The Craft Yarn Council Wants You to Stitch Away Stress

A few years ago (long ago enough that I wrote about it for About.com), the Craft Yarn Council started an initiative called #StitchAwayStress for Stress Awareness Month, which is in April.

That first year they released knit and crochet patterns for squeezable lemons, which you could use yourself or pass on to someone who needed a reminder of what to do when times get hard and to squeeze for a little stress relief.

This year they’ve supersized the fun, with huggable lemon pillow patterns. The knit version is designed by Lori Steinberg, while the crochet version is by Twinkie Chan.

Stitch one up for yourself or for a friend who needs a little stress relief. Visit the Craft Yarn Council site for patterns, info on the benefits of yarn craft for stress relief and fill out their survey all about using crafts for stress relief.

I’d love to hear your stories about knitting for stress relief/self-care, too!

[Photo: Craft Yarn Council.]

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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]

Knit an Easy Hooded Vest

Knit Vests to Help Transition to Warmer Weather

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