The Song Shawl CAL Begins in September

All year I have been struggling with an idea for a filet crochet along for 2024. Well in June, I happened upon what I think is better idea. I hope you’ll think so too.

I gave my favorite Agape shawl to my mom and have regretted it ever since. I wanted to make another shawl for myself – but I get bored making the same thing twice, so I set out to design a new shawl. I had some gorgeous fall-colored yarn, so I thought “I’ll design and release a shawl in September so people cna make and wear it in time for fall!”

Well, thinking about September got a Green Day song stuck in my head, which stayed stuck on repeat in my brain the entire time I worked on the design. So I decided to name the shawl after the song – because, why not?

Then inspiration hit! I wondered how many other songs had to do with a month? Enter hours of googling, listening, and lyric reading. To my delight, I found there are songs for EVERY month of the year!

So I present to you a new and different kind of CAL, the Song Shawl CAL. Where we make not 1, but 12 shawls over the course of one year. Each shawl will be named after a song title that includes the month. It’s quite a variety of musical styles and groups – some I’d never even heard of until now. Everything from Journey right down to Taylor Swift 😆 so when I say VARIETY – I mean it. I think you’ll have a lot of fun listening and crocheting!

The designs themselves are also a variety. I couldn’t call this a “filet cal” because a few of the shawls don’t contain any filet design but instead show off my skills beyond numbers and commas 😆 which I hope you’ll enjoy as I have a confession: I am a wee bit bored after designing nearly all filet patterns for the past 4 years. And by wee bit…I mean if I never made another I’d be totally fine with that. However, I know most of you found me through your love of filet crochet so I promise not to give it up. I just need some variety to make crochet more enjoyable again!

The CAL is beginning in September because it’s my favorite month and because I just can’t wait until it’s 2024 to start releasing these pretty designs. Besides, this all started with my “Wake Me Up When September Ends” obsession so it just makes sense to begin in September. That…and I have this great fall colored yarn I purchased a couple years ago that is begging to be used. I designed the perfect filet shawl to go with it and I’m excited to show it off this fall!

Why shawls?

• Shawls make great stash busters for that special yarn you’ve been saving for something that isn’t a blanket. Especially colorful/gradient “cake” yarns & handed-dyed yarns. Know anyone who might have a hoard…er…stash…like that?! (me – it’s me – thus the CAL 😅)
• You don’t have a hoard of those kinds of yarns? Well, clear a space because you’ve got a reason to try them out now!
• Shawls are fast projects and tend to feature simple, repetitive, and contemplative stitch patterns.
• Shawls make great on-the-go WIPs for vacation travel, waiting for kids at appointments, and easy Friday night movie stitching.
• You can never have too many shawls – they’re like shoes and purses…you need one for every outfit!
• Not into shawls? No problem – shawls make fabulous handmade gifts. I’m sure you know at least 12 people you’ll need a gift for over the next 12 months.

What yarns are good for the Song Shawl projects?

• As with all my designs, you can use ANY yarn that you like best along with the corresponding hook.
• The amount of yarn you use will greatly depend on how you like to wear your shawls, and of course the weight of your yarn, hook size, and personal tension will all play into the mix.
• I’ll be giving yarn amounts for mostly Fine weight yarn to use up my hoarded Hobbii Azalea cakes. I’ll also be using hand-dyed 4ply and acrylic DK for some of the patterns, too. So really – any yarn will do! It all depends on how warm you want your shawl to be and what yarn you have on hand…or what yarn you want to purchase. 😉
• I am purposely making sure all the patterns are repeatable so you can size them as needed to fit your yarn weight and your size preference! You could even turn them into blankets if you’re a little more advanced & adventurous!
• The patterns will be mainly triangle shawls. There will be a couple wrap-syle shawls (long rectangular shape), and I may even decide to throw in a couple asymmetrical styles, too.

How do I get the shawl patterns?

Monthly CAL designs will be released on the 1st Friday of each month beginning in September 2023, with the final shawl being released in August 2024. You have the option of purchasing the entire set of 12 designs as a discounted set, picking each pattern up as it is released, or you can simply join in on the free months. I will be releasing 3 of the 12 shawl designs completely free on my blog. The first free shawl design will be in the month of November.

12 Pattern Set – You can purchase the 12 pattern set here. This set includes the first 4 monthly designs right away (Sept-Dec) and then all following pattern download links will be emailed to you monthly beginning in January. This set allows you to get the PDFs of all 12 shawl patterns for just $40 ($3.33 each – 40% off)!

Monthly Coupons – Sign up for new release emails if you’d like the monthly 20% off coupons for each shawl to pick and choose which you want to purchase.

The 3 Free Shawl Designs – Sign up for new blog post notifications so you don’t miss out on the free shawl designs posted via my blog. The first free design is in November.

Project Playlist & Preview Pictures!

It was fun listening to random songs simply because they had a month in the name. Some songs I found were beyond horrible, but I was able to find at least one for each month that I liked enough. I think this list has such extensive variety in style that it’s super fun to listen to. None of the songs are what I’d consider “happy” though. They are contemplative…and lots of “break up” type songs 😆 which always have their place, even after 21 years with the same man.

So, enjoy a little contemplative melancholy with me and add these to a playlist wherever you stream your music!

If you have Apple Music, you can use this link to access my public playlist for the CAL: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/song-shawl-cal-playlist/pl.u-kv9llaLuXedY0A

Otherwise, I’ve linked each song below to YouTube so you can still listen to all the Song Shawl CAL tunes even if you don’t have a music streaming app.

September

“Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day

October

“Spiderwebs” by No Doubt – I count help but pick this song even though it doesn’t match the month-name theme.

October’s original song was “Before October’s Gone” by Cimorelli until I decided on the design and swiftly got NoDoubt stuck in my head!

Photo: Marcelle Willemse

November

“November” by Gabrielle Aplin

Photo: Teresa Wind

December

Back to December by Taylor Swift – who I have never, ever, listened to until I found this song.

December’s “runner up” is “My December” by Linkin Park. I’ve never been a fan of Linkin Park, but whatever CD this track appeared on I listened to on occasion back in high school because a friend “burned” it for me. Man, remember when we used to make playlists and share them via CD?! Those were the DAYS. 😎 So, the Linkin Park song carries lots of high school nostalgia for me…but I liked Swift’s song better. Not sure what that says about me. 😆

Photo: Teresa Wind

January

“January White” by Sleeping At Last

February Shawl – Free!

Click here to head to the free pattern post for February’s Shawl.

“February Song” by Josh Groban

March

“Winds of March” by Journey

“April” by Imaginary Future – Even though “April” is used more as a person in the lyrics (rather than a month) I’m still including the song. Interestingly, there are not a lot of April-in-the-name songs that aren’t about a person. I originally chose “April Skies” by The Jesus and Mary Chain – but I honestly loved the style and sound of “April” by Imaginary Future so much more – so I picked it instead! I have since been listing to other music by Imaginary Future and I LOVE the musical style and the lyrics are great, too.

“End of May” by Michael Buble

“Day in June” by Kid Astray

“Cold Day in July” by The Dixie Chicks

“August is Over” by We the Kings