How to keep the desire to knit during the summer?

Here comes summer and the great summer heat. Perfect weather for gardening or spending longer and longer outdoors, especially while enjoying your vacation. But with this weather also comes the great heat.

Is it possible to keep the desire to knit when it's over 30°C when we have more time to finally get that project on our needles?
Is it possible to even think about putting wool on our needles when our hands are sweating?

Here are some tips to keep knitting even when the heat is stifling.

1. Choosing wool to keep you motivated to knit during the summer

The composition of wool

You've probably experienced sweaty hands while knitting, and nothing is more unpleasant than that.

The heat amplifies the problem. But there are ways to continue knitting even if it's very hot.

First of all, it's best to avoid animal fibers such as sheep's wool, alpaca, and especially mohair! They have the disadvantage of making your hands sweat, which is not only quite unpleasant, but also increases the risk of felting.

Instead, opt for plant fibers such as cotton, linen, tencel, hemp, bamboo, and why not silk?

Silk, for example, is very light, fluid, and exceptionally soft. It has thermal properties; it keeps you warm in winter and cools you down in summer. For me, it's one of the most beautiful fibers to knit with during the summer, along with linen.

Linen is also thermoregulating. It provides a feeling of freshness in summer and retains warmth in winter. This is due to its unique structure, which gives it unparalleled breathability.

These are just a few examples of the fibers that can be knitted during hot weather.

The thickness of the wool

It might also be worth choosing a pattern that recommends a fingering weight yarn rather than chunky yarns like worsted or aran. This will be easier to manage, you'll have less yarn on hand, and it will be less warm.

2. Choosing projects to keep you motivated to knit during the summer

Instead, choose smaller projects; you'll have less yarn on your legs. They'll also be easier to transport.

For example

• amigurumis
• socks
• mittens
• layette
• a top or a t-shirt

But you might also want to knit a sweater or a cardigan.

So why not choose a linen, silk or cotton top, a short cardigan to wear over a dress or a very airy shawl?

You might also consider tackling a really big project like a blanket! So why not knit a pieced blanket, which will allow you to only have small pieces on your needles during the hot weather, which you can then piece together when the weather is a little more bearable.

3. Choosing needles to keep you motivated to knit during the summer

We all have a preference for certain types of needles, sometimes it will be metal, sometimes wood or even plastic.
During the summer, we may have to review our preferences because the metal heats up and becomes unpleasant to hold, sometimes even oxidizing depending on the brand of hands.
Sweat makes the needles very sticky and therefore it becomes difficult to knit smoothly because the fiber sticks to the needles.
The best choice therefore seems to be wood or bamboo!

4. Choosing the right place and time to keep the desire to knit alive during the summer

It's 30°C, you lose the desire to knit because it's really too hot.
What if you chose a wise place or time to knit?
In the summer when it's very hot, I have trouble sleeping and I usually wake up early. It's one of the best times for me to knit, there's no noise in the house, it's cool and it's very pleasant to be neither too hot nor overworked by the children, the husband, the dog or the cat or the birds!

If we go on vacation, I always take my knitting with me and I often knit in the air-conditioned car. I also don't hesitate to take out my knitting if we have a coffee after visiting a museum.
Museums and libraries are great places to knit because the air is conditioned to preserve books and art and history objects.

You could also consider knitting by the pool with your feet in the water! Or at the beach, under an umbrella with a cool drink next to you!

5. Join a community or KAL to keep the desire to knit during the summer

Do you lose the desire to knit during the summer because your lifestyle changes because the children are no longer at school, because you have less pressure at work, or simply because the weather is nice?
What if you joined a knitting community to share ideas? Or simply a knitting community to keep a goal in mind, or simply to discover new projects or new techniques?
For a few years now, I have been offering a KAL during the summer, this allows us to stay in touch, to exchange, to discuss things and above all to set ourselves a goal!
This year the KAL theme is texture! And it's happening on Ravelry and on Discord.
What if you joined us? (Please note, if you want to join the Discord community, you must contact me because the invitation link is only valid for a limited time, so don't hesitate to send me an email! – see contact section.

3. Finally, some suggestions

The choice is vast, but here are some pattern suggestions to get you knitting this summer:

• Bondi Beach, a knitting bag in three different sizes and in mosaic knitting
• Lost In Time, a crocheted shawl (which has been waiting for at least a year at my place)
• A lace shawl, Tone Poem
• A linen shawl that is a few years old but that I still find just as pretty, Lida Shawl
• The cover Persian Dreams to try your hand at jacquard (and by golly, if you give up before the end, it is possible to make cushions with the hexagons)
• Little amigurumis smelling of vacation: Lalylala's Summer
• Valentine, a pure silk top from Bart and Francis

• Clementine, an all-hemp top that I created in collaboration last year with Natissea.

Here's a very brief selection of the patterns available on Ravelry for this summer. You might also consider learning new techniques like jacquard, modular knitting, or even crochet!

You will also find a video on the subject where I give you a little more detail about certain plant fibers, the video is in French:

Tell me, what are you looking to knit this summer? Feel free to tell me in the comments.

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See you soon,

Christelle