What is a K/CAL?

KAL is knit a-long and CAL is crochet a-long.

When Yahoo groups were a thing this was something that many of the crochet and knitwear designers were doing. My mom and I were part of many “a-longs”. Dishcloths, shawls, even sweaters. It is a great way to learn and have community, usually without ever leaving home.

When you are part of an a-long everyone is generally making the same project. There are other kinds of a-longs that I’ll talk about at the end, but what I’m going to share about first is designer and project specific a-longs.

When a designer releases a new pattern sometimes they make an a-long of it and sometimes they take that one step further and make it an M(K/C)AL. The “M” is for mystery. Stephen West has done a lot of these, but he wasn’t the first designer to do this. So a mystery a-long means that you usually know what the finished item is but no idea what it looks like. You are given the materials with a lot of guidance on what colors of yarn are needed and possibly info for a swatch. You gather all your materials and then you wait for the first “clue” to drop. This could be a lot of stitching or just a little bit. I have been part of M a-longs where there is a new clue every week and even some where there was a new clue every day. These are fun. You learn new things and meet new people.

In an a-long that isn’t a mystery the pattern might still be released in sections or given all at once and there is a time frame to complete the piece. No matter how it is set up the main idea of an a-long is community and stitching with others.

A-longs are run on a number of platforms, social media sites and even in person. We no longer have Yahoo Groups but we have Discord, Instragram, Facebook, and many others. If you have a favorite designer check their website or email them to see if they do any a-longs and join in.

Sometimes a yarn shop, yarn company or someone else runs an a-long either in person or online. These are often not designer or pattern specific but have a different goal in mind. Some examples are to learn something, finish UFOs and WIPs, get a jump on Christmas stitching; anything can be a theme.

My daughter and I used to do a sort of a-long every year. In June, usually at the Estes Wool market, we would begin a new project together. Not the same project, just a project to have completed by the end of the summer. Below is a photo of one of the last times we did this. This is the beginning of my shawl, that was never finished. Long story. The yarn was gifted to someone else for their enjoyment.

I will be hosting an a-long both in person and in Google Classroom February 3-March 3, 2026 for those who want to learn to make socks. If you’re interested email me and I’ll add you to the list and share all the details.

Happy making!