Marathon Sock KAL 2021: Starts April 1st

Need an incentive to cast-on some new socks? Well here it is: the Marathon Sock KAL 2021 starts on April 1st!

 

What is the Marathon Sock KAL?

The Marathon Sock KAL is a knitalong (KAL) that involves a collective effort to knit a marathon's worth of yarn!

A marathon is a long way, do I have to knit it all myself?

A marathon is a long way (26.219 miles to be precise), and that’s a lot of socks! Each pair of socks I knit for myself (UK women’s size 9.5-10) uses approximately 300 m of yarn (assuming sock weight yarn at 400 m per 100 g), so that’s roughly 140 pairs of socks, which is a lot of knitting. The aim of the KAL is for you to knit one or two pairs of socks, and for me to knit one or two pairs of socks, and we keep a tally of how many metres each of us have knitted. If 140 crafters each knit a pair of socks, we’d finish pretty quickly, if 70 people each knit two pairs of socks it’ll take a bit longer. You get the idea! Last year one Marathon sock knitter knitted 25 pairs of socks for the marathon! Everyone is welcome whether they knit one pair of socks or ten.

When does the KAL start?

The Marathon Sock KAL starts on April 1st and runs through the spring, and possibly into the summer (prime sock-knitting season) or until we have knitted the full 26 miles of yarn.

Does it matter what size socks I knit?

All you have to do is knit a pair of adult-sized socks (UK size 1 or larger – EU 33; US 2), and enter them to my Marathon tally via this Google Form, including the amount of yarn you used for your socks, in metres. This is a bit different to how we’ve done it in previous years, but I think it’ll work well (and save me transcribing numbers!). You’ll need to post a photo of your finished socks somewhere online (e.g. Ravelry or Instagram), and you’ll need to post a link to the photo when you fill in the form, so make sure you’ve done that before you fill in the form.

I want to chat about my socks while I knit, can I do that?

There is a chatter thread is open now in my Ravelry group,** so you can chat while you cast-on and knit your socks, or you can post your socks and plans to Instagram using the hashtag #MarathonSockKAL2021 I’ll be posting my progress on Instagram via @VikkiBirdDesigns

NEW FOR THIS YEAR: THE SOCK SPRINT!

Fancy an extra challenge for this year’s Marathon Sock KAL? I’ll be casting on a pair of socks on April 1st, and trying to finish them within one week (by April 7th 2021). If you fancy joining in, that would be amazing. Any entries knitted within the first week of the KAL will be entered into a separate draw and I’ll pick one winner from those entries – entries will only be counted if they are entered via the Google Form.

I’ll be knitting my Three Siren Socks pattern for the Sock Sprint. If you fancy knitting along, you can pre-order the pattern here.* The pattern will go live on April 1st, just in time for you to cast-on. 

Happy knitting!

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Aim

Knit a Marathon's worth of socks: 26.219 miles of sock yarn converted into socks.

Rules

·        Socks must be cast-on on or after April 1st 2021

·        Socks can be knitted or crocheted in any yarn weight

·        All socks must have a proper heel (no yoga or tube socks)

·        Socks must be UK size 1 or larger – EU 33; US 2

·        The KAL will close once the full 26.219 miles of yarn have been knitted

·        For your entry to count, you must complete the Marathon Sock KAL entry form, which can be found here. Entries that do not include a photo will not be counted

·        Only full pairs of socks cast-on after April 1st 2021 count for this event

·        Only hand-knitting/crochet will count, not machine knitting. If you have machine-knitted a sock tube and are adding heels/toes/cuffs by hand, the metres you used for the heels/toes/cuffs can be counted as an entry

·        Sock Sprint entries must be cast-on April 1st or later, and cast-off before the end of April 7th 2021 (any time zone) – I’ll be drawing the winners for the Sock Sprint via the Google Form, so don’t forget to enter them there!

Prizes

There will be four prize winners:

·        One winner from all entries completed during the Sock Sprint period (April 1st to April 7th 2021)

·        Three winners from all entries once the marathon has been completed

Winners will be drawn at random from all entries received via the Google Form.

*Ravelry link – may cause issues for people with photosensitivity. Prefer PayHip? You can find the pattern on PayHip too.

**Ravelry link – may cause issues for people with photosensitivity.

Three Sirens Socks - pre-order now!

