Spring/Summer 2023 Knitting Trends
It's that time again! Garnstudio have opened up the vote for their newest knitting pattern collections for spring and summer 2023. This is great opportunity to take a look at what has trickled down the runway into everyday knitwear. Here are my top 5 trend picks from the upcoming collection.
Everything Old Shale Is New Again
The first thing that struck me are patterns featuring several stitch patterns organized in horizontal sections. Some of them are coupled with lace but some are just textured knit-and-purl patterns, reminiscent of the classic Guernsey/Gansey-style fishermen's sweaters.
Another oldie having a renaissance is the Old Shale, a wavy lace pattern reminiscent of ocean waves or clam shells which is what the name comes from. I see this classic lace pattern versioned on at least a 10 or so of the designs. By the by, if you've always thought Old Shale and Feather and Fan are just two names for the same thing… they're not! Even the revered Barbara Walker got it wrong.
Voluminously Boxy
This is nothing new: the oversized, boxy, drop-shoulder sweater with minimal (or non-existent) shaping still reigns supreme. Lengths are getting shorter as evidenced by the multitude of cropped tops but garment circumferences and sleeve widths are still quite voluminous. I, for one, am ready for the comeback of the more fitted garments of the early aughts.
Sophie's Choice: Mini Shawls
The neckerchief-styled and sized mini-shawl was already on the radar in the Fall/Winter 2022/2023 knitting trends but it has become increasingly more popular over the months. Undoubtedly fueled on by the popularity of PetiteKnit's Sophie Scarf, there's been an explosion in similar shawlette patterns that you can knit with just a small amount of yarn.
DROPS have several of these in the spring/summer line-up, including one in garter stitch with classic center-spine increases, one in stockinette, and a couple featuring lace. And hey, it's that Old Shale again!
Groovy, Man
Remember when these were last in style? Yeah, I don't want to either. A lot of things and colors we see in fashion today is inspired by the nineties. The hottest summer accessory this season — aside from the mini-shawl — is a crocheted bucket hat. Even better if it's patterned, striped, or color blocked.
Blah or Primary?
The color palette for Spring and Summer 2023 is an odd dichotomy of pastel-y tones of sad greige and eye-searing primaries. The warmer months usually get more dreamy, toned-down, powdery colors compared to fall and winter but this year they're paired with offensively bright, back-to-the-nineties, almost neon-y colors. Very prominently present in the DROPS patterns are, for instance, Classic Green, Tangelo, Fiery Red, and Beetroot Purple straight out of the Pantone New York Spring/Summer 2023 color palette.
What's your take on the spring and summer knitting trends? Excited or underwhelmed? Sound off below! 👇
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I love the big sweaters with horizontal lace sections. They feel great to wear on a hot day, and they never really go out of style. Thank you so much for explaning the difference between Old Shale and Feather&Fans - now, I know! The crochet hat trend is interesting, it's always nice to have a fun sun hat for summer. Maybe it's going to be my incentive to learn crochet. But like Susanna, I'm a bit put out by the Spring/Summer pantone-suggested colours. I can work with the three earth tones in the 'quiet' palette, and I could definitely knit myself a big summer purse with some of the vivid colours, but that's about it.