*Collaborative post.

Have you tried participating in a free knit along? If you have, then you know that it is an excellent way of motivating yourself to complete a knitting project, and it is also a great way of expanding your network especially with other knitters and then getting the help that you need as you progress with the pattern that you are working on.

 

 

Not in the Mood to Connect With Old Knitting Friends? Host a Free Knit Along

If your target knitting audience is all around the world, then you can host an online knit-along so that you can be able to connect with them. You can also host a knit-along on your own blog the is free for anyone who wants to join.

 

Tips in Organizing Your Own Free Knit Along

When organizing a free knit-along, this does not need to have strict rules or guidelines. Even so, you still need to plan the knit-along properly so that it will run smoothly:

 

Tip #1 – Choose the project for your knit-along

If you find yourself looking for motivation so you can finish a very complicated and intimidating pattern, then the knit-along can be a great chance for you to finally do it. If you have a blog and you are featuring the knit-along, then you can create a poll asking the readers to weigh in as to what project they would be interested to work on.

 

Tip #2 – Break the knit-along project into small, manageable steps

This is one benefit when hosting a knit-along. You will be able to break big projects into smaller components in order to make it easier and less daunting when completing the project. So if you are doing a sweater knit-along, then it can be broken down into parts like:

• The choice of yarn
• The swatching
• The casting on
• Knitting the body of the sweater
• Knitting the sleeves of the sweater
• Finishing

You should not let your participants feel so much pressured to stick to the schedule, however, it is still a great way of trying to keep all of the knitters on the same page.

 

Tip #3 – Set up the check-in dates of your knit-along

This is part of the motivation of the knit-along that participants will be able to check in on the progress of each other. Your knit-along can decide whether you will have a weekly or monthly check-ins. The check-ins will depend on the needs of the group.

 

And if you are hosting a knit-along in person, then you can consider meeting up with the group for several numbers of times during the knit-along.

 

 

 

Tip #4 – Choose a platform for your knit-along

Surely you will be needing a place for you to share the photos if your knit-along. You can use a Facebook group, or you can start your own hashtag. You just have to see to it that the hashtag is not being used by a lot of other knitters.

If you are hosting a knit-along in person, then you can still use a platform for you to post your photos to make you knit along with more fun. This cannot just encourage the knitters, but this can also be a great place for you to fix problems that group members might have.

 

Tip #5 – Show off the finished projects of you knit-along

You can then show off your finished projects on the same platform that you have used where you shared the progress photos.

You Can Also Choose to Join a Free Knit Along, Here’s Why

 

 Learn New Patterns From People and Not Books

Have you experienced reading a knitting pattern and instead of understanding it, you end up having a big question mark? Most people who are knitting are admitting that they are left confused with the patterns at some point. But, if you join a knit-along, then you can bring your patterns with you including the knitting projects in the meetings so that you can get help and advice from other members who are more familiar with the pattern than you are.

 

It Can Help and Motivate You to Finish Your Remaining Projects

Almost all knitters have unfinished projects at some point. They may have become stuck on the project, or they have become bored with the project and just left it unfinished. With knitting groups, this is going to be a great avenue to help you in finishing your unfinished projects.

 

 

 

You Can Make Friends Who Also Knit

This is one of the best advantages when you are a member of a knit-along. You will be able to make friends with other people who also love to knit. And although knitting is really generally thought of as a pretty solitary art, by joining a knit-along, this will allow you to learn from other members and make friends at the same time. You can also impart your own ideas, and at the same time receive some tips and ideas from them. Thus, it is important that you really are involved in the group so that you can help in improving it.

 

Obtain Ideas for Your Next Projects

Even the best knitters can run out of ideas on what they want to do for their next project. There are times when even though you are already browsing through a lot of knitting resources, nothing still inspires you to make such a project. However, if you are an active participant and you can witness what everyone else is doing around you, then it might create a spark that will inspire you to do a new project.

Whatever your motivation is going to be, there will always be a great knit-along near you that is just waiting for you to join. There are even no reasons for you to find it difficult with your projects or making friends as these things can be both accomplished at once.

So you can either join a knit-along near your area and if there is none, you can always host a knit-along for your community. You can start out a free knit-along and then see how it is going to progress.