PlanetJune by June Gilbank

PlanetJune Crochet-Along FAQ

Every month, we have a PlanetJune Crochet-Along (CAL) at the PlanetJune Ravelry group. It’s a lot of fun, a good way to make friends with other friendly crocheters from all over the world, and a chance to crochet the same patterns at the same time as others, ask questions, get help, and take cute photos of what you’ve made for everyone else to admire!

Frequently asked questions about PlanetJune CALs

• What’s a CAL?
• Why Ravelry?
• How do I enter a PlanetJune CAL?
• What size photo should I upload?
• How do I add my project photo to the CAL thread?

What’s a CAL?

A CAL is where a pattern (or several) are chosen, and people crochet them at the same time.

The PlanetJune CALs are all decided by you – anyone can suggest themes for future CALs, and everyone gets to vote for the theme for each coming month. Then you pick from all the PlanetJune designs that fit the theme, get crocheting, post photos of what you’re making, and check in to see what everyone else is making. At the end of the month, I post a CAL roundup here on the blog, so you can see your project displayed here together with everyone else’s.

Why Ravelry?

I run the PlanetJune CALs through my Ravelry group, PlanetJune Crochet Designs. Ravelry provides us with a place to post photos and a forum to post to and chat with each other. My Ravelry group is also the best place to post any questions you may have about amigurumi or my patterns – you’ll get a fast response from people who’ve made the same pattern (much quicker than emailing me and waiting for my reply!) and I can chime in if nobody else has an answer for you.

Note: It’s totally free to sign up for a Ravelry account, and I highly recommend it for anyone who crochets (and/or knits) – it includes a searchable database of pretty much every pattern and yarn in existence, so if you’re looking for something in particular it’s easy to find it. You can also see all the projects other people have made from the patterns or yarns (before you decide to buy them!) and their verdict on what they thought of it.

How do I enter a PlanetJune CAL?

1. Sign up for a free account at ravelry.com. Add an avatar photo to your profile and any other details you want.
2. Join the PlanetJune Crochet Designs ravelry group by clicking the ‘join this group’ button.
3. Add a new project to your Ravelry notebook with your CAL entry. See Ravelry’s project instructions for help with that. You don’t need to fill in all the fields, but make sure you link it to whichever PlanetJune pattern you used and add at least one photo (see Photo Requirements below).
4. Go to the CAL thread, hit reply, and post a message there with anything you’d like to say about your project and include the photo(s) of your project. You can add photos from flickr or other websites, or directly from Ravelry (see Add a Project Photo below).
5. Repeat 3 and 4 for any additional CAL entries!

What size photo should I upload?

Photo Requirements: If you’d like your photo to be included in the CAL roundup, please try to keep it in standard photo format (4:3 aspect ratio, preferably wider than it is tall, e.g. 500 pixels wide by 375 pixels tall is the size most people use). If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just leave some background all around the edges of your item (don’t crop it too close if you resize your photo), so I can crop it into the right ratio for the roundup.

If you crop your photo to an unusual size or shape, or include effects (starbursts, sepia, frames, text, etc) it may not fit neatly into the roundup post, so I may have to leave it out of the roundup; that would be a pity after you’ve gone to all the trouble of making, photographing, and entering it in the CAL.

You’re very welcome to post several photos to the CAL thread, so feel free to post funky pics too, but please keep one of them as just a clear photo of your item that I can use for the roundup post – thank you!

How do I add my photo to the CAL thread?

Add a Project Photo: To add your photo from your Ravelry project to a forum post:

1. Click the ‘image’ button (the icon looks like a Polaroid photo):
   
2. Click ‘Use a project or stash photo’ – all your ravelry photos will show:
   
3. Find the photo you want and click it, then click ‘use this photo’

Please ask if there’s anything else you’re unsure about. I hope we’ll see you in the PlanetJune ravelry group soon, and you’ll join us for upcoming CALs

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