We’re so close to my favorite time of year, which means it’s time to get ready for the Fall KAL! The KAL runs from September 15th to November 1st, and this year we’ll be knitting my new-ish cropped cardigan pattern, Blaster. I say “new-ish” because the pattern was originally an exclusive pattern for the Neighborhood Fiber Co. Sweater Club, but now it gets its public debut and a place of honor as the Fall KAL pattern for this year.
Many of my patterns were inspired by movies or TV shows, and Blaster is no exception, although the TV show that inspired it is set in a much different period than most I watch. One day last summer I was looking for something new to watch after getting caught up on Mad Men, and I decided to give Halt and Catch Fire a try. It’s about an 80s tech company, and I always scrolled past it on Netflix because it’s not the prettiest era, and well, when I think “80s tech,” I think of my parents and their friends because they were those people. Not exactly as glamorous as Mad Men. But I gave Halt and Catch Fire a try, and I’m so glad I did! It’s a really engaging show with great writing and a talented cast, and it inspired this design.
One of the main characters on the show loves video games, and it gave me the idea for a cropped cardigan with triangle motifs at the waist that shoot up columns of eyelets, like little blasters on pixelated games. I stubbornly applied the motifs to my favorite construction method, top-down and seamless with short-row set-in sleeves, despite the fact that this pattern would have been much easier to write bottom-up. Top-down is just more pleasant to knit and more easily customizable, so I think it was worth the effort.
Blaster is knit using Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio DK, a superwash DK-weight yarn, on US 5/3.75 mm needles. The pattern comes in seven sizes, and if you stay focused on your knitting, you should be able to complete any of those sizes in a month and a half during the KAL! The pattern is available on Ravelry for 20% off until the KAL starts on September 15th when you use the coupon code “BLASTERKAL” at checkout.
Join us in the Untangling Knots group on Ravelry for KAL chit-chat, and use the hashtag #BlasterKAL to tag your post on social media. You’ll have until November 1st to finish your sweater, and I’ll randomly draw three winners from the knitters that finish on time to win two Untangling Knots patterns of their choice and a third Untangling Knots pattern sent as a gift to a friend on their behalf.
P.S. If you were in the Neighborhood Fiber Co. Sweater Club and would like a copy of the pattern for your Ravelry library, send me an email. I’ll ask you to identify something on your copy of the pattern to confirm and then send you this version via Ravelry.
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