Ah, Knitmas…
🎶 It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiiiiiime of the year 🎶
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.
This year, we’re offering five beautifully curated kits from Emma’s Yarn, available for purchase on our website.
- A Willie Nice Knitmas gives me all the On the Road Again vibes and has me itching for a desert Knitmas.
- Merry Knitmas, Baby is the perfect Knitmas confection for those of us who like it on the sweeter side.
- Knitmas Kisses is where it gets extra sweet. And maybe a little spicy😘
- Funky Knitmas is fun, fun, FUNKY all the way!
- Knitmas All Over Again has a classic vibe to keep you Knitmas’ing into the New Year.
Kits are now on sale!
Each kit comes with a full 100g skein of the Main Color in Practically Perfect Sock, four coordinating 20g skeins of Practically Perfect Smalls, and a beautiful Knitmas swag bag. Swag bags contain a Little Bee Lip Balm from Love and Leche, holographic Knitmas stickers, and some yummy chocolates, all packaged in a beautiful little drawstring bag that is perfect for holding all of your knitting must-have’s.
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.
We also release the clues daily on Ravelry; it will show up in your Ravelry library every morning around 7am 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.
If you are a Ravelry user, we’d be thrilled if you showed the pattern some love by favoriting it and adding it to your library! It helps more knitters see the pattern so they can join in. We love seeing knitters from around the world join in; each year, we hope to see our list of states and countries grow.
Where can I participate?
We’ll be hanging out in our Facebook group, Nomadic Knits : 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 #twelvedaysofknitmasmkal, and you’ll be eligible to win prizes there, too. (Your profile must be public for us to see the pictures.)
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 will be loooong (think long-enough-to-pull-up-and-keep-your-head-warm, long) and full of beautiful motifs to keep your fingers happily knitting row after row!
The cowl will require 400-700 yards of fingering-weight yarn: one full-size skein Main Color and four mini-skeins of Contrast Colors. 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 will need a 24” circular needle, or your preferred needle for knitting in the round, in the size required to achieve gauge: 24 stitches and 32 rows = 4 inches in Stockinette. Suggested needle sizes are US5 & US6.
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.
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 completely ignored 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. That will be up to you! Each section will list the required amount of yarn so you can be sure you have enough of each 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!
What about the rest of the details?
Stay tuned for more info – the best way to ensure you don’t miss a single bit of Knitmas fun is to sign up for the emails. You can also keep an eye on our blog posts and the Ravelry page for updates. We’ll be sharing more details next week so you can be ready to cast-on on December 26th!
THIS PART IS IMPORTANT
(so important that we’re going to repeat it right before the MKAL begins😉)
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. Many 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 include the day’s instructions in each email along with a 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 here on the blog! We gave this system a try last year, and it seemed to help more people participate in the fun.💖
I can’t wait to knit(mas) with you!
Becky
62 Comments. Leave new
How much are the yarn kits?
They are $68. Happy Knitting!
Would like to join MKAL
Welcome! Be sure to sign up on the email list. There are links above in the blog 🙂
I have put off making my first cowl long enough. Thanks for making this the Knitmas ‘22 project
Oooohhh – I’m so excited we get to knit with you for your first cowl!
Yay! I’m so excited for this! Thanks for giving us something to look forward to after the holiday! This is so great!
I’m so glad you’ll be knitting with us!💕💕💕
Can’t wait to see what might be coming down the pike. Love the kit colors, especially Merry Knitmas Baby.
The link to the kits is broken – here and on Ravelry
Hi Donna,
The link will not work until the pattern goes live at 11:59 PM EST tonight. Happy Knitting!
Can you wind the yarn prior to mailing?
Hi Pat,
Unfortunately, we can’t. We have hundreds of kits going out (yay!), so it leaves us without the ability to wind (sorry!). I will say, the minis wind up by hand VERY quickly and that only leaves you with one large skein to wind.
Happy Knitmas!
Are all of the directions written? Any brioche or fair-isle knitting?
Hi Marilyn! The directions will be both written and charted. Colorwork sections will be chart-only. There is no brioche, and the colorwork will only involve two colors at a time. We encourage all of our knitters to duplicate sections they love if they come to a section they would rather not knit. 🙂
What size/s of meedles am I likely to need?
Hi KT,
You will most likely need a US5 & US6 circular needle 🙂
Can’t wait to see what is coming. I’m excited.
I just ordered my funky knitmas kit! My first cowl and new to color work. Thank you for an affordable way to knit and learn new techniques after Christmas! I’m sooo excited. 🧑🎄❄️🎄⛄🧶
You’re very welcome! We’re so happy to have you knitting with us💕
I’m confused. Do I have to buy the kit to participate?
Hi Cathy,
We have kits available, but it is a free pattern and you are very welcome to use whatever yarn you have on hand!
Os this for an intermediate/experienced knitter ?
Hi Colleen,
We suggest you at least be an advanced beginner with the ability to read a pattern, cast-on, bind-off, knit, and purl. The pattern is both written and charted and will contain a variety of techniques to keep you engaged! More experienced knitters will have the opportunity to pick up new techniques and perhaps try something they’ve never done before.
