9-Year-Old Knits the Weather

I have heard about people using the daily weather where they live as inspiration for their knitting projects before (see the Sky Scarf from Leafcutter Designs) but I really like what 9-year-old knitter Rebecca Ryan did last year, knitting a scarf with colors that represent the high temperature each day in her native Seattle.

She worked her scarf in purples, pinks and blues, and it’s actually quite beautiful, as well as showing a record of warm days and cold snaps. She decided to do that instead of a sky scarf because so many days are cloudy in Seattle, and it’s easy to forget to write down what the sky looked like, where you can always look up the daily high if you forget to keep track.

This is also really interesting because you can see the temperatures for the year graphed out in a pie chart if you click through, and there was no really dominant temperature through the year (the most yardage used was for the 51 to 55 degree range, which was the temperature 14 percent of the time).

Rebecca is knitting a new scarf this year with the added twist of working in beads on the days it rains. Given the soggy reputation of Seattle, that should be a really interesting finished object.

[Photo via Komo News.]

Have You Knit a Temperature Scarf? Heres How to Do it

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I’m trying to include more knits for kids in my posts because I know a lot of people do a lot of their knitting for the little ones in their lives.

This child’s striped vest from Lion Brand Yarn is not only cute and great for kids who might find a full sweater too hot, it’s also an easy project if you’ve never knit a garment before.

Lion Brand rates it as level 2 easy/beginner +, probably just because there’s a little shaping and seaming invovled, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.

The pattern comes in three sizes that are meant to be for ages 6, 8 and 10. The finished chest measurement is 30, 31.5 or 33 inches, which is 76, 80 and 84 cm respectively. This makes the vest a little roomy and makes it easy to slip on over a T-shirt or other top.

It’s worked in two pieces from the bottom up, with the neckband and armhole bands worked in the round after the body pieces are sewn together. One benefit of knitting stripes on a project like this is that it’s easier to make sure your pieces are the same length because you can just count the stripes (it’s also a little easier to seam because you’re always lining up the stripes).

If you’re knitting the smallest size, you only need one skein each of the two colors you choose, and for the larger sizes you will only need two, making this project a pretty good value. The suggested yarn is Color Theory, a worsted weight acrylic yarn that comes in 18 relatively muted colors. Of course you can use any worsted weight yarn you like. Keep it acrylic for easy washing or use wool to make this a warmer garment for kids who live in cooler climates.

You can grab the pattern for free from the Lion Brand website, or get a kit that includes the yarn you need (and needles if you don’t have them already). I think this would be a great basic to knit a kid for back to school in their school colors, or make it holiday with red and green, or whatever colors the child likes.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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