Over the next few days I’ll be taking you on a virtual tour of #giftalong2015! To begin, let’s start with the incredible 335 independent designers who signed up for the event this year.
The Participating Designer Thread
Grab a peppermint mocha latte, sit back and enjoy scrolling through the 14 pages of stunning beauty. Each designer created a stunning collage highlighting some of their favorite gift-able patterns, so it is a fiber feast for the eyes to be sure! When you happen upon one that makes your heart sign, simply click on the hyperlinked designer name in the post to be redirected to their shop page. So let’s breakdown one that I caught my eye, the homey warmth pictured in post number 20.

Designer Post Navigation
Each designer’s post in the Participating Designer Thread includes their name, business name, an image of some of the goodies from their shop, and “knit” “crochet” or “knit crochet”.
You can see the designer’s Ravelry name on the left – cowtownknits – circled in blue. She’s also a moderator, heading up one of the KAL/CAL threads this year, so you see her little sheep & “moderator” title as well.
From the numbers in purple in the body of the post
1. Her actual name is “Kate Bostwick.”
2. Her business name is “Cowtown Knits,” which is also hyperlinked.
3. She offers “knit” patterns in her shop.
4. Her image highlights six of her designs.
Following through on number 2 – If you click on her hyperlinked business name – Cowtown Knits, you are redirected to her Ravelry designer page!
Following through on number 3 – she offers knit. The thread is searchable by the words “knit” and “crochet” so those wanting a particular craft can easily navigate to the designers offering patterns in their preferred method. Simply click “search this post”
and type “knit” or “crochet” into the search box to have the thread filtered for you. Or click here for the saved “crochet” filter or click here for the saved “knit” filter.
Following through on the blue circle. If you need to message her, click on her Ravelry name in the blue circle, cowtownknits, to be redirected to her Ravelry “people” page.
Other Great Ways of Discovering Our Designers
In addition to the Participating Designer Thread, the group also has a pages tab which lists and links all the designers involved in GAL2015.
Enter the Indie Design Gift-a-long group on Ravelry and click the pages tab.
Check out the GAL 2015 Participating Designers page, which lists all 335 designs and links to each one’s individual Ravelry designer page.
Also we have a special page listing all 56 designers offering crochet patterns for those of you seeking crochet patterns. Like the Participating Designers Page, the GAL 2015 Crochet Designers page links to each one’s individual Ravelry designer page.
Finally we have the 2015 GAL Volunteers page, everyone behind the scenes who make the Indie Design Gift-a-long possible and a smooth running event. Unlike the other pages, the links on this page take you to the individual’s Ravelry people page, which has links for contacting and designer pages.
That summarizes the way to discovery the 335 indie designers of gift-a-long 2015. Stay tuned as our virtual tour continues tomorrow with a tour of the KAL/CAL threads.
And in the meantime, have a great GAL 2015 everyone!