Fun
Announcing MDK March Mayhem: The Bracket
With all the joy in the world, we present MDK March Mayhem 2018.
The tournament of patterns.
The world’s only bracket for knitters. Which, really, is the only bracket anybody needs, right?
Throughout 2017, we have been scouring the internet in search of the most amazing patterns we could find. It has been a bumper crop, to be sure. But we had to choose only 64 from the thousands of patterns published during the past year.
Here is the bracket.
Our hearty congratulations to all the designers whose patterns appear in the MDK March Mayhem bracket. We are awed, amused, delighted, and amazed at your work.
The Categories
There are four: Yokes, Neck and Shoulders, Sweaters, and Mini Skeins. This is obviously a random set of categories, but we had to impose order on the tens of thousands of patterns published last year.
The voting begins next Thursday, March 15.
We are announcing the bracket now so that you can really spend time with these patterns.
We are really proud of this superfancy bracket. Be sure to click on each pattern name, which opens up our thoughts on each pattern, a link to the Ravelry pattern page, and yarn ideas. It’s a great chance to think about how these clever designers do what they do. And it may give yourself some insight into why you like to knit what you knit.
Our Criteria
What does it take to land in MDK March Mayhem?
- Published in 2017.
- Available directly from the designer via Ravelry or the designer’s website.
- Not free. We’re trying to help designers flourish.
- Aesthetic considerations: Inventive, surprising, elegant, cool.
- Most of all, and it’s the thing that is most difficult to explain: knittability. We asked ourselves, a thousand times, “Do I want to knit that?” For a design to be included, it has to be something we are dying to make.
When you look at the list of designers included in this group of 64, you will see familiar names and new ones. Reputation and length of time in the knitting world were not a factor. It’s all about the pattern.
As you spend time with these patterns, we encourage you to buy them. We would love nothing more than to have designers discover heaps of new customers in their Ravelry accounts. We would love to see all these designs knitted a million times. This is a celebration, and there’s much to celebrate.
The Vote
There will be five rounds of voting, each round taking the top vote-getters to the next round.
Voting begins on Thursday, March 15 with Round 1, where you will choose your eight favorite patterns from each of four categories. Subsequent rounds will require voting again, so be sure to keep up with the voting dates for each round.
As with last year, we’re using Survey Monkey. He is robust, and he worked well last year.
The last round, the Big Four, will put the four category winners up against each other to determine the Champion of MDK March Mayhem. The champion will be announced on Monday, April 2, 2018.
Let the browsing begin—and be ready to cast your first votes on Thursday, March 15, 2018.
We are dying of curiosity to see which pattern prevails.
The bracket itself is a work of art! Well done. Ready to browse.
Yay!!!! I cannot wait for yokes and then consequently mini skeins.
Amazing format for this bracket and I am delighted by so many patterns/designers that are new to me. And I browse around on Ravelry all the time; how have I missed so many great designs? Not sure how I can choose. But the format is perfect. You guys are THE BEST!
Oh, what great selection! I c our pick enough to keep me busy for years. Can you please tell me the name of the beautiful cable pattern that you have on needles on the right side of the March madness header? Love it.
Thanks.
I love this time of the year. More patterns to look at……more ideas!❤️
I love that you guys do this! thank you!
Me too! I’m new to this site I found on Facebook. Very excited to peruse the bracket..
This is outstanding and I am honored and blown away to be included. Thank you for doing this! More patterns for me to share with my folks! Woot woot
Great bracket (both your your design and choices). I love your philosophy. Support designers, people! That’s how we continue to get great designs.
Lawdy, I’ve already bookmarked a couple of these in my Ravelry library, they’re so great.
So many beautiful designs, so many choices! I love the bracket and its links, but I’d also like a printable version for making notes. as I browse. That really helped me last year.
Stay tuned, Pennie! We’re just getting started.
Oh yay, it’s that time of the year again!!
For the first time ever I do not have to “beware the Ides of March”, but am avidly looking forward to it! This is one of the most fun things ever! Thanks, Ann and Kay for thinking it up, putting it out there, and making it a yearly tradition. I can only imagine the hard work that goes into making one of these knitterly March Madness things happen. I think I must be speaking for everyone when I say that your hard work is sooo appreciated. Thank you so much!
I’m surprised that so many were from well-known designers.
Well. This is going to be a problem. It occurs to me that if employers are willing to be a little lax on folks watching the round ball during March Madness, equal opportunity employment should mean it’s also gonna be OK to knit a bit during this bracket. I could be wrong tho.
Hear, hear, Robbie! And what about the pools?
Will you have a PDF version of the bracket? I liked having a paper copy in front of me as a reminder.
I love the Bracket! I refer to it all year long when considering the next project.
I love MDK March Mayhem! Last year I discovered a couple patterns that have worked their way into the queue. (Waiting for Rain – double swoon!) And it got me over that weird idea I had that the only good pattern is a free pattern. I mean, if I look at cost per hour of enjoyment/relaxation, even a $10 pattern only costs pennies per hour!
Oh no! I’m going to have a hard time not adding to my list of knitting projects with all these beautiful knits tempting me.
This was a ton of fun to see come about last year. I’m so glad you’re doing it again. It’s a blast discovering new patterns & revisiting familiar favorites.
