No more fair-weather knitting
Wardrobe knitting possibilities, CraftDoodling Design updates, other updates etc.
I have always been interested in exploring different types of fiber in my knitting. My idea is to create a handknit wardrobe 👕 that serves year-round and not just during the colder months.
Fluens Tee - 50% Silk, 50% Merino
It feels like I am catching up slowly with warm weather knits, 🐢 but here is my first garment design in a yarn that is not 100% wool. It is the Rani Fingering from Serendipitous Wool, a delightful blend of 50% Merino and 50% Silk.
Love for Other Fibers Beyond Wool
I have lived in places where it is hot most of the year, and the colder seasons are brief. No, I am not complaining. I am infinitely grateful for enjoying moderate climates most of my life. Yet, the knitter in me just wants to find more excuses and projects to knit through the warm seasons.🫠 Small projects like socks, 🧦 mitts, and light lace projects have always kept me busy when working with wool becomes unbearable.
Having lived in warm climates, I am used to wearing a lot of cotton clothing and love the feel of cotton against my skin on hot days. However, I soon discovered that combining my love of cotton with knitting is not easy. 😿
Knitting with Non-Wool Fibers
As many of you might know, knitting with cotton (and other plant fibers) is challenging due to the lack of elasticity in the fiber. Nevertheless, I have dabbled here and there to knit with different fibers over the years to satisfy my curiosity. Some attempts were successful, some not so much. As a rule of thumb,🫰fiber blends have worked well for me rather than 100% cotton or 100% linen.
Projects - Girly Knits Bra Top by Lauren Riker, Cancun boxy lace top by e kate archer, Summer of '16 by Nidhi Kansal
Yarns - Knit Picks Comfy: 75% Cotton (Pima), 25% Acrylic - Knit Picks Shine Sport: 60% Cotton, 40% Rayon/Viscose - Loops & Threads: 54% Cotton, 24% Cellulose (Linen/Flax), 22% Nylon/Polyamide
Things have changed quite a bit over the past few years, and the knitting gods seem to have listened. There are now many different types of yarn suitable for warm-weather knitting available on the market. As a result, warm-weather knits have become increasingly popular. 📈
Other considerations
When considering a fiber for year-round wear, you want to consider the garment's knittability and washability, in addition to the fit of the garment you are making.
Silk feels absolutely luxurious against the skin and is good to wear on warm and cold days. However, silk fibers can become weak when wet, so I would only spray block a 100% silk project. The beauty of a good blend is that what one fiber lacks, the other compensates.
So, Fluens Tee was a breeze to wash and wet block. I have only hand-washed it so far. I am sending it to my TE this week, and we will talk more about this as it gets ready for test-knitting.🤞🏽
What are some warm-weather or year-round knits you have made? What yarns or fiber blends have you used so far, and what else is on your list? I'm all ears for suggestions to explore more. 💞
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CRAFTDOODLING DESIGN UPDATES
My classes and KAL for the month of August is up on Filloy Yarn website. If you are in the South Bay Area, please see if you like any of them. ♥️
A reel I recently shared on instagram - pacing in the backyard and knitting, rather than taking my knit for a walk. Because the weather is too hot right now, folks. 🙈
I am swatching and planning for a few more designs. I’ll keep you posted on those as soon as I am able. 🤞
OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE
- Sandi Rosner regularly writes helpful reviews about various yarns. Note that she machine washed her swatches to find out how they hold up!
https://sandirosner.substack.com/p/yarn-review-purl-sohos-oleander
- has written about her summer knitting in this post. Her recent collection of wardrobe colored yarns are all drool-worthy and is totally making me inch towards my own wardrobe goals. 😆
https://littleskein.substack.com/p/project-deep-dive-knitting-summer
Reading Updates
Just finished Reading 📖
The Castle - Franz Kafka
Currently Reading 📖
Runaway - Alice Munro
Until next time,
Kavitha. ♡
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Your Fluens tee design looks great! I love learning about different fibers. I'm interested to know how hot the weather can get where your tee would still feel comfortable? I see many designers from Europe who use wool in their summer garments but figured that's because they don't have super hot weather! In our part of Australia temperatures can reach 45 degrees Celsius in the height of summer.
I've knitted tees in 100% organic cotton fingering weight yarn, 50% bamboo & 50% cotton fingering weight yarn and 100% Milk cotton. The Bamboo/cotton tee has stretched a lot. I'm thinking of ripping back a section of the body stitches to reduce the length! The 100% organic cotton tee has kept it's shape after multiple hand washes, which I'm really pleased about.
The Milk cotton DK weight was a yarn I found in Thailand. I wore that tee in the humid hot weather and was surprised I felt quite comfortable. It's got slightly fuzzier with multiple hand washes but has retained its shape. :)
Can’t wait to do the Fluens tee! KAL KAL KAL please ❤️