Back to school sweater CAL

I am so excited to tell you a little bit about a CAL that I have been planning with my friend Tamara from the Craftyescapism blog. A couple of months ago Tamara and I were chatting about crochet garment making and we decided it might be fun to organise a blog hop and CAL to celebrate crochet garments and encourage others to have a go if they hadn't made a garment before.
I have found garment making to be so rewarding - there is nothing like wearing something you've made!

All the details
Today, over on Tamara's blog we reveal the blog hop schedule and all the details for the Back to school sweater CAL. The blog CAL begins on 16th September so you have plenty of time to get ready if you would like to take part.

It has been great fun putting together plans with Tamara and we have been so pleased with the response we have had so far. We have a super group of bloggers lined up to share their skills, experiences and techniques with you during the blog hop, so if you are new to garment making you will be able to access lots of information throughout, from choosing yarn, measurements, right through to blocking and finishing. We'll be hosting a chatter thread and finished object thread over on The Crochet Circle Podcast group thread on Ravelry too.

As an aside, if you are reading this and would like to offer a prize for the CAL, please DM me via Instagram or Ravelry and we can arrange - thank you!

A big challenge
Having settled on a blog hop and CAL and got the plans in place, both Tamara and I faced big challenges - what to make! After A LOT of consideration and discussion I think I have decided! I will be making a seamless top-down sweater using these colours;

One tricky issue to overcome has been my aversion to making sleeves - either in knitting or crochet. For a long while I thought I might make a sleeve-less top or tunic, but I do love wearing sleeves so I have decided that I will make a crochet garment with sleeves! If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen that I am currently knitting a striped sweater. I am finding that the stripes are really helping me get through the sleeves so I have decided to do a little bit of 'tweaking' and I'll be adding stripes to the design I'm planning to make.

Spread the word
Tamara and I would like as many people to take part in the CAL as possible so please spread the word and use the hashtag #backtoschoolsweatercal so we can see your progress.

My post on the blog hop
My contribution to the blog hop will be on 9th September with a post all about yarn choice including yarn substitution - when it goes wrong and how to ensure it goes well. I will also be posting about my garment making progress during the CAL too.


I am so looking forward to the blog hop and CAL, please pop over to Tamara's blog today to find out all the details. I hope you'll be able to join us! x