2014 Geek-A-Long: Star Wars

May the Fourth be with you and welcome to week 18 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 Star Wars!

Star Wars is one of those genres that has so thoroughly permeated our culture that even the least nerdy among us has probably quoted it without realizing. Do you guys remember Pizza Head? Even anthropomorphized dinners are into Star Wars. Star Wars is one of those really interesting dichotomies where it’s fans are comprised of both bros and some of the hardest core fans you’ll find in any genre.

And there’s really no better time to be a Star Wars fan than right now (well, except maybe when the original movies came out, but what can you do?). It was touch and go for a while there. George Lucas tried to change things that were already perfect. JarJar Binks happened. And let’s not forget the great Trek/Wars gang wars that wreaked havoc on our community*.  But as a people, we have recovered.  Disney took over, a new movie is coming at us in scant more than a year, and we’ve had treats like Clone Wars to cleanse our pallets.

This week’s square is based on the emblem for the Jedi Order. It’s fully reversible, and for whatever reason I found this one knit up quicker than a lot of the other squares.  The color seems to wash out in photography, but the lighter color is really more of a green than a beige.  I was going for a Yoda look.  Sound off in the comments, tell the world what you think of the new face of Star Wars.

Star Wars

© 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 jedi. 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).  The first row is a wrong side row, so knit with the color you want in the foreground and purl the color you want in the background. 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
*That’s not a thing.

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