As I've been stepping out of my knitting comfort zone over the past year, knit alongs have been an invaluable source of information. A knit along (KAL) is when a group of people, usually on the internet, picks a pattern and knits it at the same time. Usually a KAL has an organizer who sets deadlines for when each section of the pattern should be done. Then people will post their progress usually on a Ravelry board dedicated to the KAL. A lot of times, the organizer will post how-to guides on their blog for each part of the pattern, this is where you'll find a lot of useful information. Sometimes there are even prizes at the end. But the great thing about these KALs is that you don't have to participate in them to get all the great information they hold.
There are KALs for virtually any type of project you want to work on. Socks, sweaters, hats, dishcloths, you name and I can bet there's a KAL for it. Here are a few that I've recently found useful.
Useful KALs
Hands Occupied is always a great resource for knitting. Right now she has a scarf KAL going on. And in the past she's had some really great and informative sweater KAL. Here's a link to all of her KALs.Veryshannon.com has an entire page filled with links to her annual KALs. And they are all full of great information.
Beginner's KAL is a Ravelry group that has monthly KALs targeted at beginners with a lot of support through each part of the project. I haven't gotten too far into this group, but from what I can tell it's going to be an invaluable resource for me.
I don't know if the Tasha's fitting series over on By Gum By Golly is technically a knit along, but the information in it has been indispensable for me while knitting my first sweaters. It's very much set up like a knit along so I'm going to include it here.
What are some of your favorite KALs that you've either participated in or have found useful in the past? Link them up in the comments and I'll add them to the list.
