Jessica Wifall

Main Information Page: Scheepjes Festival Of Lights CAL

Welcome to my main page for the Scheepjes CAL 2024: Festival of Lights!  Here you will find lots of important information and helpful tips and tricks.  Don’t worry if this is a lot of information at once, I will also be posting helpful tips and progress pictures for each part of the CAL along with detailed video tutorials. 

All the important links for this CAL will also be posted here as they become available so if you are looking for something this is a great place to start.

If you would like to read more about my inspiration for the CAL you can find it here.

Important Links

I will add these links as they become available.

Video Link

I have made videos tutorials for all the parts of this CAL here are the links for this week. There are videos for UK and US terms. I have also tried to make them clear enough visually that it will still be helpful without the sound.

Special Thank you to Fiona Kelly for providing a Dutch Voiceover! Here are the Videos in Dutch.

I also have an introductory video that has tips and tricks for staying organized and a little bit about my inspiration

Introduction and Tips and Trick Video

Introductie, Tips & Tricks – Nederlands

You can subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications to be notified when new videos are released.

Official Scheepjes Yarn Kits

Scheepjes has made two beautiful official kits for this CAL of Scheepjes Metropolis and Organicon yarns. 

The Scheepjes Metropolis Kit contains

  • 1 Scheepjes Metropolis Colour Pack (75% Extra Fine Merino Wool, 25% Nylon)
  • 2 x 50g balls of Scheepjes Metropolis (75% Extra Fine Merino Wool, 25% Nylon)
  • Set of 3 postcards
  • Special edition Scheepjes CAL mug

The Scheepjes Organicon Kit contains

  • 26 x 50g balls of Scheepjes Organicon 100% Organic Soft Cotton
  • Set of 3 postcards
  • Special edition Scheepjes CAL mug

Purchasing Your Own Kit

To purchase a kit, you can check for a Scheepjes Retailer in your area, or please consider using my affiliate link below.  Shopping though this link earns me a small commission to support my design work at no additional cost to you. Thank You!

USA: Jimmy Beans Wool Scheepjes Yarn: Organicon Kit / Metropolis Kit

I don’t have a lot of affiliate links so if you can’t buy through my link, I would encourage you to use an affiliate link from other designers that you enjoy when purchasing your kit. 

Yarn Requirements

Kits are sold out in many places so here is a list of the yarn that is in each kit:

For the Metropolis kit you will need:

Yarns A-H a Metropolis colour pack
Yarn I 069 Miami x 2 balls

you can find the Color packs in the Scheepjes Amazon Shop*

For the Organicon kit you will need:

Yarns A-H One ball of each colour: 211, 213, 215, 222, 223, 224, 228, 231, 233, 234, 238, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248,254, 257, 258, 259, 263, 266
Yarn I 261 Night Shadow x 2 balls

There is more information on yarn requirements for other scheepjes yarns in this post here.

*Affiliate link, shopping through this link earns me a small commission to support my design work at no additional cost to you. Thank You!

Blanket Size

With Metropolis, you can expect your blanket to be approximately 100 x 100cm/ 39.4x 39.4” after blocking.

With Organicon, you can expect your blanket to be approximately 95 x 95cm/ 37.4x 37.4” after blocking.

Pattern Support

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend joining the Scheepjes Facebook Groups.  The groups are incredibly friendly and supportive.  There you can share progress photos, get inspiration, and ask for help if needed.

I have also made video tutorials for this CAL that I will be posting for each part on my YouTube Channel.

There will not be a complete photo tutorial for this pattern, but I will provide some supplementary photographs for the trickier bits on the blog post for each piece of the pattern.

CAL Timeline

The pattern will be released as a weekly written-only PDF (released on a Wednesday at noon GMT)

You can access these from the official Scheepjes Facebook Groups or via the Scheepjes website: International CAL Group, Dutch CAL Group, Scheepjes Website.

I will be providing video support and posting weekly tips and photos to supplement the pattern.  

(links below will be added as they are available)

Week 1 & 216 October 2024Triangle Motifs
Week 330 October 2024Square Motifs
Week 406 November 2024Popcorn Diamond Motifs
Week 513 November 2024Diamond Motifs
Week 620 November 2024Extended Diamond Motifs
Week 727 November 2024Joining
Week 804 December 2024Border

Coloring Sheet

One of my favorite parts of publishing patterns is seeing all the interesting colorways that people come up with to make it their own.  So please feel free to let your creativity run wild on color placement even if you are using a kit.  I have arranged the colors roughly in a color wheel pattern, but you could make a diagonal or let them swirl or do something cool with contrasting colors. 

I have made a PDF coloring sheet for you to use to try out different color arrangements if you are going to get creative with your kit or to help plan what colors you want to use if you are making your own color way.

Colouring Sheet FoL CAL_V2Download

Using the Color Placement Chart

Along with the pattern, each kit will have a Colour Placement Table listing the required color number per round for each motif.  When a motif is completed, I recommend marking it as completed on your color placement table and labeling the motif by pinning a piece of paper with the motif number to the motif.  The motif on the schematic can also be colored in to visually track progress.

To assist I have made a Printable PDF of labels for you to use.  I recommend cutting out each group of labels and cutting between each label but leaving them attached until needed so they are easy to find.  When the label is needed it can easily be found and detached to pin on the motif. 

English:

Motif Tags_V1Download

Dutch:

Motief Labels_NL_V2Download

If you accidentally mix up some colors when making your blanket here is my recommendation.  Decide if it’s going to bother you, if it does frog and redo, if not you are just making your blanket special. Just keep in mind that if you use a color somewhere unexpected with the Metropolis kit you may be a little short on that color and need to swap it for a less used color somewhere else.

