We had a few very hot days in May and June and as I cannot give up knitting on a hot day, I chose to try knitting with natural vegetable yarn, a yarn fit for a summer knit.
While animal fiber such as wool, alpaca, yak, cashmere, and mohair are well known for keeping us warm during the cold months, vegetable yarn is well known for absorbing moisture and keeping us cool. No wonder summer clothing uses cotton, linen, and blends of these fibers.
Linen is a lighter fiber than cotton and dries faster, so let’s give it a try!
The yarn I chose is Fibra Natura FLAX in color dusted apricot. The name and the color make me think of sweet, warm summer evenings and the color hints of a summer sunset.
It’s a fine yarn: 137yds [125m] per 1.75oz [50g] hank and is 100% natural linen. It feels a little bit rough in the beginning, but I know for sure linen softens when you wear it.
Fibra Natura FLAX yarn
Vegetable fiber, particularly linen, has no stretch, does not bounce back when knitting, and is slippery on metal needles. I’ll have to swatch the yarn with needles made of different materials such as metal, plastic, and wood. I’ll choose the needles that make my knitting more pleasant and give me a more even-looking swatch. Linen is not very forgiving; any change in tension will show in my swatches.
The band on the skein recommends US 5 [3.75mm] needles for 4” [10cm] square over 24 sts/24 rows. I know my tension will be looser with linen, so I chose US 3 [3.25mm] needles for my swatch and project.
I’ll need knitting needles and some notions for this summer project.
- KNITTER’S PRIDE The Mindful Markers
- KNITTER’S PRIDE Mindful Row Counter
- Wood LANTERN MOON Destiny Circular Needles 32 (80cm) – Size US 3 (3.25mm)
- Metal KNITTER’S PRIDE Mindful 80cm (32″) Fixed Circular Lace Knitting Needle – 3.25mm (US 3)
- US 3 [3.25mm] plastic needles (unknown brand)
And now it’s time for swatching.
The swatches are worked over 42 stitches and 42 rows. That will give me enough fabric to measure a 4” square.
3 stockinette swatches worked with Fibra Natura FLAX yarn
From left to right, the swatches were made with metal, plastic, and wood needles.
Join me tomorrow to find out everything about the pattern and more about my swatches.
