Warm Weather Knitting

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the weather is hotting up. These past few days, we have had a British heatwave (which those of you from warmer climes may rightly chuckle at). With temperatures reaching 32°c (90°F) over the past few days, and set to continue, somehow a chunky wool jumper just doesn't seem the most comfortable item to be knitting or crocheting right now.

 Call of the Sea! Image copyright Arbour House Publishing

So, what to do when you've got the urge to knit, but the temperature is against you?  There are a few tips that will allow you to keep your hooks and needles going if you don't have the luxury of air conditioning.

1. Wash your hands before starting to knit or crochet, and regularly throughout, as your hands warm up (I'm sure you do this anyway)
2. It might help to knit or crochet using cotton or cotton blends rather than wools if you find your wool starting to felt in the heat of your hands.
3. Knitting smaller items is a bonus, so you don't have a lot of knitting sitting in your lap, heating you up. This also works well for larger garments - knit jumpers or cardigans in flat sections rather than in the round.
4. Use an electric fan (or switch on your air conditioning if you're lucky enough to have it)
5. Take it slowly - don't rush through.
   

Of course you could also sit and knit in your bathing costume, but I for one don't think I'll be doing that!

 Lost in Music cover up by Susan Crawford. Image copyright knitonthenet

A nice pattern to knit in the hotter weather, and that you'll be able to use at this time of year as well, is our Lost in Music cover up by Susan Crawford. It's a lovely, versatile shrug, which is worked flat. The original is made using a cotton yarn, but it would really work well with most 4ply weight yarns (fingering weight). It's also a surprisingly quick knit which means that you'll easily have it done to last out the rest of the warm summer weather.

It measures approximately. 153cm (60 inches), not including cuffs and can easily be lengthened if you need it a little bigger - it makes a great stashbusting project and would look great with cuffs in an accent colour.

Whether you decide to knit a cover up or crochet a hat for the autumn, keep cool and enjoy your summer making time.

Happy knitting
Ingrid x