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Tunisian Blanket CAL 2021 Announcement!

It has been a few weeks since I wrapped up the Tunisian Sampler Blanket CAL of 2020. This year has been quite something – even though it was crazy, I ended up spending more time with my family and connecting with friends that I hadn’t spoken to in such a long time! I made some amazing new friends in the crochet community and I am super excited to now share my plans for the next year with you!

The completed blanket made by KnitterKnotter as a part of the Tunisian Blanket CAL of 2021. The blanket is made up of 25 Tunisian Crochet Squares joined to make a 5x5 blanket.

Disclaimer: Materials provided by KnitPicks, KnitIQ, Clover USA, and Walnut Farm Designs; this post contains affiliate links.

Because of how successful my 2020 Tunisian Sampler Blanket CAL was, I decided to host another one next year! I am teaming up with 24 of my favorite Tunisian crochet designers from all over the world to bring you a set of squares that you can join and make a blanket in the end!

The idea behind this CAL is to bring designers from the Tunisian crochet community together and to introduce new stitches and techniques to people who are starting to get interested in Tunisian crochet. We are going to try and build upon the skills we learnt during the CAL from this year. If you are a beginner and are feeling intimidated, check out the Sampler Blanket CAL from 2020. That is a good starting point to learn all the basic stitches and techniques in Tunisian crochet. In the 2021 CAL, we will try different techniques and stitch combinations and, just like this year, we will focus on learning and helping each other! No matter what skill level you are at, join us and there will be plenty to learn 🙂

Meet the designers

Release Schedule

Meet the sponsors

WeCrochet / Knit Picks – WeCrochet and KnitPicks have a wide range of products and they are sponsoring the yarn and some other amazing prizes for the giveaways! Scroll down to the Giveaway section to see all the prizes sponsored by them.

KnitIQ – They have the best blocking supplies. I didn’t realize the importance of having specialized blocking mats until I used theirs! Their crochet blocking mats come with circular and straight markings which is great. They also have a premium canvas bag for storing their mats and blocking pins!

Clover USA – The Clover Takumi Interchangeable Hook Set is one of my favorites to work with. You can read all about these hooks here.

Walnut Farm Designs – They have so many cute stitch markers! It was hard for me to pick a set I liked 🙂 They were kind enough to send me a few and you will see me use them throughout this project! They also have a bunch of other very useful notions listed in their shop!

KnitterKnotter – I am a crochet designer who loves Tunisian crochet! I have a bunch of Tunisian crochet patterns (20+ at the time of writing this post) and I am always up for learning new stitches and techniques and incorporating them in my designs 🙂

Morine’s Shop – Morine is a crochet designer and her blog is focused on providing inspiration, education & patterns for makers of all skill levels. One of my favorite things on her blog is the Shuhuda series where she features and highlights African makers and shares their stories. She is sponsoring the CAL and is going to give away one of her patterns (to be released in February 2021!). I can’t wait to see it!

Tunisian Blanket CAL 2021

This is going to be a free mystery CAL where one 12″ x 12″ square will be released every 2 weeks – at 10 AM Central Time on alternate Wednesdays. Each square will be designed by a different designer and will be available either on the designer’s website or as a free PDF download. I will make the blanket along with everyone else so you will be able to see my notes and recommendations along with the pattern from the designer. The last square will be released right before Thanksgiving so that you can use the holidays to work on other projects and to join your squares from this one!

Technique and Difficulty

Advanced Beginner / Intermediate – This blanket will build on the basic stitches and techniques that we learnt in the Tunisian Sampler Blanket CAL from 2020. This will be an intermediate level pattern and will explore slightly complex stitch combinations. If you are a beginner, I recommend practicing some basic stitches before starting this CAL.

That said, this is going to be a very slow paced CAL with a focus on learning. There will be plenty of time to learn new stitches and techniques in between squares. I have a Facebook group where you can find some amazing people who love to learn and support each other!

