Summer Stripes

 

Something about warm weather makes my love of stripes emerge. I feel like I get in a striped mood around this time every year. They feel perfect for the beach, the boat and sitting anywhere near the water.  

There are a few striped projects that feel timeless to me:

Heidi Kirrmaier’s Medano Beach is the perfect striped bag for schlepping around off-duty supplies.  Be sure to use sturdy cotton like Blue Sky Fibers Skinny Cotton for this timeless piece.

Isabell Kraemer’s Hint of Summer is an easy striped pullover with a relaxed v-neck that will be worn over anything.  Use a lace-weight or a fingering-weight yarn for this piece, just keep your gauge in check.  Using a lighter weight yarn will yield a fabric that is more diaphanous and drapey, while using something on the thicker side will give you a more substantial fabric.  Either way, you’ll have a sweater that can be worn through all the seasons.  I dream of making this in anything from Anzula Squishy to Shibui Pebble to Brooklyn Tweed’s Peerie or Vale.

Leger Redux is a simple (and free) pattern from Espace Tricot that knits up into a classic and feminine Breton tee.  Theirs is knit up in Juniper Moon’s Zooey DK, which just so happens to be on sale at Wool & Grace.  This piece is a perennial pleaser!

Plus, this spring’s Linea is an absolutely perfect striped piece for summer!  Patty just finished her version knit up in Rowan’s Cotton Cashmere, but we have other knitters making it up in everything including Shibui’s Vine, KOCT’s Daisy, Elsbeth Lavold’s Silky Wool and more!

This year, I have a hankering for some less conventional striped pieces.  I tend to envision them in navy and white, because that just feels like summer to me, but I’m thinking of pieces that can bring those striped vibes all year long.

I love Melanie Berg’s Rikochan shawl.  This asymmetrical shawl has stripes worked at varying widths throughout the shawl, giving it some more visual interest.  This shawl is made with a worsted weight yarn at 15 stitches over 4” in garter stitch, so be sure to check your gauge.  A lovely summery version could be knit up in a super-soft cotton like Juniper Moon’s Cumulus.  I also think it’d be lovely and soft in Shepherd’s Wool or HiKoo’s Sueno Worsted.  

I’ve always been a fan of Leslie Weber’s Tweedy – Stripey.  This boxy tee is written in one size, but it’s easy to modify.  Written for a worsted weight yarn, you can knit it up in something fun like HiKoo’s Kenzie, Shepherd’s Wool, or Shelter.  I personally want to knit this one up in Arbor.  At 20 stitches/4”, this is totally doable, and I like the bit of drape that will come from this piece in Arbor.  Arbor comes in a ba-zillion colors, and I love the freedom we have to play with color combos for this one.  

Veera Valimaki’s Bolt is another shawl (with an interesting shape) and stripes at various intervals.  This piece has been on my radar for a long time, and I’m determined to knit it up at some point!  Yes, you can knit it up in Loft like the pattern suggests, but have fun and think of anything else like Peerie, Squishy, Cozette, La Jolla or Tosh Merino Light.

Karolina Eckerdal’s Stratum is another take on the classic Breton tee, with a swingy shape to its sized and ¾ sleeves for a feminine silhouette.  Yes, make it in Loft (one of my favorite yarns) and find that you can wear it through three seasons with ease, or take a look at Cozette for a wool-free version, Peerie for something with a saturated palette or La Jolla for some splashes of color.

The Coffee Bean Cardigan is a favorite sweater for little stripes (you know, for little people) but I’ve always had a love for Georgie Nicolson’s Gidday.  I love the stripes that run through the round yoke on this cardigan.  Plus, I love that it’s sized from newborn up to a kids’ 12, so you can get a lot of mileage out of this pattern.  Gidday calls for a DK weight yarn, and as a kids sweater you should pick something that is easy to take care of.  Check out Queensland’s Criative DK, HiKoo’s Simplicity, or HiKoo’s Sueno for some beautiful yarn choices.  

With all this talk about striping, there will be the inevitable conversation about knitting jogless stripes in the round.  This is a simple technique best illustrated with a video.  I always love the tutorials from Very Pink Knits, and think you should check it out here!