When summer’s warmth arrives and humidity begins to climb, it is difficult to stay focused on a large project. I can’t help but knit and crochet, even when the days grow warm. I’ve found projects that work to keep my hands in motion no matter the weather. I’m drawn to motif-based projects, they are smaller and more easily portable. There’s something about a project that evolves in little bursts, much like bees flitting from flower to flower.

Why Work Seasonally?

If you’re anything like me in the summer months you are wearing fewer and lighter weight layers, you don’t want to schlep around that big heavy tote bag, and you want options. Air conditioning is amazing and keeps me comfortable, but I still don’t want to work on a heavy wool sweater in August if I can avoid doing so¹.

Getting Started: Choose-your-own Adventure

Motifs allow for a bit of a choose your own adventure: pick the needle or hook, yarn, and stitch that brings you delight. 

Since each individual motif is relatively small and likely quick to work, if you don’t like your first pairing, you can stop and start again. This ability to make changes to one or all of the variables makes it conducive to experimentation. It’s up to you which part of the equation you choose first, perhaps it’s a stitch, or maybe it’s your favourite hook, or a bunch of mini skeins that caught your eye. 

If you don’t have a specific project in mind, this is also a good time to work on trialing a yarn in a bunch of different stitches and gauges. Make swatches! You can record your thoughts in my Free Swatch Library Worksheet.

My Favourite Trick: The 9-Patch Square

In order to help kick start some of the finishing up now, I lean into working my motifs into small patches. My go-to is to create blocks of 9-patch squares. This approach offers several benefits: it provides a preview of the overall project; it helps break up the tedium that can develop when making many similar motifs. Once I’ve created a few motifs, I’ve found sewing them up adds enough diversity to keep the project exciting and manageable.

Here’s to motifs

I hope this post inspires you to consider motifs as a great summer project. Their inherent flexibility and ability to quickly show tangible progress can transform your creativity during the lighter, warmer months. What will you create? 

Additional Resources

Over the years I’ve written about both knit and crochet motifs: 

• Granny squares (& other motifs) This post is where I wax poetic about granny squares. There’s a list that explores why I love them and several book and website resources. I’ll likely update the post again for Granny Square Day in August, but you don’t have to wait until then. 
• Blanket Thoughts This post summarizes several books for knitters including Domino Knitting by Vivian Høxbro and Modular Knitting by Pat Ashforth & Steve Plummer.
• stitch dictionaries, new and old This post mentions Knitting Counterpanes by Mary Walker Phillips and offers a short review of Crochet Kaleidoscope: Shifting Shapes and Shades Across 100 Motifs by Sandra Eng.

1. When designing or working up samples, I often have to work against the season so that designs are ready when normal knitters and crocheters want the pattern. My studio is in the basement and air conditioned for a reason! ↩︎