Interested in MKAL
Wonderful – we hope you join us!
I am an advanced knitter. knit, purl, m1r , m1L, Dec. increase follow patterns on charts I have made blankets, sweaters, vests, beach coverups, hats, mitts, mittens and more
That’s great! It sounds like you really enjoy knitting – us, too!
so excited….did a combination of stash diving and one new skein of Emmas super silky. Is there a way to just order the swag of the kit?
So excited for this…I did a combination of stash diving and one new skein of Emma’s super silky. Can I order the swag kit separately?
Hi Pat! I’m working on making a separate swag kit available. We’ve currently sold out of all the swag, but I have more arriving soon and will be furiously making Knitmas once it arrives😂 Please stay tuned!
In my 70s so not on Facebook. But I am signed up for Ravelry . Do we need a special TAG line in project page? Thank you for sharing your talent!
Hugs nana
Hi Nana! Can I call you Nana? I hope so – I never had a nana! Though you’re certainly not old enough to be my nana.😂 I digress…
You’ll be able to get all of your clues on Ravelry or via our email list. There is a link to sign up for the list in the blog, if you haven’t already done so.
As long as you’ve created a project from the pattern page in Ravelry, we’ll be able to see it. Thanks for Knitmas-ing with us!!
I just signed up and am looking forward to this. What a great way to end the year!
I have a Madtosh advent calendar I would like to use. With the pattern repeats be short enough to accommodate the 56 yards of yarn in each colorway? I plan on using a coordinating full skein as well.
Just curious how the yarn is being shipped. Received a notice a week ago that mine was shipped but I haven’t received it yet and I don’t see a way to track it.
Hi Pat,
The Knitmas Kits are being drop shipped via USPS Priority Mail. If you have any other questions about your order, please email me at [email protected].
Thanks!!
I received my Emma’s Yarn and am so excited to start the 2022 MKAL. I participated in your 2021 MKAL and loved the outcome of that MKAL! I anticipate this will be just as fun.
Hi Deb,
I’m so glad you’re Knitmas-ing with us again!!💕
Hi! You say “long”…long as in twice around your neck, or long as in once around and scrunched down? TIA!
Hi Macey! That’s a great question – it didn’t even occur to me that my description could be read both ways. The answer is long as in once around and scrunched down 🙂
Thanks so much for pointing that out!
Merry Knitmas!
Hi,
I was wondering if I can just purchase the pattern and use my yarns that I have to do the knit along?
Hi Sue,
This is a free Knit Along 🙂 Simply go to Ravelry and add the pattern to your library, or better yet, sign up for the emails to receive one pattern clue per day for the twelve days of the KAL. All of the links are in the blog above.
We would be happy to have you join in using whatever yarn makes your heart happy!
Thank you for doing this! I am looking forward to sitting back with a cup of tea, knitting, and being involved. Will be so nice to do after the Christmas rush is over!
We’re so happy to have you knitting with us!💕💕💕
Is this ok for an advanced beginner level?
Hi Judy,
As long as you are familiar with casting on, binding off, and reading a pattern, you should be quite comfortable! If you get stuck, our Facebook group is always helpful and encouraging. It’s a really great project for growing your skills – we’d love to have you join us!
Well, as to Christmas movies, I usually avoid them like the plaque! Except for “The Muppets’ A Christmas Carol” & “A Christmas Story”.
Although, I did catch one on Netflix (“Falling for Christmas”) with Lindsay Lohan that didn’t make me want to run screaming into traffic. 🤷🏼♀️
Very much looking forward to this year’s MKAL…💜💜💜💜
Is there more than one pattern? Does the kit determine the pattern?
Hi Cora,
There is only one pattern for The Twelve Days of Knitmas 2022. It is the same for all kits 🙂
MerryKnitmas!
I ordered a kit on 12/5 how can I check if it has been shipped?
Hi Angie,
Thanks so much for your order! Please email [email protected], and we can send you tracking info. All items ordered on that date have been shipped via USPS Priority Mail.
Merry Knitmas!
How challenging is the pattern!
Hi Kerry,
I would say that the pattern is suitable for a brave advanced beginner. There is some simple lace and two-color stranded knitting. You should be confident with casting-on, binding off, reading a pattern, and basic stitches. Everything else is figure-outable!
This sound like fun! I have plenty of sock yarn and a couple of mini sets I needed a project for. This KAL will be perfect!
Thank you for being part of my fiber community.
💕💕💕💕💕
Is anyone else having problems downloading the pdf for day two? Every time I click the link I get day one again.
Hi Regina,
I think you will find that if you scroll through the PDF, you will find what you are looking for. Each PDF begins with Day One, and as the days progress, the new days are added in order.I hope that helps.
Merry Knitmas!
Becky
Your KALs are something I really look forward to. Learning new techniques in such a supportive group is marvellous. Thank you so much for your creative sharing and making it possible for us to replicate beautiful knits.❤️
Your KALs are something I really look forward to. Learning new techniques in such a supportive group is marvellous. Thank you so much for your creative sharing and making it possible for us to replicate beautiful knits.❤️
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you enjoy knitting along with us💕