The Most Dangerous Games: Knit Yourself Away (Or, The Knitting Ritual)

Previously: Shadow Hide And Seek.

Do you seek the favor of the Three Fates? And do you have some skill with knitting? If yes, I have excellent news for you: The ritual game known as Knit Yourself Away — or, what I tend to think of more simply as the Knitting Ritual — is basically custom built for you.

This one was posted to the r/ThreeKings subreddit by a Redditor whose name has, alas, been lost to time: They deleted their account — meaning their name is not currently viewable — and none of the methods I would typically use to retrieve a missing username have borne out. Whoever they were, though, they do seem to have originated the game themself — they begin the post by stating, “This is a ritual that I started, I have tried, and it works” — and shared it to the sub in November of 2019.

[Like what you read? Check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available from Chronicle Books now!]

The Three Fates, of course, are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos; in Greek mythology, they work together to spin, measure, and snip the threads of human life. Clotho spins the thread; Lachesis measures its length; and Atropos cuts it when a person’s life has come to an end.

Here, though, their function has changed just a little bit: Rather than simply spinning thread, they’re positioned as taking that thread — or yarn, as the case may be — and turning it into cloth, then snipping the end of the yarn when the cloth knit from it is complete.

Basic knitting isn’t terribly complicated to pick up; if you don’t already know the basics, there are plenty of books, websites, and YouTube tutorials out there that can teach you enough to get started. I learned many years ago from this book, for instance, and this video is among the many available that will teach you how to cast on and knit a basic garter stitch. You don’t even really need to know how to bind or cast off your knitting for this ritual, although if you want to learn that, too, here’s a look at how it’s done.  

As for what you’ll get out of the Knit Yourself Away ritual game? It can vary, but luck, money, and/or virtuosity with your knitting needles are on the table.

But be warned: The Fates aren’t always kind.

As always, play at your own risk.

Players:

• One principal.

Requirements:

• A ball or skein of yarn.
• A pair of knitting needles.
• Scissors.
• A flameless candle. (See: Additional Notes.)
• Money, in the form of a coin or bill. (See: Additional Notes.)
• An object of personal significance to you.
• A dark, quiet room. (See: Additional Notes.)

Instructions:

Unwinding The Yarn:

1. Begin at any time.
2. Bring your supplies to your dark, quiet room.
3. When you enter the room, pause for a moment. Take stock of your surroundings. Observe how you feel.
   • If you feel uneasy or unsettled: Do not proceed. Exit the room, but do not close the door; leave it open. Wait at least 10 minutes. Then, re-enter the room and try again. If you still feel uneasy, do not proceed; now is not the time for you to perform this ritual. Gather up your supplies and vacate the premises. You may try again another time if you wish.
   • If you feel safe and calm: You may proceed.
4. Close the curtains or otherwise block the windows.
5. Close the door. If it has a lock, lock it.
6. Using the scissors, cut a length of yarn from the ball or skein. Then use this length of yarn to form a circle on the ground.
7. Place your coin or bill within the circle.
8. Turn the flameless candle on; then place it within the circle, as well.
9. Sit before the circle, keeping your ball or skein of yarn, your knitting needles, and your object of significance close at hand. Do NOT place them within the circle.
10. Speak aloud the following words:
    “One spins the thread; the next knits the cloth. The last will snip the end when the time comes.
    Within this circle the first has knit, I have placed an offering for you to keep.
    Take me away to where they all stay. Show me the path that I may take.”
11. Now: Listen. What do you hear?
    • If you hear nothing: The ritual has failed; do not proceed. Instead, proceed directly to Snipping The Thread. You may try again another time if you wish.
    • If you hear a knocking at the door: You may proceed.

Knitting The Cloth:

1. Open the door, unlocking it before you do so if necessary. Wait for just a moment; acknowledge whatever presence or presences you feel.
2. Now, close the door again — but this time, do not lock it. Leave it unlocked. The Three do not like to be denied their freedom.
3. Sit back down in front of the circle.
4. Pick up your knitting needles and your ball or skein of yarn. Cast your yarn on, and begin to knit.
5. Keep knitting.
6. Keep knitting.
7. Knit for at least 15 minutes.
8. When you feel the time is right, put your knitting down. Do not cast off; keep your work on the needles.
9. Now: Close your eyes. Remember to breathe.
10. You may, while your eyes are closed, witness a series of images in your mind’s eye. Observe them. Remember them. Keep your eyes closed while they flicker before you. Keep breathing.
11. When the images cease, you may open your eyes.

Snipping The Thread:

1. When you are ready to bid the Three farewell, speak aloud the following words: “Thank you for the time you have given me. You must now leave with everyone but me.”
2. Pick up the length of yarn forming the circle on the ground. Turn off the flameless candle.
3. Perform a cleansing ritual within the room. You may use the procedure of your choice; just make sure you perform it as soon as possible, ideally immediately.
4. Remove the length of yarn used to form the circle from the premises and dispose of it as far away as you can. Bury it, or burn it — or burn it and then bury the remains.
5. Do not knit within the room in which you performed the ritual again.

Additional Notes:

Flameless candles, which are battery-operated and typically turn on and off with the use of a small switch, may be acquired from a variety of home and décor retailers. An example may be found here. It is not recommended that candles with burning flames be used to perform this ritual.

Regarding the coin or bill: For best results, use a denomination of high value — or, better yet, of collector quality. The Three enjoy nice things, you see, and the higher the value of the offering, the more likely they are to respond favorably.

It is recommended that you perform a cleansing ritual or procedure within the dark, quite room you have chosen before you begin to play. You may use the ritual or procedure of your choice; it may be as simple or as complex as you like.

Should you choose to perform a cleansing ritual prior to beginning, it is recommended that you perform the same cleansing ritual in Step 3 of Snipping The Thread. There is value in symmetry.

You may knit whatever stitch you like. You may knit whatever variety of item you like. You may knit whatever you like, full stop. Whatever you choose to knit, just be sure it will keep you busy for at least 15 minutes.

The Outcome:

If the Three found your offering enjoyable, you may experience any of the following outcomes:

• Your luck may improve;
• Your wealth may increase;
• Or, your skill with a pair of knitting needles may rise.

You may experience more than one of these outcomes. You may even awaken one morning to find your latest knitting project fully completed — even if you were nowhere near done the last time you put it down.

Additionally, the images revealed to you in Step 10 of Knitting The Cloth may be of use to you in the future. Do not forget them.

However, if the Three did not find your offering enjoyable:

Tread carefully.

You may find your luck turning on you shortly — and turning for the worse, at that.

And it is not likely to improve anytime soon.

***

Follow The Ghost In My Machine on Bluesky @GhostMachine13.bsky.social, Twitter @GhostMachine13, and Facebook @TheGhostInMyMachine. And for more games, don’t forget to check out Dangerous Games To Play In The Dark, available now from Chronicle Books!

[Photos via ClaradoodlaK, Pexels, MIH83/Pixabay]