I have been chomping at the bit to be able to share a project I had been working on during March. That meant today, the day I can write and share about this project, I had too many appointments, interruptions, and distractions to write. This project, though, was a Mystery Knit Along for a Muppet-theme Shawl/scarf. My sister and I were participating in the mystery at the same time, but the way our schedules worked out, I was ahead of her. She requested “No Spoilers!” and I have been buzzing with the desire to share with you all the adorable project and my journey. She has released me from the picture moratorium, so now I share with you!
First: What is a Mystery Knit Along?
A Mystery Knit Along (MKAL) is a guided knitting experience, where the end result is somewhat unknown. Could be good, could be something you would never choose for yourself if you had known ahead of time what the project would be. When you sign up, the designer of the project sends you a planning sheet so you can pick yarn, figure out your gauge and therefore needle size needed, and any other bits and bobs that should make for a fun experience. Then you receive the pattern as a series of clues and the fun begins.
A knit-along, or a craft-along, is any gathering of people creating the same or related project at the same time. A guided painting experience is one example, but a barn raising is not. These craft-along events tend to be a group of individuals making their own interpretation of a central design. A mystery craft-along simply means that the participants need to trust the designer, or trust their own skills to make modifications to the design to fit our own aesthetic.
In a mystery knit along, a designer will release “clues” to their pattern on a regular basis, and participants attempt to follow these directions. Some of us try to reach the end of one clue before the next one “drops,” a few brave souls will make two different versions at the same time, but over the length of the event, many of us embrace our positions on “Team Sloth.” Life gets in the way of craft, or other projects have higher priority because of outside deadlines.
Over time, certain designers will claim particular times of year for their MKAL event, with the idea that a community will develop, experienced people will encourage newbies, and we all learn new skills. Some designers will pick an overall theme for their series of knit-along events, like projects based on nerd culture, or gnomes. Other designers will attempt to make their mystery an extravaganza of new, exciting stitches they want followers to practice. Often these tricky stitches will be seen in their upcoming designs for the year.
I have directly participated in a few Mystery Knit Along events, and paid attention to controversies surrounding others, and I have learned a few attitude lessons as a result, along with some inspiring stitches.
A few lessons to keep in mind:
It is a mystery. The unknown nature of the event is like walking a new hiking path. Will there be trees or a river blocking the way? Will it just be rocks and trees, trees, and rocks, with overgrown lookouts? Will there be amazing vistas, flora, and fauna unknown to me? I have no idea. Best to keep an open mind. As well as bug spray, water, camera, and journal available.
the structure of releasing clues each day or week means the pattern may not be organized in the final released form. If the clues are stressful, wait until the end when the final pattern is revealed and knit it all at once. It is up to you to avoid spoilers, and do not complain if you accidentally see them a few weeks after the final clue is released.
As much as you love a designer, they do not have your aesthetic. They work hard to create an experience, and that is what you are purchasing – the experience of knitting or crafting something personal to the designer. Do not call the designer nasty names because you would make alternate design choices. Be kind. If you purchase a mystery, be open to the mystery and the experience. Learn your own artistic design from the struggle of having it challenged. This is valuable information for you, but not the responsibility of the designer.
you will disagree with the designer, even in the most adorable Christmas gnome knit-along. Embrace the mystery, and your own lessons learned. Perhaps your best lesson is do not participate in a mystery knit along.
list what you appreciate from the experience. Then list your frustrations. These are personal for you, and not the responsibility of the designer to manage, unless there are actual hate symbols in a design that the author did not catch. These designs undergo rigorous testing, though, so if, for example, you see a hate symbol that dozens of testers did not see, it may be time to examine your own prejudices. If you think it a genuine mistake, message the designer directly with your query. Do not attack the designer personally in the public forums as your first reactive step. Keep it in your tool kit, but do not make that your first choice of response.
designers are people, not commodities. A designer works hard, puts themselves into this mystery, and then releases their baby into the wild. It is like any work of art, whether it is a pretty design for its own sake or if the artist has ascribed meaning to the work. If you do not like their art, it is OK to say so, and if you realize that you do not like the body of artwork a person creates, that is also good to know. This does not mean the artist is a bad person – just that you do not like the art they make. They may even be bad designers or artists. Again, this does not mean the person is terrible, just their art.
One of the things I love about the mystery knit along experience is the creativity within the community. Some participants will religiously follow the design as presented, with the colors these folk chose to craft with. This is the paint-by-numbers approach, and is an excellent way to participate in the mystery – become immersed in the process. I have done this with rewarding results. When you participate in this manner, you will have a faithful representation of the design as presented. It has been personalized by the colors you selected for the craft.
Other participants will modify the number of contrast colors, or if there is a section of stitches they need to modify for a variety of reasons, they will do so. This approach is a bit more of the Ship of Theseus approach – how many pieces of the design can you modify, change, or replace, while still calling the final product the MKAL? I have taken the contrast color modification approach, as well as adding extra repetitions of lines of stitches, but I have seen some of the wildly creative modifications others have made to their MKAL experience until the project is barely recognizable as part of the MKAL family, no matter how beautiful the creation. To these I say, is the one who made these mods to their project happy with the result? If so, then they have done a good thing.
There have been times when I have wondered why participate in these mystery knit along endeavors, especially when I do not love a designer’s body of work? The mystery knit along is about more than the project that results. Yes, the hope is that design will be something I want to wear, at least once a year, and not out of obligation to wear something I have knit. But the reason to trust in the designer, the reason to give them money and sign up, is not because I know I will love the end result. I do not know this. The reason to participate is because of the community, the encouragement of knitting peers, the ability to learn something new, and the chance to encourage others in turn.
Now, time for the big reveal: My Mystery Muppet Shawl. I was going to make this post about my journey and thought process while knitting it, but this article has run on long enough. My Muppet adventure will be another article.
Thank you for reading. These lessons I have learned about the mystery knit along experience can be applied to life in many ways. Look at the list again. Where can you see these lessons at work in real life?