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Seven Sisters KAL – Casting On!

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The Seven Sisters KAL officially kicks-off today, and we’re excited that so many of you will be joining us virtually for this fun summer top. If you would still like to join in, we have a fresh restock of the Blue Sky Printed Organic Cotton and solid colors of Blue Sky Organic Cotton in our shop!

Participating in the KAL:

Despite the current state of social distancing, there are several ways that you can participate in the KAL virtually.

  1. Use the hashtag #sevensisterskalwithfs on Instagram and Ravelry when you post your progress pictures.
  2. Join our Ravelry group and hop on to the Seven Sisters KAL forum to ask questions, share progress, and cheer each other on.
  3. Check out Blue Sky Fibers Ravelry forum, where they will be giving out a grand prize at the end of the KAL.

Get Ready…

Here are a few tips from Beth to help you get ready for a successful knit!

  1. Read through the pattern from beginning to end. I do this with a pencil in hand, to mark things that I know will be important–I circle the numbers relevant to my size in each section and underline important instructions, like when to switch to smaller needles.
  2. Gather your materials: I like my projects to be portable, even if these days it’s mostly trips from the living room to the bedroom. I pick a project bag, and put all the yarn and needles I need for the project inside. I go through the notions list, and gather those as well. For this KAL, I have the following notions in my bag: a tapestry needle, an extra DPN for the bind-off, stitch holders to put the back and shoulders on hold, a tape measure, small scissors, a pencil, and extra stitch markers!
  3. Mark measurements: While I do keep a tape measure in my bag, I also mark the length of the ribbing on the side of my printed pattern page for quick reference.
  4. Create your Ravelry project page. I like to do this at the beginning of the project, so I can use it to keep notes along the way. It also makes it easy to share your photos on the Ravelry forums.

Beth’s Cast-On:

This top is knit from the bottom up. I like to use the long tail cast on method where you cast on from both ends of the ball. While I will have one extra end to weave in, this method doesn’t require you to estimate the length from your long tail (which otherwise takes me multiple tries.) Our friends at Cocoknits have a great photo or video tutorial.

You can also see Danielle’s video of her method for estimating tail length and joining in the round on our Instagram!

Now it’s time to join in the round. I like to make sure there is no twist by laying the needle on a flat surface and making sure all of the ‘bumps’ from the cast on edge are sitting flat to the inside of the circle. Place your favorite stitch marker, join, and get ready for some soothing, rhythmic knitting of ribbing.  Be sure to check in virtually – we love to see your progress!