For the 14th year, this October will bring with it the most awaited KAL in the knitting community. Stephen West's Geogradient will begin on October 5th, and we're all wondering what he's got in store for us in 2023.
Some people think this "geo" is from "geometric," since Westknits has been working hard on solid forms and repetitions in his latest creations. Personally, I'm hoping for something like planetary surfaces, geodes, and galaxies. In his kit release video, Mr. West informed us that his inspirations were geometric forms, gradient colors, and a retro-era vibe reminiscent of the 70s.
The only thing we are already aware of is that we will need 4 skeins of fingering weight yarn in 4 different shades. He suggests that all of them should be within the same color family. Check out the video below to truly immerse yourself in the designer's fantastic yarn choices.
While we wait for this year's Geogradient MKAL, let's take a look at some of his older MKALs.
Last year's shawl was super exciting! As we got the hints, the wrap started turning into a bat-like shape.
You need three colors as you play around with stripes, short rows, twisted stitches, and cables. The final shape is all balanced and stretchy, with lots of cool angles to show off your gorgeous thin yarn. This shawl is seriously unique and will get your creativity going as you wait for each new part!
This shawl holds a special place in my heart. It was my first MKAL and where I got to know an awesome group of women who are now my knitting crew and real-life friends.
You'll need five different colors of thin yarn, and get ready to experience a variety of cool textures all over this shawl. Think stripes, short rows, slip stitches, I-cord loops, bobbles, and welts – they all come together to create this vibrant patchwork of knitted fabric.
I wanted to show you this shawl that's been on my to-do list for ages. It's got this cool mix of classy, comfy, and modern vibes all rolled into one. It was Stephen West's second MKAL.
It's made in four different sections. The first part has short-row wedges that create a crescent shape. Then, in the second part, you pick up stitches and just go with stockinette stitch and yarnovers for some shaping magic. There are these garter stitch intarsia stripes to jazz up this section.
Moving on to the third part, the bottom border is all about slipped stitches, topped off with a neat I-cord bind-off. And finally, the wing tips are just easy garter stitch stripes with sharp I-cord edges to round off this shawl that's inspired by architecture.
I hope you liked this little trip into Westknit's career; if you want to know more about his work, check out this article about the Eyelet Burst Shawl.
Enjoy!
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