What to knit or crochet in spring

What colours should I knit or crochet with in spring?

As we move into a new season, the smells of Spring are in the air, and signs of new life are suddenly appearing, from buds on the branches of the trees, to new shoots on the hedgerows and bushes. With blossom and daffodils everywhere, it's almost like nature is pressing a reset button for new beginnings, and it's such a lovely feeling.

Transitioning from one season to another with our knitting and crochet can be quite tricky, as we put aside our heavier, chunkier yarns and look towards something lighter and brighter to work with.

To help you with your spring project planning, I've created a guide to follow, so that you can choose your colours and plan your spring projects with confidence.

Step 1: Create a mood board for your spring colours

A mood board can be physical or digital:

For a physical mood board: Look through catalogues, magazines and bookazines, and cut out all the things that catch your eye and give you a feeling of spring. This could be images, captions and quotes, or colours. Arrange and fix them on paper or card, in a way that is pleasing to you, then hang your mood board somewhere that you can see it each day, to remind yourself of the things you love about spring. You can use the colours to inspire your knitting or crochet yarn choices.

For a digital mood board: Use a package such as Canva (they had a free option) to create a mood board (they have lots of mood board templates that you can use). Find your spring-inspired images on Pinterest and download them to your device. In Canva, you will upload your saved images and when you're happy with the placement of your images in your Canva template, you can print it off and pin it somewhere visible, to inspire your knitting or crochet yarn colour choices.

Step 2: Choose your spring knitting or crochet projects

Spring is still a season that requires extra layers, albeit thinner and lighter layers than winter.

It's still a time of year where extra warmth is needed, but on a slightly different scale to winter and autumn.

A few things to consider are:

1. Shortie socks (also called trainer socks) using 4ply sock yarn. Socks can also be crocheted with the same yarns as knitted socks and you can now buy sock yarn that is a cotton/polyamide mix, or a bamboo/wool mix, which is perfect for spring and summer.

2. Lightweight shawls that are not too thick, but help keep any light winds or chills at bay.

3. Lightweight tops and loose Tees to throw on over a t-shirt or camisole.

4. Homewares and garden decorations that will help brighten up your rooms or outdoor areas, and add a touch of colour and fun. you could crochet hanging mandalas, knit or crochet a strip of colourful bunting, or create bags and cushions for your outdoor space.

5. Lightweight baby cardigans and blankets; babies still need extra layers too in the spring.

I've just cast on a gorgeous pair of socks, using my spring moodboard for colour inspiration. I wear socks almost every day as I suffer with chilblains, so I always need a ready supply of warm socks for my feet. I love knitting a few rounds each day for my daily mindful knitting break, and because I'm focussing on my breathing and my stitches, my socks almost seem to knit themselves. I'm always amazed at how quickly a few rounds each day can turn into a pair of practical socks.

What do you think of my spring colours - I've gone over to the neon side and I'm loving this combination so much.

These neon shades are just gorgeous. I treated myself to some Easter yarn as I don't eat a great deal of chocolate or drink alcohol, so I thought a little yarn treat would be nice instead. In the words of Cyndi Lauper - a girl's got to have some fun!! And nothing makes me more happy that new yarn.

I haven't bought from this fabulous dyer before now, but I spotted her on Etsy and she's very local to me too, which I thought was great. I will definitely be going back for more!!

Julie is CheshireYarnHandDyed on Etsy if you want to take a look too (not a sponsored link).

Step 3: Choose your spring yarn

Lighter weight yarns are perfect for spring, as the days get warmer and longer.

Here are a few options to consider for your spring cast-ons. Look for lighter weights of yarn, including double knitting yarns, sport-weight yarns or 4ply yarns:

1. Bamboo or a bamboo/cotton mix - great for garments.

2. Linen blends - perfect for evening shawls.

3. Recycled yarns - another option for garments or accessories such as bags.

4. Cotton yarns or a cotton/acrylic mix - great for homewares and decorations, especially those that you'll hang in the garden or use outdoors.

5. 4ply sock yarns - perfect for shortie socks to either knit or crochet.

If you visit your local yarn store you can ask the sales assistant to point you in the right direction, or if you shop online you can filter your search by choosing these options.

I hope my tips help you to get in the mood for your spring projects.

Happy Spring knitting and crocheting, Lynne xxx

If you're looking for a fun knitting project, you could try my knitted cakes and buns pattern.

Knitted cakes, cupcakes and buns ~ PDF pattern to download

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Or if you are looking for a fun and practical crochet project you could try my reusable cotton face pads.

Crochet Face Pads ~ PDF pattern to download

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