75mm or size to obtain gauge in SS, and US 6/ 4.0cm or size to obtain gauge in colorwork. If you are using a circular needle, 24” is recommended.

*It is recommended to change needle sizes if you are new to colorwork (the pattern is simple, don’t worry!) or have tighter stitches when knitting colorwork.

Gauge: 24 stitches and 30 rows = 4”/ 10cm over Stockinette stitch and colorwork.

Yarn: fingering weight:

MC: 400 yards/ 366 meters; and

CCs 1 – 4: 80 yards/ 73 meters each.

Notions: stitch markers, cable needle, tapestry needle.

Samples knit in: Nomadic Knits Twelve Days of Knitmas 2022 kits:  Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect Sock & Smalls (80% Superwash Merino / 20% Nylon) 400 yards/ 100 grams.

The PDF contains a list of abbreviations for the KAL so you can familiarize yourself with them in advance.

We hope you’ll join our Facebook group to knit along with us! We’ll be having tons of fun and giving away some beautiful prizes.

I know it looks like A LOT of information, most of which you have probably already seen, but I want to be sure that each and every Knitmaser, regardless of where or when they found out about the happiest MKAL of the year, has ALL of the details they need for a wonderful Knitmas-time.

Let’s go!

The Twelve Days of Knitmas Mystery Knit-Along (MKAL) is our annual let’s-spend-this-awkward-post-holiday-time-knitting-together-and-shaking-off-the-stress-of-the-season MKAL. It is a twelve-day knit-along full of fun and friendship, and at the end of it, you have a beautiful project to gift or keep.

To join in the fun, simply sign up for our email list, and you’ll receive one “clue” every day for twelve days, beginning on December 26th, with directions from cast-on to bind-off. These emails also contain wonderful freebies, discounts, and random fun bits and bobs from us, Nomadic Knits, and our amazing collaborators.

We have five beautifully curated kits from Emma’s Yarn available for purchase on our website, but you can knit along using any yarn you like. Kits are available at NomadicKnits.com!

How do we get the clues?

Sign up for our email list to get the clues delivered to your inbox first thing every morning (around 4am EST). Every email will include a fun freebie from us to you – patterns, recipes, discount codes from our friends in the knitting community, etc.

THIS PART IS IMPORTANT 

Please add [email protected] to your contact list. The biggest problem people run into during the MKAL is not receiving their emails. If you add us to your contacts, there is a much lower chance of your emails going into your spam or promotions folder. Some of the discounts being offered have expiration dates, so even if you’re a bit behind on your project, open your email every day so you don’t miss out on any of these amazing deals from our collaborators!

We will be including the day’s instructions in each email along with a downloadable PDF in case you prefer to print your pattern.

If you run into trouble with your email or accidentally delete it, we won’t be able to re-send it. (We would love to, but there are only two of us and thousands of you!) But don’t despair, we will also be updating pattern info on Ravelry AND on the Blog on our website! 

We will release the clues daily on Ravelry. If you have added the pattern to your library, the update will show up in your Ravelry library every morning around 7-8 AM EST. (It’s later than the email updates because we have to release it manually, whereas we can automate our email schedule.) The Ravelry updates won’t include our fun freebies, so we hope you’ll sign up for the emails as well.

We ALSO post the daily clues here on our blog at NomadicKnits.com. 

Where can I participate?

We’ll be hanging out in our Facebook group, Knit the World, and would love for you to join us there! We have a wonderfully kind community where all are welcome.

We’ll be following and sharing posts on Instagram using the hashtag #twelvedaysofknitmasmkal, and you’ll be eligible to win prizes there, too. (Your profile must be public for us to see the pictures.)

If you are not on social media, no need to worry! We will also be choosing winners from Ravelry, so be sure to create your project and post your pics!

Can you give us any hints?

Absolutely! We’d love for you to be ready with your yarn and needles so you can cast on with us on Day One.

This year’s Knitmas project is a gorgeous, squishy cowl that is full of beautiful motifs to keep your fingers happily knitting row after row!

