2014 Geek-A-Long: Pac-Man

Welcome to week 22 of the 2014 Geek-A-Long, a mystery blanket knit-along (or crochet-along for you rebels out there)! If you’re new to the GAL craziness, check out the Geek-A-Long FAQ page for more details and information. Then, meet us back here when you’re ready. For the seasoned pros, let’s talk about Pac-Man.

Pac-Man just celebrated his 34th birthday, and I think his thirties are treating him well.  To this day he and his Mrs. remain icons of gamer culture.  In fact, according to the Davie-Brown Index, Pac-Man enjoys the highest brand recognition of any video game character ever, and found that over 94% of American adults recognize him on sight!  Pac-Man is SO recognizable as a character that I considered giving him center square on my blanket.

I didn’t, though.  You’ll be seeing my center square on week 47.

Ultimately, I decided that maybe Pac-Man gets just a little too much credit.  Let’s face it, the ghosts are the unsung underdogs of this story.  So in an effort to give them their due, today we will honor Oikake, Machibuse, Kimagure, Otoboke.  Turns out that’s their real names, the Pinky, Blinky, Inky, and Clyde monickers were invented to be easy on an English speaking audience.  The names translate to Chaser, Ambusher, Fickle and Stupid. The poor Orange-Guy really drew the short straw on names.

This one is reversible in the same way that TMNT was, and I think that both sides have a lot of charm.  I’m going to use the black side facing out on my blanket, but I think that either side would look great.  Stay tuned because later this week we’re going to drop an alternate square honoring Mrs. Pac-Man.

Pacman

© Megan-Anne of Lattes & Llamas, 2014

Needles: Size US6

Yarn: Cascade 220 in 2 sharply contrasting colors.

Gauge: 10 sts over 13 rows = 2″ x 2″ square. Final square is 45 sts by 57 rows.  Please note that in the written pattern I instruct you to knit the rows above and below the active color chart.  These rows are shown on the chart as solid color rows above and below the design.

Download PDF of the color chart Pac-Man Ghosts. Directions for double sided knitting AND tapestry crochet are listed in the PDF. Cast on 45 sts for each side of knitting (with two strands held together CO 45, for a total of 90 sts on needle).

Work 2 rows of double-sided knitting (knit the facing sts and purl the back sts across).  You may choose to work the opposite color for the first stitch of each row (I do this), which will keep the edges closed. Alternately, you may choose to knit them without doing this and seam the sides when putting the blanket together. There is no “right” way to do this. It is really just what you are more comfortable with.

Follow color chart over next 53 rows in double-sided knitting.

Work 2 rows of double-sided knitting. BO.

Don’t forget to post links to your finished squares, so we can all oooh and ah together. We even have a fancy new GAL Participation Button you can put on your blog or your Geek-A-Long posts. You can grab the html out of the side bar or find it here.

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and you can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here. We’re even raffling off some sweet prizes for our members at the end of the year! You can learn more about it in the group or on the GAL Benefactors page.

~ Megan-Anne
“If Pac-Man affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.”

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