Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Summer knitting???

The other day I was chatting with my MK friend - she lives in a fairly summer-warm climate - we were discussing summer knitting. Now, to be honest, here in Thunder Bay, I just think of summer knitting as something you do in the summer - like today, it’s the 24th of May and it’s 8C - that’s like 45F - we think a hot summer day is 75F - anyway, my friend was saying that she thinks with this hobby, and her investment, both in time and money, and fairly hot weather over 6 months of the year, she would like to have her machine knit wardrobe extend farther than it does right now. So I was recommending some of my past KNITWORDS patterns I thought would be suitable for her and actually, I realized there are probably more knitters out there who may want to do this.
Our criteria was upper arms covered and a garment that wasn’t too hot to wear in the 90F+ range. Most DK weight/mid gauge stuff is out because the yarn is just too thick and therefore too warm and, although I’ve made many lace cardigans of mercerised cotton, most of them have long sleeves which rules them out.
I mentioned a few things that I have worn in the past when I was in Minneapolis or anywhere in the Midwest for that matter where they have that awful humidity....
Here’s the short list:
1. Tutti Frutti from No 49 - it was a sideways knit lace cardigan with a short, extended-shoulder-sleeve made from 2 balls of Tofutsie sock yarn - I really think it was the yarn that made it so warm-weather-friendly - a blend of wool, soysilk, cotton and chitin (whatever that is!). l felt good, covered, and cool wearing it.
2. Linen Spin, also from No 49 - the yarn again was the key - it’s just a loose, cool-ish coverup, that can be worn over a tank, dress or cami and skirt. The yarn is 100% linen and because the jacket style with 3/4 sleeve is loose & drapey, it’s like wearing a linen jacket, but more casual.
3. Go Vogue - a skirt from No38 - I remade this in black Bramwell hobby - the original is Skinny Majesty rayon and I’ve worn them both many, many times!
4. PurlyGirl from No 45 - a nice, button front sleeveless cardy made from cotton that I wear over a short sleeve tee.
5. Mazatlan from No 45, a short sleeve lace cardy knit in mini dina, a cotton/rayon blend I made for the Mexico cruise I did back then - I’ve had tons of compliments and worn this so much!
6. Wild Side from No 50 - a short sleeve deep vee neck cardy that's been fun to wear!
My final thought was my remake of ‘Let’s Swing Again’ from No 44 - (see blog  Sep‘09 - what's happening) - that black one, I’ve certainly had my money and time’s worth out of it! I decided this would be my new summer re-knit in a lighter colour - I have wool crepe deluxe in sand dune that will be just the ticket - it’s a pretty quick knit - and short, loose and cool! I’ve got the back and fronts done already (I used it as my test/trial/get back to knitting before the seminar thing because it has double bed bands and will get me thinking for the ribber classes!)) - just the top yoke section to do - I’ll show you next week when I get back from the west coast! I think I have the perfect big button for it already!

3 comments:

weavrmom said...

Thank you for this helpful list! Here in the SF area we wear lots of layers, many of them lighter fabrics that can adjust to the changing temps over the course of a day. That said, it gets hot in the summer, and I love cool summer knits.

Oh, and BTW, love your vest project in Knit'nStyle. Very wearable, and I'll definitely be making it.

Appreciate all you do for us machine knitters!

Irina said...

You are not the only best knitter, you are the great blogger. God bless you.

Anonymous said...

Appreciated your demos at Passap Plus last weekend in Portland. Thanks for being there. You are, indeed, a great teacher and, yes, blogger, too.
Paula