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.]

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I know that my posts can be read at different times of year and in different years by different people, but as I write this we’re on teh cusp of summer. And I know a lot of people don’t knit as much, and certainly don’t wear a lot of knits in the summer, but I want to encourage you to make and to wear your makes no matter the temperature.

To introduce you to the joys of summer garment knitting, I offer the Tied Vest from Lion Brand Yarn.

This easy project is great to make and wear throughout the year but it’s especially good for summer. It’s worked flat in one piece from the bottom up, mostly in stockinette stitch with a seed stitch edging. The I-cord ties are worked directly onto the garment so you don’t have to sew them on.

The project uses worsted weight yarn, and calls for a blend of cotton and hemp that’s great for warm weather.

There are eight size options, ranging from a finished chest measurement of 35 to 62.5 inches, or 89 to 159 cm. That makes it sound like it should be worn with at least a few inches of positive ease, but the pattern doesn’t specify.

The ties at the front give it a casual look and make it great to wear over a tank top or T-shirt when the weather is warm.

I also think this one would be good to knit in wool or a warmer fiber, too, to make a version you could wear more comfortably in the winter months, too. Though of course you could layer the summer version over a long-sleeved shirt and wear it throughout the year, too.

The tied vest is a free pattern available from Lion Brand. You can also purchase a kit that includes the yarn and optional needles and stitch markers if you need them.

[Photo: Lion Brand Yarn]

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