How Can You Get the Most Out of the Summer Knitting Experience

Summer is almost here. It’s a great time to go out and have fun at the beaches. It’s also a great time to go to places where it’s cooler if you just can’t tolerate the heat (temperatures can reach as high as 28℃ plus the above 60% humidity levels in many locations).

But summer could also be a great time to stay indoors, pick up a hobby or tackle new knitting projects. After all, knitting is not about doing it beside the fireplace anymore (I bet you can imagine this). Right now, knitting is more about getting a satisfaction from the hobby no matter the season. Whether it’s a hot summer day or a cold winter night, knitting always has a place.

Also, the summer and the long holidays might be the only time for beginners to learn the craft. It’s always been busy all year round but with a short break beginners can now give the time to learn how to knit.

On the other hand, experienced hobbyists might want to pick up the pace in populating their knitting portfolio. Perhaps in the recent months they’ve been busy with their work and other crafts. This summer might be the perfect time for them to catch up or explore new knitting projects.

Summer knitting projects for everyone

Indeed, knitting is also perfect for the summer weather. Even if you just set aside one hour each night you can accomplish much if you add up all those hours. The heat might be intolerable during certain hours. And yes, the heat can influence you to seek for water (is it time to go to the beach?) or set your air conditioner in your bedroom at high settings.

Good thing is you can easily start knitting and pick where you left off anytime of the day. You just have to take out the needles, some yarn and the pattern and you’re already set up. You don’t have to prepare a lot of stuff if you want to knit. You can just sit down and dedicate at least one hour for knitting. If the beach or the market draws you in, you can stop knitting and come back to it later anytime you want to.

In fact, during your spare time you can knit a neat case for your smartphone or tablet. Even beginners can easily finish this kind of project because there are no complicated shapes to follow. In addition, this “easy and quick accomplishment” is a great motivator to pursue more knitting projects. It’s true that quick wins can build your momentum and enthusiasm when learning or pursuing a hobby.

Aside from a knitted smartphone case, you can also create a knitted clutch bag that you can keep yourself or give to a friend. This is also relatively easy to make. In other words, it’s not too intimidating to start when compared to knitting a big item such as a vest or a full sweater. Also, knitted smartphone cases and clutch bags seem to be more appropriate for the summer in contrast to knitted sweaters and beanies that are better suited for winter.

It’s also always a good idea to choose knitting projects that could be useful to you or other people. Well, most knitting projects are actually useful at home and outdoors. Whether it’s a piece of clothing (scarf, vest, socks, beanies, sweaters) or a home accessory (potholders, placemats, baskets, pillow covers), every creation can be useful to you or others. You can even use your creations as gifts during your loved one’s special days.

For this summer, it’s good to choose small knitting projects so you can quickly accomplish something. After all, many of us will prefer to spend our time on something else besides knitting. It’s especially the case when something in our work or business needs attention. Or, our minds and bodies just crave for the fresh air outside or the cool waters at the beach or pool.

The benefits of knitting

Well, we’ve been busy talking about accomplishing something. We mentioned a few projects to try on and perhaps a few ideas and inspirations on how to approach knitting during summer.

However, it’s not all about the accomplishments. It’s more about the experience while doing the craft. It’s a hobby and just like every kind of it, we derive satisfaction from the act of doing instead of completing something.

This is true whether it’s the summer or winter. In particular though, winter (or just an unusually cold weekend) is a good time to be alone and reflect on your thoughts and actions. It’s a good time to slow down and step back from busy life (whether in your work or leisure), which is why knitting is a great avenue for that. Through knitting, you’re able to focus on something far from work.

Knitting is good for the mind because it allows you to focus on something manual. It’s especially beneficial to knowledge workers who stare at screens all day long. Many of them actually feel disconnected from reality because there are no “tangible” results being produced. Instead, every accomplishment is a new number or letter on the screen or paper. There are almost no results that they can touch or feel in the real world.

In contrast, knitting always produces something tangible. Even the act itself is satisfying because we’re doing something complex with our hands. Once again, we’re getting connected to reality and the objects surrounding us. Our senses are more engaged, which is why we often get disconnected from the busy world and fast-paced life whenever knitting. In fact, many knitters derive satisfaction from the characteristic sound of needles during knitting. Many of them also always crave the texture of yarns (especially the bulky ones which are used for knitting blankets and sweaters).

Why summer is also the perfect time for knitting

A few of us think only of summer as beach time (or an awesome BBQ party). But it’s not all there is. That’s because we still have plenty of time to devote to knitting a small case, basket or bag during summer. Even just one or two hours each day can add up and even completely fill our knitting portfolio or collection.

Also, knitting can provide another level of variety to our summer activities. After all, staying the entire day at the beach or pool can be exhausting. Travel also has the same effect and might even drain us (instead of re-energising us) because of the need to get the most out of the summer or vacation. For several years, this might have been your default action whenever summer approaches. Right now it might be exhausting or feel routine already.

But with knitting you introduce some variety. This can even get more satisfying because you can explore a wide range of knitting patterns. You could even make dog coats or clothes for dolls. You always have a wide variety of options. Even if you have little spare time after work or travel, you can always have time to step back and slow down.

Knitting produces quick wins as well. In our modern lives we always feel the need to accomplish something and move forward. Aside from our careers or businesses, knitting can also provide that need. After all, knitting is a unique hobby because it allows you to generate something tangible while also benefiting from the calm experience.

So if you’ve never tried knitting during summer, this might be the perfect time to do so. Forget about knitting during cold nights only. Knitting is always a great hobby no matter the season and this is likely to continue for decades to come. And of course, it’s a true hobby because it doesn’t demand too much from you.

Here at The Aussie Knitting Co, we’ve noticed that there’s always great demand for our knitting essentials and accessories no matter the season. Hobbyists order a wide variety of patterns and yarns to fill up their summer. They also take the time to explore our store at 6-8 Brice Avenue, Mooroolbark Victoria when they’re finding an inspiration or just taking a look at our latest collections. Contact us today if you require high-quality knitting supplies this summer. You can do a secure online purchase and we’ll have your order delivered to you in approximately 3 days (this is for local orders within Australia).