Size

I am going to make the blanket with you all so I will be making my squares as the CAL progresses. Each square will measure 12″ x 12″.

There are multiple possibilities of putting these squares together:

  1. 6 squares x 4 squares – makes a 6′ x 4′ afghan or throw
  2. 5 squares x 5 squares – add an extra square and make a 5′ x 5′ blanket
  3. Use them individually as dish cloths
  4. Add more squares to make a larger blanket – you can pick some from my earlier blanket CAL!

Gauge

6 rows of 8 Tunisian simple stitches is a 2 inch square.

If your gauge swatch is smaller than mine, go up a hook size. If it is larger than mine, you can try going down a hook size but be sure to use a hook that is at least 2 sizes larger than the one recommended for the yarn you are using – this is to avoid curling.

What you will need

Yarn

Worsted (medium) weight yarn – Each square needs about 130 yards of yarn. You will need approximately 4000 yards to make the full blanket – 24 squares, joining and border. Make sure to get more yarn if you plan on making extra squares.

I am going to make my blanket with the Wool of the Andes Superwash. The colors I picked are:

  • White
  • Amethyst Heather
  • Brass Heather
  • Cobblestone Heather

Other yarn options:

Hook

A 8 mm Tunisian crochet hook will be used to make the squares in this CAL. You are welcome to go up or down a hook size to match gauge. A double ended hook will be needed to make squares that are worked in a round. If you do not have a double ended hook, it is possible to make a double ended hook using two hooks of slightly different sizes from an interchangeable set – use the smaller hook for the reverse pass.

I am using hooks from my Clover Takumi Interchangeable Hook Set to make my squares.

Other hook options:

  1. Knitter’s Pride Ginger Interchangeable Hook Set
  2. Knitter’s Pride Dreamz Interchangeable Hook Set
  3. Denise Interchangeable Hook Set
  4. Furls Tunisian Crochet hooks – These cannot be used for squares that are worked in a round.
  5. Chiaogoo Interchangeable Hook Set
Blocking Supplies

A blocking mat and, depending on the material of the yarn you choose, you will need some other blocking supplies. I am using superwash wool so I am going to use a ‘no rinse’ delicate wash by KnitIQ and my KnitIQ crochet blocking mats to block my squares. The blocking mats come with a set of T-pins and I also have this beautiful canvas bag to store my blocking mats in!

If you are using acrylic yarn, you could steam your squares after pinning them on blocking mats. Here are some other products would be useful for blocking:

  1. Knit Blockers and Pin Set by Knitter’s Pride
  2. Garment Steamer
Stitch Markers

Some squares in this blanket will require the use of stitch markers. I am not sure how many will be needed because it would depend on the design of each square but I recommend having at least 4 markers in your notions bag for this project. I am using these lovely stitch markers from Walnut Farm Designs.

Here is another set of markers that you could use:

  1. Crochet Locking Stitch markers
Other notions

Here are a few more notions that you will need to make your blanket:

  1. Scissors
  2. Tapestry needle
  3. Measuring tape

How to participate

You don’t have to do anything special to join the CAL. You can follow it on my website or on my social media. Here are some helpful links that you can use to keep track of the CAL:

  • Get notified by email:
    • Newsletter: If you haven’t already done so, you can subscribe to my newsletter to get all important updates of this CAL (I also send out updates after a pattern release so you won’t miss any!).
    • Post Notifications: Leave me a comment at the end of this post and click on ‘Notify me of new posts by email’ to get an email every time a new blog post is created on KnitterKnotter.
  • Join my Facebook group: If you would like to connect with other people who are participating in this CAL, join my KnitterKnotter Hangout group on Facebook. This CAL, along with any future CALs, pattern releases, giveaways and anything else I would like to share can be found there. It is a great place to share your progress and to ask questions. The group is very focused on learning and everyone there is amazing at helping each other out! I request that you respect the rules of the group while posting.
    • Facebook: If you would not like to join my group, you can also find updates related to this CAL on my Facebook page.
  • Instagram: If you are not on Facebook (or even if you are ???? ), you can follow this CAL on Instagram. You can follow me to get updates there and if you choose to share photos of your project, please use tags @knitterknotter #knitterknottertunisianblanketcal2021 and #knitterknotter for a chance to get featured in my stories!
  • Pinterest: Follow this Pinterest board for all the squares in this CAL.
  • Ravelry: Create a project in Ravelry and share your pictures there.

