Warm Weather Knits

When the weather starts getting warmer, some people put their knitting away. Not me! To me, it signals the time to start switching from sweater knitting to other things! Some of my favorite, warmer weather patterns include summer tees, home accessories and toys!

If, like me, you follow knitting designers on Instagram, you will have noticed the proliferation of short sleeved tops like Lyra Feather Yoke top by Sarah Hatton (free on Ravelry), Sommerkus by Elsebeth Judith, Green Tee by Lone Kjeldson (love the styling details) and not to forget the now almost classics from PetiteKnit, the Cumulus Tee and Anker’s Summer Shirt.

These tops can all be knit in summer friendly yarns like cotton, linen and/or silk. We have a great selection of these yarns at the store like Saredo Recycled cotton, Rowan Hand Knit cotton, Juniper Moon Zooey and many Shibui favorites like Koan, Reed, Twig, Vine and Rain. A few years ago I used 4 different Shibui yarns to make Blanche by Die Mercerie. It is one of my summer staples. Very light and a fun knit as you change yarn and pattern often.

Summer is also a great time to get started on Holiday gifts. It doesn't have to be a Christmas stocking (even though now is a good time to start). I also like knitting toys or "softies" as they are called on Ravelry. Just finished Audrey the Alpaca by Jem Weston along with her Alpaca Pillow; and you may have seen my "Juliette" hanging out in the store. (She is actually Jane on Ravelry). These are all knit flat. No fussing around with double point needles. Yes, sewing is involved, but the areas are so small that it is not a big deal. These are small projects, easy to carry around and fast to finish!

Knitting with cotton and linen is not hard but the fiber behaves very differently than wool. Being aware of these differences makes all the difference when deciding which pattern to knit and which size needles to use. I will get into that more next week. Until then, Happy Knitting!!


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published