Welcome to the first part of the D20 KAL blog series! First off, what is the D20 KAL? Last year I was hosting a Sock Stash Along wherein I knit 12 pairs of socks over the course of 2022. Not only was it fun for me, but a bunch of you joined me and together we knit SO MANY PAIRS OF SOCKS. You can imagine, however, that by October the sock knitting was losing its appeal. To keep myself excited, I decided to take a bunch of my remaining stash yarns, assign them numbers 1-20, and roll a 20-sided die (AKA a D20) to first pick which yarn I would use, and then to decide how many rows of that yarn I would knit.
I documented the process on TikTok, which everyone enjoyed immensely, including myself! And the most common question was, When are you going to host a KAL!? So now, my friends, is the time! While the official Emtothethird D20 KAL begins April 1st, 2023 with a Zoom Cast-On Party, you can of course knit a project using this technique at any time. And that's where these blog posts come in! Start here, with picking out your yarn and then head over to parts 2 & 3.
@emtothethird Curating your D20 KAL Palette Pt. 1 Incorporating Stash #M3D20KAL ♬ Sunshine - WIRA
I really wanted to use stash yarn for this iteration of my D20 KAL palette. The first step was to look through the yarns I had used during my first D20 project. More than half of these yarns I would use again, but some of them were dwindling in their yardage. I took the yarns that were similar in color, such as three skeins that were mostly white with varying degrees of multi-colored speckles, and made them into one ball.
Once I had consolidated my previous collection of yarns, I started bringing in whole skeins that went with the vibe. Color theory can get technical and there are instances where it can help to think specifically about value and the color wheel, but trust your gut. Pull together skeins that you feel would look good together, and just go for it.
@emtothethird Curating your D20 KAL Palette Pt. 2 Consolidation #M3D20KAL ♬ Here with Me (Live) - Rizal Fahmi
Here are some general tips to help you if you're really feeling overwhelmed:
1. Start with one skein. If you have a yarn that you love and have been holding onto, now is the time to use it! Build a palette around that color.
2. Listen to your stash. Again, this is an excellent opportunity to use stash yarn! Not sure what weight of yarn to aim for? What do you have the most of in your stash? I'm using fingering weight because that's what I tend to stash the most of. But for you, it may be different. Start there and it'll make it easier to know what to purchase if you choose to do that.
3. Pick fewer colors. You do not need 20 colors to successfully do a D20 KAL! The minimum recommended number of colors is 4, so if finding 20 skeins is feeling really overwhelming, start with 4! The rules are lax! You can always add more later.
4. Use a curated set. If picking yarn is not bringing you joy, buy a curated set! Myself and many other dyers love putting together mini sets. This is the perfect amount of yarn to participate, so spare yourself the stress and snag one for the KAL!
@emtothethird ♬ Here with Me (Live) - Rizal Fahmi
I'm so thrilled with how my palette has turned out and cannot wait to cast on! Please remember to use the hashtag #M3D20KAL for any posts and reels pertaining to the KAL in order to be entered into the giveaways!