The cowl will require 500-700 yards of fingering-weight yarn. You can knit along using any yarn you like, so feel free to go stash-diving or put an advent kit to good use. You do NOT need to knit with our Knitmas kit – this MKAL is for everyone!

You will need a 24” circular needle, or your preferred needle for knitting in the round, in the size required to achieve gauge.

The shape of this project makes it easy to customize the length; the stitch count doesn’t change as the cowl progresses, so you can adjust the length of each section as you go. If there’s a stitch pattern that you love, keep going with it as long as you like. If there’s a stitch pattern that’s just not your jam, skip it. You can just knit an inch or two, skip the whole day, or substitute a stitch pattern from a previous day. 

If you do choose to modify, please be aware of how much yarn you have – running out is no fun! The pattern is written to accommodate the yarn in our Knitmas kits, so you can use that as a guideline.

For those of you who are already panicking just thinking about modifying a MKAL, have no fear! Those options are there for people who love making modifications and can be ignored entirely if you prefer to knit the pattern as written.

Can you help me choose colorway combinations?

Sure! We’ve curated five kits featuring Emma’s Yarn in Practically Perfect Sock. If you look at the kits, you’ll see a wide variety of colors in a range of contrasts. They are a great reference when choosing your own colors.

For stash divers, here’s a guide for creating your own combination:

The Twelve Days of Knitmas MKAL contains simple lace and colorwork sections. If you enjoy high-contrast colorwork, be sure that at least one of your CCs is in high contrast to your MC. If you prefer a more subtle contrast, choose a kit with softer contrasts for a more delicate effect. If you are unsure if your yarn has high or low contrast, take a black-and-white picture of all skeins together. This will make your contrast level clear.

Another consideration is lace; you may want to have a solid or tonal color on deck to show off any lace panels. Again, if you love the look of an intense or busy colorway over lace, go for it!

The MKAL doesn’t instruct you on which colors to use on a particular day or section of the pattern unless you are working with a Knitmas Kit. That will be up to you! Each section will list the required amount of yarn so you can be sure you have enough of that day’s color.

Please remember – this is just knitting, and there are no hard and fast rules for color selections. Choose what makes your heart happy. 

We want this experience to be fun, not stressful. There are twelve days of clues, but it isn’t a race. The goal is to enjoy your knitting and have something fun and relaxing to look forward to each morning. The KAL will “officially” run through the end of January, but anyone who participates will be eligible to win prizes. We’ve been known to give prizes to enthusiastic cheerleaders as well, so join us in sharing your love for everyone’s projects, even if you’re not knitting along.

Speaking of prizes…

We have some exciting treats up our sleeve this year, but I’m not going to spill ALL the beans quite yet. I will say that there will be yarn, and books, and knitting needles, oh my! The Knitmas Elves have been hard at work putting together some really fun discounts for you, as well. 

Let’s talk about spoilers!

Because this is a MYSTERY Knit-Along, we do our best to keep the mystery alive as long as possible. Not everyone will have the opportunity to knit each day as it is released, but we know you’ll want to share your progress (and we want to see it!), so we created an image to be used as a cover picture for your posts to help conceal your progress pictures and preserve the mystery. You can download the image here.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

The Twelve Days of Knitmas Email Signup
If you haven’t yet signed up for the Knitmas email list, now is the time! The emails are where you will find all of the fun freebies and discounts, as well as each day’s clue.

Nomadic Knits : Knit the World Facebook Group
This is where all the Knitmas chatter happens. It’s the perfect place to ask about techniques or get opinions on color combos!

Ravelry Pattern Page
If you are a Ravelry user, you can add the free Twelve Days of Knitmas pattern to your library and create a project page from here. If you haven’t already done this and you would like to keep a copy of the pattern in your Ravelry library, now is a great time to do so. After Knitmas, this will no longer be a free pattern.

Nomadic Knits Blog
The Nomadic Knits blog is full of tutorials, giveaways, stories, and most importantly, Knitmas clues. If you’re having trouble accessing clues elsewhere, you can find them here.

Nomadic Knits Website
If you are new to Nomadic Knits, welcome! We’re so glad you found us. Our website is a great place to learn a bit more about who we are and what we create.

Download the Day Zero PDF.