Do you have a go-to sock pattern? One that is just that step up from vanilla, and is perfect for knitting while watching TV, or while waiting for your kids to finish their swimming lesson? In 2018, I released the pattern for mine: Siren Song Socks.* The Siren Song Socks are vanilla-plus – a basic vanilla sock with a slipped stitch cable pattern that flows from the ribbing and makes you want to knit ‘just one row more’. Well, the Siren Song Socks have grown up: let me introduce the Three Sirens Socks.** The Three Sirens Socks take the cable from the Siren Song Socks and gives it a boost: three cables per sock, with ribbing uniquely designed for each size so the pattern flows perfectly from cuff to sock. The cable uses slipped stitches to make it pop against the reverse stocking stitch background without getting lost. If you can knit a vanilla sock, you can knit these!

The pattern goes live on April 1st, just in time for you to knit them over the Easter weekend! You can pre-order the pattern now via Ravelry (Ravelry link; proceed with caution if you have photosensitivity) or PayHip – you’ll get a prep sheet telling you everything you need to know, and when the pattern goes live, it’ll drop straight into your inbox. Why pre-order? You get a chance to clear your needles, locate your supplies and choose your yarn before the pattern lands on April 1st, and you get a bargain price! Go and order your copy now!

Pre-order Three Sirens Socks on Ravelry (Ravelry link; proceed with caution if you have photosensitivity)

Pre-order Three Sirens Socks on PayHip

As ever, the pattern comes in lots of sizes [15-28 cm (6-11 in) circumference], so you choose the perfect size to fit your feet, or you could make them for your whole family!

The socks feature my favourite type of toe: the Barn toe. The toe decreases slower, then faster to create a slightly pointed shape that is finished by gathering the live sts – no need to look up how to do Kitchener stitch (again!). If you haven’t tried it before, give it a go, you might just like it!

 

You know what else is coming on April 1st? The Marathon Sock KAL – a cumulative effort to turn a marathon’s worth of sock yarn into socks, so pre-order your pattern now and you can cast on with me on April 1st! Haven’t heard about the Marathon Sock KAL? I’ll tell you all about that next week!

Love my Three Sirens Socks but want to cast on something *right now*? Why not add my Three Sirens Socks to your basket now on pre-order, and buy my Siren Song Socks at the same time? They feature very similar cables, and by the time you’ve finished the Siren Song socks, the Three Sirens Socks will be in live!

Pre-order Three Sirens Socks on Ravelry (Ravelry link; proceed with caution if you have photosensitivity)

Pre-order Three Sirens Socks on PayHip

* Siren Song Socks - available now: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/siren-song-socks (Ravelry link; proceed with caution if you have photosensitivity); https://payhip.com/b/MV3z (PayHip link)

** Three Sirens Socks - pre-order: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/three-sirens-socks (Ravelry link; proceed with caution if you have photosensitivity); https://payhip.com/b/4j2G (Payhip link)

Do you fancy knitting some daffodils to raise money for Marie Curie?

Last week, I saw my first daffodil of the season and it filled my heart with joy. I love those little pops of yellow emerging against their green leaves; they really do herald the start of Spring. Marie Curie, a charity that supports people living with cancer and their families, uses the daffodil as its emblem, and March is the month of Marie Curie’s annual Daffodil Appeal. In a normal year, the charity would have people around the country out and about raising money for this fantastic cause, but this year events have had to be scaled back because of the ongoing pandemic. 

Marie Curie has asked crafters to step up and help, requesting that they knit or crochet 10 daffodil  brooches and send them to Marie Curie so they can be sold on to raise funds for the charity. Alternatively, download the pattern, make a donation to Marie Curie and make some daffodils for family and friends.

I designed the pattern for the knitted brooch, and each daffodil can be knitted using only a few metres of each colour, and is be simple enough for even a beginner to knit. Daffodils come in all shades of yellow and orange, so why not go and take a look in your stash and do a bit of knitting to support a great cause? If crochet is your thing, Stylecraft Yarns have designed a crochet pattern.

The patterns, and more information about the appeal, can be found here: https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/knitting-challenge

When you’ve knitted your daffodils, send them to Marie Curie Retail Operations, Unit 11, Berkshire House, County Park, Swindon, Wilts, SN1 2NR