Lace is summer’s fabric. All those little eyelets that feel too thin in January are exactly what you want when it’s warm. The fabric drapes without weighing on you, and moves air instead of trapping it. Summer Lace is built on that idea.

Both shawls in this issue came out of spring, but they belong to the warm months. Frescura came from early spring walks, that particular energy that returns when the air finally softens. Plum Jam came from something similar: the purple-leafed plum trees that bloom overnight, draw every bee in the neighborhood, and then just as suddenly are done, leaving only leaves and the promise of something sweet.

Both designers were paying attention to the same turn of the year from different angles. That’s what I love about putting an issue together: patterns that were designed independently arrive with a shared conversation already happening between them. Open, airy, made to be worn when it’s warm.

A shawl is the right garment for this season, too. The morning that hasn’t warmed up yet. Overly air-conditioned rooms. That one evening on the porch where the temperature is just exactly right. You’ll reach for it more than you expect. That’s the whole case I make in Shawls in Summer, if you want the longer version.

Savor this part.

Jody