My sister moved to Holland in 2017 and I missed her so much. In order to feel connected to her and what she was experiencing, I followed the weather in Amsterdam and compared the temperatures to what I was experiencing each day in Auckland, New Zealand.

In this way, the Whatever the Weather project was born. Two cowls that are knitted over the course of the year, with each yarn colour representing a band of temperature ranges. This is not a new idea, there are plenty of temperature scarf and blanket patterns out there, but I believe this one is different. In knitting the temperature of your own city and that of someone who is living away from you, you connect to them and their life even when you can’t be with them.

There were a few things that I wanted from this project in terms of the finished objects.

First of all, if I was going to dedicate a year to knitting these they needed to be wearable at the end! These cowls are light, drape beautifully, and are not so large that they can’t be worn easily. The linen stitch creates a reversible fabric, and the fact that the cowls are knit on the bias ensures that the fabric doesn’t roll or twist.

Secondly, I did not want to weave in a million yarn ends on finishing the cowls. The edges of each cowl are worked as you go, and the ends of any cut yarn are neatly tucked into the middle of the built in i-cord as you go. There are only TWO ends to weave in on finishing. The cast off, and the bind off yarn tails.

Lastly, I wanted a stitch pattern that would hold my interest without being taxing to work with. Linen stitch fits the bill.

The pattern includes tips on choosing yarn, and links to a website that is fantastic for tracking temperatures. I look forward to seeing your cowls and even more, hearing the stories behind them.

Happy Knitting.

Come and join me here for a knit-a-long if you are making Whatever the Weather. Everyone is welcome.

Notes on yarn:
You can choose however many different colours of yarn that you like, but as a guide, I had a temperature chart that noted 8 different temperature bands, so 8 different colours of yarn. It is nearly impossible to predict what colours will be used most often, but I ended up needing 2 balls each of the yellow and green, as these were my ‘middle temperature’ colours. I used 1 ball or less for all other colours across both cowls.