May is the perfect month to concentrate on a little bit of sweater knitting. Never mind “Summer knits” and wafty linen tops. We know that the british weather is fickle at the best of times and you can be very glad of a warm woolly sweater on an August bank holiday in this country.
Even if the weather gods smile on us and we have a glorious summer, by starting a sweater now you have a great chance of having a fabulous new addition to your autumn wardrobe.
Sweater knitting also ties in very well with the #memademay challenge. Predominantly an initiative started by sewists this also extends to anyone who makes elements of their wardrobe by hand. There are some inspirational blog posts on the subject and this is a hashtag I love to follow on Instagram, along with #handmadewardrobe and #slowfashion.
If that wasn’t incentive enough there is also #milomay - an annual KAL for the super cute and very adaptable Milo vest - a pattern by Georgie Nicolson. This has been running for a few years now and there are some wonderful examples on Ravelry of knitters who have taken this fabulous pattern and really made it their own.
And just to add the cherry on top of the cake, starting a sweater gives you are great boost on your Stash Dash total. I’ll talk more about Stash Dash in the coming weeks - a lot more as it is a real favourite of mine - but for now just bear in mind that it starts towards the end of May and runs until August. Seasoned Stash Dashers will be already planning their summer knits with this in mind.
So, what are you waiting for? Just a suggestion but these are a few ideas for how you can participate in the #maysweaterchallenge.
Dig out your unfinished sweater projects and either rip them out or finish them.
Challenge yourself to knit your first garment - baby knit totally count.
Cast on a brand new shiny sweater project - yes I know - this is my favourite option too.
Organise your stash and pair up your ‘sweater quantities’ of yarn to patterns in the queue.
As ever, there are no knitting police. Set your own challenge and be sure to head over to the Everyday Knitter Facebook group to join in the fun and chat. Hope to see you there.
