5 Non-Traditional Temperature Project Ideas (That You Can Actually Finish)
When you think of a temperature project, you probably think blankets, right? You picture those bright rainbow stripes. I don’t know when temperature projects became synonymous with temperature blankets, but it’s incredibly misleading and discouraging. Blankets aren’t for everyone and they can be very challenging to finish. So let’s get out of this blanket covered box and talk about 5 non-traditional temperature project ideas (that you can actually finish).
5 Non-Traditional Temperature Project Ideas (That You Can Actually Finish)
What the heck is a temperature project?
It’s a unique, long term project where you pick a color palette, assign each color a temperature range and then work 1 row per day following the day’s temperature. When worked over an entire year, you’ll have 365 days of weather recorded in the colorful rows of your project.
Sounds awesome right?
It totally is, but there’s problems.
Issues with Temperature Projects
- It’s a long-term project: it’s easy to get bored.
- Overwhelming: falling behind can mean having to rush through a bunch of long rows.
- Running out of yarn: yarn gets discontinued or dye lots can change, messing you up if you run out.
- Requires good planning: this is not a project you can just wing easily.
All these problems are particularly compounded with blankets because the rows are super long, they use a TON of yarn, and if you don’t plan properly, you could end up with a mess.
Plus, I personally have the attention span of a guppy and I know I’d get bored after 5 rows of a blanket.
So how can we avoid these problems?
I know this will sound super cliche, but the answer is thinking outside the box. Nothing says you have to make a blanket. Nothing says you have to do the project all year long or use rainbow colors. It’s your yarn and your hook and you can do whatever the heck you want.
Now that we’ve cast ‘traditional’ aside, let’s look at 5 temperature project ideas that you can actually finish.
1. Temperature Snake
I’m all about amigurumi, so when I made up my mind to try a temp project, a snake was the first thing to come to mind.
I made sure to pick my favorite colors (blues and greens are my jam!) and started a snake with a body less than 30 stitches around. So when I (inevitably) got behind, it wasn’t a huge imposition to work a month’s worth of rounds.
This project can work with pretty much any basic snake pattern, but if you like mine, I’m turning this project into a MAL (make-along) for 2023! Make sure you sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out when the MAL starts!
2. Beanie Series
Rather than working on one large project all year, why not break it up into one month at a time? I think it would be so cool to have a temperature beanie for each month of the year.
Beanies work up quickly and there's about a billion patterns out there for them. Plus, you would have the satisfaction of having a finished piece every month! Why not check out this free striped beanie pattern from Kathy North over on Ravelry.
3. Corner to Corner Scarf
You might be thinking, wow that would be an enormous scarf! But what if instead of working each row in one color per day, you made each square one color per day? It sounds like a ton of color changes and that's true, but hey you'd end up with a super unique scarf. If you've never done c2c, check out this free pattern from the Crochet Crowd.
Here’s a quick example scarf:
-Each square measures about 0.75in
-You work a base of 5 squares across the bottom with a total of 73 rows and you’ll end up with 365 squares and a scarf measuring a little over 4.5ft long.
And if you’ve ever worked c2c before, you know how crazy fast it is to make a single square, so you won’t get overwhelmed if you get a bit behind.
4. Wall Hanging
You can use any stitches you like for wall hangings and like the beanie series, you could
break it into individual months. If you're the type to change up your home decor frequently, this would be the project for you! This Chevron Wall Hanging pattern by Whistle and Ivy is a great one to check out!
5. Shawl
I'll admit this one kind of fails in avoiding long rows, BUT shawls are beautiful and come in tons of variations. You can go light and lacy, maybe making one for each quarter of the year. Or use denser stitches to make one single warm shawl. The possibilities are endless! Check out this free and customizable shawl pattern from The Spruce Crafts.
Wrap Up
Temperature projects are a fun way to commemorate a year (or any length of time) and if you take anything from this article, I want you to not be afraid to try new things. There’s endless ways to do a temperature project and you just have to find the perfect fit for you and your preferences.
Are you excited to start a temp project for 2023? Not sure how to get started? Don’t worry! Check out this Quick Guide to Starting a Temperature Project.
And if you want to join my 2023 Temperature Snake MAL, be sure to sign up for my newsletter here.
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to Pin it for later and share it with your crochet friends! Which of these temp project ideas did you like the most? What are some of your temp project ideas? Leave a comment below and share!
Til next time, stay crafty!