Very exciting project! I’m new to your site and so far I’m fascinated with these treasures.
Masterful! Almost all of the sweaters were already on my favorites list, but I have added a couple more, plus quite a few others. This should be fun,
What is the sweater in progress pictured at the top of the page. I think I need that too.
Hmmm. I was just looking over the bracket to see if I made any of the patterns. I made a Fantoosh back in 2015. I guess that pattern must have been re-released in 2017.
I was wondering about Fantoosh, too . .
We went by the pattern page which says it was published in 2017. If it was out in 2015 in some other incarnation, we totally missed it.
It was re-released in 2017 when the KD team knit up a new sample and created kits for sale in her shop! But it was originally published in 2015, as seen in Kate’s original introductory blog post: https://katedaviesdesigns.com/2015/05/08/fantoosh/
I actually got up and made myself a hot delicious cuppa coffee before delving into the brackets!
We are not kidding about that recommendation! Hot cuppa increases enjoyment (of anything) by at least 50 percent.
And down the Ravelry rabbit hole I go … 😀
This is fabulous! Can I also ask what pattern and yarn is the delicious cardigan you have featured in the header? Please, please?
That is the Little Tern Blanket from A Year of Techniques, in lovely Fyberspates Vivacious DK which (handily) is in our Shop. https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/little-tern-kit/
Blanket?? No No, I have to figure out how to Wear this pattern
thanks, and I thought it was a cardigan. Maybe I should make it into one!!
Now this is a March Mayhem I can really get behind. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! <3
Answering Karen Kayes comment above: the gorgeous knitted object in the header is Tin Can Knits’ Little Tern Blanket from A Year of Techniques, link here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-tern-blanket
I have just bought Ranunculous. What a gorgeous pattern and I have a daughter who will love it for her bday!
Nice collection!
So many great choices! Out of curiosity, have you ever included a Crochet category?
We haven’t so far. We lack expertise in (but not appreciation for) crochet.
I am generally indifferent to most spectator sports, and have been known to say things such as, “Oh, that’s right. This is Super Bowl Sunday.” (Notable exceptions: the Olympics, tennis tournaments, and dog shows.) However, this is KNITTING, so I am again thrilled by your lovely March Mayhem. I have already made my short list, and can’t wait for the 15th! I have tried to keep in mind your sensible idea, “Do I want to knit that?,” rather than, “Oooh, I like that!”
It’s really more like a dog show than the basketball tournament, in that there is no head-to-head competition until the very last round, the Best in Show as it were.
This is so fun, and I’m finding so many patterns I haven’t seen before! I’m a little sad to see that Melody Hoffmann didn’t make it into the brackets. She’s one of my favorite designers.
Oh how I have been waiting for this! I have also been hoping for my favorite designs and designers to qualify. I am a wrestling Mom and after years of nail-biting during March “Mat”ness your Bracket is such a delight. I will be looking forward to extended times of browsing the many entries. Thanks for your originality and hard work and fun-ness.
What great timing you have! You have made me forget all about the nor’easter coming down heavy at this moment.
THAT BRACKET!!!!!!
Ah, half an hour well spent marking up my brackets.
You two are amazing – how did you manage to arrange a snow day for your east coast fans, so we have lots of time to peruse the brackets? Awesome!
A quick look makes me happy to see True Colors, off my needles months ago ( and made with yarn bought at my new LYS) and Zandra, among many projects currently in the works.
Now to get serious looking at the patterns.
Thanks so much for the fun ( tho I still want to add Hatcher to the finished projects from last year’s choices)!
Such a wonderful event! But it is VERY hard to eliminate choices from each category. There are just too many lovely designs. Thank you for giving us some “Madness” again!
I’m waltzing around the room singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!”
Much easier format this year. Great job ladies.
Let the games begin!
I am so looking forward to reading up and admiring all these patterns!!
Thanks for including my suggested pattern!
I have really been looking forward to this since you announced as I really enjoyed it last year. lAnd to release it on the perfect snowy day to spend time on all those patterns. Very smart! Thanks so much for all the hard work to make this happen. We haven’t even started yet I’m loving it already.
I’ve looked and cannot find the round by round results of the 2017 bracket. Can you post a link? Thanks!
Hi Claudia!
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/mdk-march-mayhem-champion/
It was an amazing competition, for sure!
Hope you’ll be sure to vote on this year’s bracket starting March 15!
Well you have succeeded! All I want to do is cast on. How I missed so many of these patters is beyond me. Simply beautiful. I am very intrigued to see how other people vote as my favorites are clear!!
Good grief!!! How does one pick just two in each category? They’re such wonderfully curated choices!
good grief indeed-i’m not sure i can choose favorites until it is narrowed down more
The bracket is awesome! This is very important: what pattern is highlighted in the detail photo in the upper right corner of the page? Thanks!
Where do I go to look at these?
What a wonderful way to showcase some of the beautiful of the fiber Industry. This also helped to increase my WIPS. Thanks ~ UrbanGirlYarns
This sounds like fun. I’m loving so many of the nominations. Could you give us newbies a link to the info on how to get to survey monkey for voting?
The beauty of the bracket is collecting all the patterns, liking them or buying them for future projects. Everyone’s a winner if we love them all.