The Assembly Line Method

Once you are comfortable with the pattern using an “assembly line” method to get through all those motifs can speed things up quite a bit.  This means working the first round a bunch of times, then the second, and so on.  Here is how I like to do this for this pattern. 

  1. Decide how large of a “batch” to work at once, this can be all the motifs or smaller groups of 5-10.  Larger batches can be more efficient but might be less enjoyable because they are more repetitive, and progress is less visible. Play with the size of the batch until you figure out what you prefer.    
  2. Pin the motif labels to the Ball Bands of the yarn used for the first round.  Once the round is complete the pin the label to the motif.  The partial motifs can be put to the side until some, or all the round ones are completed. 
  3. Pin the partial motifs to the next round yarn just like the labels for round one.
  4. Repeat until the motif is complete.   

I find that this method is great for keeping track of color placement without constantly having to refer to the color placement table.  Once the labels are pinned to the yarn, they can be tossed in a basket or bag to crochet in my favorite place or taken with me. 

This system is also flexible, if a round gets boring, take the finished partial motifs and pin them to the next round color and start working those, or even switch between them.  

Gauge

For this project we will not be making a specific gauge swatch, instead we will crochet the first motif and measure it before adjusting.  For each motif measurements for gauge will be given with the pattern, but I also wanted to talk about gauge more generally regarding this pattern before we get started as it can be a point of anxiety for some when starting a large project.

Overall, here are my recommendations regarding tension.

  1. Read up on the golden loop, Esther of “is all in a nut shell” has a fantastic blog post and video talking the golden loop.  In summery the golden loop is about getting the width to height ratio of your stitches correct.  If you have trouble matching gauge by changing hook size or have trouble with rippling or puckering in your crochet work start here.   
  2. Find a hook that gives you results that are close enough.  It is more important to have pieces that lay flat, are consistent and fit together than matching exact gauge so don’t stress if you are a little bit smaller or larger than the actual gauge if those goals are achieved.
  3. Aim for consistency, regardless of how close to the actual gauge you are, strive for consistency.  I like to keep my first motif with me when making subsequent motifs then I can occasionally compare to see if they are similar. This doesn’t have to be perfect as crochet has a little stretch and blocking will help.
  4. Compare Fit, for each motif dimensions will be given and after the first one I will provide a comparison of how this should compare to the other motifs.   This blanket is composed of motifs of various shapes thus the relative size of the pieces is important for the blanket to fit together correctly.  For example, one square should be about the size of 2 triangles put together.  If the relative sizes are wildly different there are going to be fit issues.  
  5. Try not to stress too much.  I find that a lot of things affect my tension, for example, the square when anxious is noticeably smaller than the one I made while relaxing.  However, they aren’t different enough to cause a problem and blocking is going to take care of small differences.  

The last thing to talk about with gauge is yarn usage. Larger motifs use up more yarn, however both kits have a bit of buffer, the Organicon kit has a substantial buffer, and the Metropolis kit has about a 15% buffer.  If you do run out of a particular color, I would recommend that you put that motif to the side, some colors will have more remaining than others so you may be able to use the leftovers of a similar color. 

Dealing with Ends

This pattern has a lot of ends, here are some tips to make them less overwhelming. 

Weave in Ends as you go.  Take a moment when finishing each motif or at least every few motifs to take care of the ends before moving on.  This will make the task significantly less daunting. 

Even if you like to save your ends for the end, at the very least I recommend weaving in all the ends before we get to the joining so that they are not in the way.

When possible, crochet over the ends.  To crochet over the ends from the prior round I take a moment to weave the ends in a few places along the back loop when I finish a round.  This makes it easy to work over the ends when the next round is crochet.  The end can be woven through every back loop along a row, just a couple, or even just held in place.  If the ends are making it harder to see the stitches to work in to try weaving through every loop or only 1.

When Not to Crochet Over the Ends   

  • The next round is mostly Post Stitches.  Back and front post stitches go around the post of the stitch instead of through the loops, this means that working through the back loops and crocheting over the ends doesn’t work.
  • The starting tail of a magic circle.  I recommend weaving in the starting tail by spinning around the center a few times to best secure the magic circle and avoid bulk.
  • When the result would be too bulky.  Generally, avoid crocheting over more than one end, if it’s a small round and two ends would overlap only crochet over until the overlap then leave them for later.  I am not always great at following this guideline.
  • The first time through the motif pattern.  Mistakes are more difficult to undo once ends are woven in, so wait until the pattern is more familiar before crocheting over the ends.
  • If it is making things more difficult or confusing.  If trying to work over the ends is proving difficult or causing confusion, then just wait until the motif is completed to weave in the ends.

I am so excited to finally be able to share this project with you all.  This blanket was designed with love while dreaming big and I am still a little shocked that I have designed a Scheepjes Crochet A-Long.  

Happy Crafting!

Support My Work

Thank you for reading my blog, you are supporting my design work just by being here!   Here are some other ways you can support my design work.

  • Follow me on Instagram or Facebook – I post new pattern releases and such on my Instagram feed and Facebook page, following, liking, and commenting will keep you up to date and help other find my design work.
  • Browse my self-published patterns – I have several patterns on Etsy and Ravelry.  My portfolio of designs is not extensive yet, but I am continuing to add new patterns. 
  • Watch my Videos on YouTube– Video tutorials for each part of this CAL will be available on my YouTube channel along with a (very) few other tutorials I have made.  Watching the videos, subscribing to my channel, commenting on and liking the videos will all support my design work.  I would like to reach 500 subscribers and 3,000 watch hours this year.
  • Affiliate links – Shopping through my links supports me at no additional cost to you as I get a small commission through my affiliates.  Scheepjes Amazon Shop, Jimmy Beans Wool, Yarn Addicted and Co on Etsy (US shipping only) 

Important Links

I will add these links as they become available.

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