1st Annual Geek-A-Long Sweater: FAQs

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks since we announced the first annual Geek-A-Long Sweater! And not just because we all live in some sort of time deprivation experiment these days.

We’ve been busy round the clock getting everything set up and ready for the launch of the first sweater clue next week (coincidentally, it comes out on my birthday)! If you’ve placed an order for Geek-A-Long Yarn before 7/24 it has either shipped or will be shipped on Monday (July 27). As we gear up for the launch of the first clue on August 2nd, I wanted to take a minute today to give some GAL updates and publish the answers to a few of the FAQs I’ve gotten about the sweater.

Child’s Play Charity

The first, and most important update is that we have a new link for donating to Child’s Play Charity. I’ve updated the side bar, but it will take some time to go back through all of the past Geek-A-Long posts (there are hundreds!!!) and update the information about donating at the bottom of the post. Child’s Play recently changed the widget it uses so the old links don’t go anywhere now. But the link on the side bar of all of our posts is fresh and ready to accept your philanthropic dollars.

I know that many people are struggling right now, and I want you to know we get it. This is an awkward time to ask for donations. If you are able to give, or are one of the super cool peeps that already gave, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you can’t right now, that’s OK too. Please don’t let that hold you back from joining the KAL!

Shop Update

In conjunction with the sweater we’ve added six fabulous new colors to the Geek-A-Long Yarn pallet. $1 is donated to Child’s Play Charity for every Skein Sold.

I love all the new colors, but Frost Giant and Half-Orc are my favorites. Frost giant is hard to do any justice to in a photo, but it’s a light silvery-gray, shot through with streaks of sky blue. Half-Orc is a subtly shifting sage green with tons of depth and personality.

Our yarn production, much like everything else on the planet, has been impacted by COVID-19. While we are able to dye again, our fiber supply chain has slowed significantly due to an outbreak at the mill the Geek-A-Long yarn comes from. I’ve just finished dying the absolutely last skein of GAL yarn we own, and our next shipment is tentatively scheduled for early September. We’ve got 15 Kilos ordered, but until it gets here what’s in the shop is what there is and we can’t accept back orders. Jac will be updating the shop inventory with the last of what we’ve dyed this week.

Sweater FAQs

Last but not least, I wanted to post here with the answers to some commonly asked Geek-A-Long Sweater Questions:

Q: Is this a unisex sweater? Yes, definitely. The sweater is worked without waist shaping, and features a crew neck collar. The pattern includes instructions for lengthening or shortening the body, sleeves and yoke so that you can achieve a customized fit.

Q: Can I work it with other yarn? Yes. The pattern will not self-destruct if it catches you knitting with non-Lattes & Llamas yarn. I recommend sticking to sport weight. That said I know there are people planning on working with fingering weight yarn, and I can’t think of any reason why they should not. The easiest thing there is to work the swatch as instructed on the yarn and needles of your choice and then adjust what sweater size you are working or what size needles you are working with to accommodate it the size difference between your swatch and mine.

Q: Can I make it a cardigan? Sure. Adding a steek would be very easy if you are into steeks. Just put your Beginning-of-Round Marker at the front of your sweater rather than the back and put some steek stitches at the beginning and end of each round. You can also certainly work it flat, but I’m personally too lazy for all of that purling.

Q: What is the clue break down? The clues will proceed as follows: Each sleeve is two clues (weeks 1-4). The body is four clues (weeks 5-8). the sleeve join, yoke, collar, and finishing make up the last four clues (weeks 9-12).

Q: Can I crochet it? Sure. Live your best fiber life. The instructions do not included crochet conversions, but if you are comfortable with crochet color work there are no “special stitches” in the pattern that couldn’t be replicated in crochet.

I’ll see you back here this time next week for the launch of the first clue!!!

~Megan-Anne

Warm up your needles and blow on the cartridge because it is time to KNIT!!!