Giveaways

There will be 3 giveaways with some amazing prizes from our sponsors! The giveaway is open worldwide but free shipping is limited to certain regions. See the note below for shipping related information.

Also, watch this space or subscribe to my newsletter to find out more about how you can participate in the giveaways.

Giveaway #1 at the end of week 8

  1. A set of crochet blocking mats by KnitIQ
  2. A yarn bowl by Knit Picks
  3. A set of 3 hooks, 2 cords, and 2 stoppers from the Clover Takumi Interchangeable Hook series by Clover USA
  4. 1 set of stitch markers (or any other product in their shop) by Walnut Farm Designs
  5. A PDF copy of a Tunisian Cushion cover pattern by Morine’s Shop
  6. 4 patterns of your choice from KnitterKnotter (upto $30 value)


Giveaway #2 at the end of week 16

  1. A set of crochet blocking mats by KnitIQ
  2. 1 Brava Worsted Minis Set by Knit Picks
  3. A set of 3 hooks, 2 cords, and 2 stoppers from the Clover Takumi Interchangeable Hook series by Clover USA
  4. 1 set of stitch markers (or any other product in their shop) by Walnut Farm Designs
  5. A PDF copy of a Tunisian Cushion cover pattern by Morine’s Shop
  6. 4 patterns of your choice from KnitterKnotter (upto $30 value)


Giveaway #3 at the end of week 24

  1. A set of crochet blocking mats by KnitIQ
  2. Yarn to make one full blanket by WeCrochet
  3. A Clover Takumi Interchangeable Hook set by Clover USA
  4. 1 set of stitch markers (or any other product in their shop) by Walnut Farm Designs
  5. A PDF copy of a Tunisian Cushion cover pattern by Morine’s Shop
  6. A pattern bundle of all Tunisian Crochet patterns from KnitterKnotter (20+ patterns – over $120 value)

Shipping

Here are the list of regions where shipping is covered by each sponsor:
1. KnitIQ – US, UK, and EU countries
2. Knit Picks – USA, UK, Canada, and Australia
3. Clover – USA and Canada
4. Walnut Farm Designs – Worldwide
Winners outside of the shipping regions mentioned above will have to pay for shipping.

Let’s get started!

  1. To get updates you can

2. Get your yarn and hooks

Make sure to get enough yarn to make the entire blanket at once to avoid difference in color between dye lots. You could also make this blanket from yarn in your stash – it could be a great stash buster!

I also recommend getting a set of Tunisian crochet hooks so that you can try different sizes. I usually have to try a few sizes before I can settle on one that feels right for the yarn I am using. With a set, it is also possible to build a double ended hook that will be required to make squares in the round.

3. Share your pictures – I’d love to see your yarn and your squares! Please share some pictures in my Facebook group and your social media. Make sure to tag me  @knitterknotter#knitterknottertunisianblanketcal2021 and #knitterknotter so that I can see them and share them in my stories!

4. Patiently wait for the first square to be launched on January 6th 2021 🙂 Meanwhile, you can check out the Pinterest board for the Tunisian Sampler Blanket CAL 2020 for inspiration.

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Disclosure

This page may contain affiliate links where I earn a small commission. While using these links doesn’t cost you more, it helps me continue to offer patterns for free. Thank you for your continued support!

I strive to offer my patterns for free and that is possible only with your support. Please share this post and your pictures as much as possible. Every share counts 🙂


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