Stitching the Seasons: Tracking Climate with a Temperature Blanket (Getting Started 2024)

Getting Started with 2023 Temperature Blanket

We did a Temperature Blanket for 2023 and now here we are again starting our Temperature Blanket 2024. You can check out last years progress here:

Getting Started 2023
6 Months in 2023
Completed 2023

Stitching the Seasons: Tracking Climate with a Temperature Blanket

A temperature blanket is a knitting or crocheting project where each row or section represents the daily temperature over a set period, typically a year. The colours correspond to temperature ranges, creating a visual record of climate trends. Makers choose a colour scale (e.g., blue for cold, red for hot) and stitch a new row daily or weekly based on the recorded temperature

In permaculture, one of the key principles is “Observe and Interact.” This means carefully watching patterns in nature before making changes. A temperature blanket aligns with this principle by encouraging mindful observation of local weather patterns over time.

By tracking temperature fluctuations through a blanket, crafters develop an intimate awareness of their environment, much like a permaculturist observing seasonal changes before designing a sustainable system. This data can reveal useful insights, such as shifts in climate patterns or unusual temperature extremes, which can inform better gardening and land management practices.

Additionally, the temperature blanket concept can be extended beyond fibre arts into permaculture design. Gardeners might use a similar approach, tracking daily temperatures and using colour coded garden journals to visualise climate data. This can guide decisions on when to plant, harvest, or implement protective measures like shade structures or water conservation techniques.

Ultimately, a temperature blanket is both a creative and scientific tool, transforming raw climate data into a tactile, visual representation of weather trends. In the context of permaculture and gardening, it fosters deeper ecological awareness, helping people better interact with and adapt to their local environment.

Picked Our Colours & Decided On A Stitch 

As the first permaculture principle is to Observe and Interact, I feel we’re covering that with the weather this last year.

DETAILS: This is what I’m using on this one
🧶2 strands of DK (to make chunky)
🧶10mm Hook
🧶100 stitches across 
🧶HDC stitch
🧶Recording highest temp of each day

What have we changed from last year?
Only using 100 stitches across this time as I want them to be used in the living room as lap blankets in the cold weather. Last year we used 150 and made them big enough for double bed bedspreads.

GAUGE: I Picked just 5 colours as I wanted to be able to look at a glance at what range it was next year. 
🧶Under 0° White (cold/snow temps)
🧶1-6 Grey (frost temps)
🧶7-13 Green (low temps)
🧶14-20 Soft Pink (warm temps) 
🧶Over 21 Raspberry (hot temps)

What have we changed from last year?
Keeping the white and grey colours as I still had a bundle of them left over, but changed up the 3 other colours to suit our living room decoration.

Taking the highest temperature from each day and using that as the temperature colour I use. For example if the highest temperature of the day was 6° then I would do 1 row of Grey

Adjusted my scale a little on the white though, to the average rather than the highest as some days it’s been -7° at night, then -3° most of the day, but for an hour or 2 its 1°, which would make it grey and I don’t feel that would represent the day.

I want to look back and see the days that were solid frozen ground outside that we couldn’t plant outside- these will be white days.

Using Our Book To Record Temperature

Clayton is filling out the daily weather including the highest, lowest temps of the day. I makes him a part of this blanket this year, he has enjoyed watching me crochet and seeing it grow. This is our Sowing, Growing, Weather & Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book that you can buy from Amazon, take a look at this record book here and all our books we have.

Temperature Blanket 2024 CHECKLIST

Are you doing one this year? Do you want to start one? Need some help getting started?

Need help getting started?
Download Our Free Checklist

Want more a detailed guide to getting started?
Download Our Complete Guide

Watch On You Tube: Our Temperature Blanket Completed. Monitoring Weather In The Garden & Crocheting A Visual Memory.

Are you doing a temperature blanket or recording the weather of any kind?

Katrina & Clayton and family live in East Ayrshire and share their daily life in the garden on instagram. They practice permaculture principles in the garden, reducing & repurposing waste whenever they can. Katrina shows how home educating in nature has helped Clayton thrive. 

Clayton Completed The 2 Grow and Learn Courses with the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society. He is Autistic, Non Verbal & has been Home Educated since 2018. Katrina & Peter hold their PDC & PDC PRO Permaculture Design Course from Oregon State University 

They featured on BBC Beechgrove Gardens Ep23 2022 and returned in 2023 for an update,Katrina & Clayton are also columnists for ScotlandGrows Magazine, Guest Blog for Caledonian Horticulture as well as working with Gardeners’ World Magazine and many other brands. They are also Authors of the new children’s book: Clayton’s New Garden Journey: A Story of Autism and Growing available on Amazon & Kindle. Listen in on our Guest Podcast to learn more about us.

Our Children’s Book Series

Author of the new children’s book series: Clayton’s Garden Journey: A Story of Autism and Gardening. Topics on Growing, Harvesting, Sowing & Composting and 108 Page Weather and Seasons Weekly Gardening Record Book available on Amazon and Kindle

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