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As Wayne and I look forward to celebrating five years of marriage this year, I wanted to create something meaningful to reflect our journey together and the changes we’ve seen. What better way than crocheting two temperature blankets—one marking the highs of 2020 and one of 2025 — to symbolize both our past and present? I’m so excited to share this journey with you and show how these two blankets turn out.
What Is a Temperature Blanket?
A temperature blanket is a knit or crochet project that tracks the weather throughout the year by using different colors to represent daily temperatures. Each day, you knit or crochet a row (or other design element) in the color corresponding to that day’s high, low, or average temperature. By year’s end, you’ll have a gorgeous blanket that reflects the unique climate of your chosen location.
When planning your temperature gauge, I recommend using at least 9 color ranges to ensure variety. You can use as many colors as you like! For my blankets, I’ve chosen 15 colors, including extra rounds to make the squares equal in size. I like to base mine on daily high temperatures.
Tracking Dates
Keeping track of daily temperatures is essential to stay on schedule with your blanket. I jot them down on my calendar each day, but if I miss a few, I use Wunderground to find historical data for the days I’ve missed. This method ensures I never fall too far behind.
Here are some pictures of previous temperature blankets I’ve made:
Picking Yarn & Colors
Picking colors for a temperature blanket can feel overwhelming, but it’s also one of the most fun parts! Here’s what I consider:
- Number of colors: I’ve chosen 15 shades for variety.
- Yarn fiber: I use acrylic yarn because it’s affordable, easy to care for, and machine washable.
- Yarn stash: This year, I “shopped” my stash and picked Lion Brand Heartland yarn in various shades (they have 38 options!).
To plan my colors, I used Temperature Blanket. This tool helped me see how the colors would look together and estimate how many days of each color I’d have based on historical weather data. For extra rounds and borders, I chose Dry Tortugas for my 2020 blanket and Great Smoky Mountains for my 2025 blanket.
Here are my temperature ranges and corresponding colors for the blankets:
How to Knit or Crochet a Temperature Blanket
Here’s the basic process:
- Choose a blanket design: I’m using the Linen Square Temperature Blanket Pattern by TL Yarn Crafts. (Link to pattern)
- Assign colors to temperature ranges: This helps you stay consistent.
- Track daily temperatures: Crochet or knit daily, or catch up weekly.
This year, my blankets will have 12 squares, each representing a month. The daily high temperatures will determine the colors of each square.
You don’t have to make a blanket! You could create a shawl, scarf, or even a snake (though I’ll pass on the snake idea!). Pick something you’ll enjoy working on all year long.
Gathering Supplies
I recommend keeping all your supplies organized in one place. Here’s what I’m using:
- Plastic tote: For all the yarn pulled from my stash.
- Bag for active projects: Contains yarns needed for each month, based on historical temperatures.
- Notions pouch: Holds my crochet hook, scissors, tapestry needle, and tape measure.
Staying Motivated
Starting a new project is always exciting, but it can be challenging to stay motivated throughout the year. Here are some tips to help:
- Set a routine: I usually catch up on a week’s worth of rows during the weekend.
- Share your progress: I’ll be posting updates here to keep myself accountable and to share the journey with you.
- Break it down: Focus on one month or one square at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
What About You?
Have you ever made a temperature blanket or another weather-based project? What colors would you choose for your temperature ranges? Let me know in the comments below—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned for updates as these two blankets take shape throughout the year.
Until next time,
~ Belle
