It’s here! Today is the release of the first band of the Epic Fandom Stitch-Along.

I’ve mentioned this before – it’s my original free band sampler celebrating multiple fandoms, offered up as a way for the nerdy at heart (and those who stitch for them) to come together. This isn’t a mystery stitch-along. You will be able to see what you’re getting into. I encourage experimentation with color and technique. and I will share as many examples of different approaches to the individual bands as I have on hand at time of release (with special thanks to our group of intrepid Beta Stitchers!).

We start off with a giant robot and Kaiju, which should delight fans of multiple Anime and Anime-derived Mecha animations/ live action movies/videos – pretty much everything from Transformers, Giant Robo and Voltron to Pacific Rim, and blissfully inclusive all the way through the spectrum from Gundam to Power Rangers.

Here are four finishes:

(Above bits, top to bottom, stitched by Danielle, Heather, Callie and me)

Full info for the Stitch Along is at the SAL tab at the top of this page, or click here to hop direct. Scroll down to the big yellow BAND ONE subhead to find a downloadable PDF containing Giant Robot and Kaiju, plus background info for the project as a whole.

Feel free to post questions – I’d suggest doing it on the SAL page rather than here, so any info that can help other stitchers will be in one central spot. And feel free to send progress pix or tag them with #EpicFandomSAL on social media. With your permission (and proper credit), I’d like to post them in a gallery, so we can all celebrate together.