Temperature blankets record the weather each day of the year in different yarn colors

Crochet continues to be a popular trend not only in crafting circles but also on social media overall. No matter where we turn online, we seem to find photos of the most beautiful or adorable crochet projects, including Baby Yoda cup cozies, Disney Villains, and even reusable sweeper pads. Lately, though, social media has been full of images of the temperature blanket crochet trend.

Have you seen these incredible temperature blankets? They are a cornucopia of colored stripes that transform into a stunning memento of a calendar year based on daily temperatures. The yarn rows typically start with lots of blues to represent colder temperatures and transition into warmer colors like yellows and reds as the seasons change.

Dr. Maren Mossman (aka @TheAtomicMommy on Twitter) showed off her 2019 blanket, which is a bright rainbow of colors, to show the temperature swings for the year.

What makes these temperature blankets such a great project is that they are as individual as the person stitching them together. Even though they all show the temperature trends throughout the year, crocheters can choose their own color scheme to reflect the ups and downs of the daily temperatures.

While some stitchers opt to crochet rows for each day’s temperature, others love to whip up the classic granny square for their blanket. Twitter user Breanne (@br3larson) updates each day’s reading with a tiny square in a particular color and adds it to the blanket.

“It’s been fun watching this blanket unfold,” she posted. “And how much our temp varies in Minnesota.”

And still another way to crochet a temperature blanket is using the corner-to-corner method, as @DrJeanKnockout shows on her Twitter account. From January to February, you can see how the temperatures in her area are inching higher.

How Did The Temperature Blanket Trend Start?

When pulling the threads to find the start of the temperature blanket crochet trend, we got hooked into a story back in 2017 about a group of people who wanted to document climate change at the start of a new presidential administration.

A man named Justin Connelly teamed up with a friend, Emily McNeil (who worked in a yarn store a the time), and his then-wife Marissa to launch the Tempestry Project. The goal was to take data reported by the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) and have knitters create temperature scarves with different colors as a way to document how our climate changes, according to the New York Times.

McNeil’s alma mater Barnard College shared a Tweet featuring some of the “tempestries” created as part of the project.

Those scarves may have been inspired by sky scarves from the early 2010s which were created by Lea Redmond, a conceptual artist in California. Her idea was to knit a scarf that reflected the color of the sky each day. She published a book called “Knit the Sky” which has a variety of patterns to make cherished heirlooms.

Here’s an image of the book, as posted by Storey Publishing.

All of these lovely patterns have us itching to start stitching. If you’re wondering how to jump on the temperature blanket crochet trend blanket, then we’ve got you covered.

Join The Temperature Blanket Trend: Here’s How To Do It Yourself

First, you’ll need to gather your supplies. Fortunately, crocheting doesn’t require a lot of fancy tools to get the job done. You’ll need the following items:

• • A temperature blanket pattern. Fortunately, there are many free patterns available with a simple internet search. We found a couple of patterns from blogs including TL Yarn Crafts and The Crochet Crowd.
  • Crochet hooks. Once you choose your pattern, get the hooks in the size you’ll need. Each pattern clearly states what size hooks are required for the project. You can go to a craft store or head to Amazon to pick up a crochet hook set with various sizes.
  • A source for your temperature readings. You will need a source to get your daily temperature readings so you know what color to use for your stitches each day. Many crocheters like to use the data from visualcrossing.com because you can look up a specific location for specific days or time periods. That way, if you want to start a blanket, you can look back on any days you missed.
  • A chart based on temperatures: After you have your temperature resource, you will need to decide how to break down your temperature ranges so you can assign a color to each. Try not to overcomplicate your key. Make the ranges large enough so you don’t have too many things to juggle at the same time. Below, Twitter user Michelle Burns (@Chelz65) shared a perfect example of how to set up your color chart on her page. She is knitting her blanket, but the principle is the same.

• Yarns of many colors: If you’re already a crocheter, you may have what crafters affectionately call a yarn stash. This is where you have lots of leftover yarn in all varieties of colors. That’s perfect. However, many people like to start with new yarn for each new project. Amazon has a fabulous collection of yarns that come with 24 skeins in a wide range of colors for less than $20 for the collection. Just know you will need a lot of yarn for this, so save your purchase and reorder as you need them.

Once you have everything you need, then it’s a matter of getting to work and having some patience. Making a crocheted temperature blanket is a daily (or weekly) labor of love. But, little by little, you will watch your blanket grow into something warm and cozy that you will be proud to either give as a gift or have in your own home as a reminder of the year.