Just a quick note before the dinner timer goes off ... I finished my sock-with-lanyard for the iPod! <Taa-daa!>

This project involved two firsts for me: I had never designed my own pattern for anything, and I'd not made an I-cord before.

Yeah, there are a gazillion patterns out there for iPod socks, but I had very specific features in mind.

For starters, I wasn't gonna use dpns, or two circular needles, or anything kinky like that. I wanted it done, like, right now, so that ruled out felting. I wanted it to be sturdy, since I wear it every day. And, I had to be able to hit the Pause button quickly ... when my dear library patrons ask me questions, they don't give me a lot of time to get "unplugged" to hear them.


So here's what I came up with. This first picture shows the Nano Sock "open", with its flap up.





And here's the Nano Sock closed, with its flap down and the earbud connector just pushed through the fabric. Very convenient!




I wanted to end up with a sturdy knitted fabric for the project -- without felting -- so I chose a light sport weight acrylic-rayon chenille, very little stretch, that I got cheap-cheap from "Susan's Yarn Barn" on eBay. (She's a great source of inexpensive chenille, BTW, and a darned fast shipper. But she's moving to a bricks-and-mortar store this month, so her shelves are empty till the move is done.)

I downsized my needles to a US 3 to get a tighter fabric. I cast on 20 stitches, wider than the Nano but I wanted the flap wide enough to wrap around the edges; then I decreased down to 14. (This sock fits over the Nano's skin, by the way.) Then every so often I carried along a sassy strand of flame-red eyelash yarn for a couple of rows.

The end result was roughly a rectangle measuring 6 inches from cast on, down the back to the Nano's little bottom, then 3 inches up the front. I keep the Nano in there upside-down, so the earbuds attach through the top flap, and I can easily get to the Pause button. The sock is 2-3/4 inches wide, but 3-12 inches wide at the end of the flap.

Finally, I knitted a 4-stitch I-cord -- again, looking for stability -- to make the hanging lanyard. I wanted it to attach securely, without pulling up the edges of the sock, so I had the brilliant idea of incoporating the I-cord the whole length of the sides. Stitching it in between the front and the back, as a sort of gusset, turned out to be tricksier than I'd imagined, so I think next time I'll stitch the front and back together first, then attach the I-cord.

And I learned that making a 40-inch, 4-stitch I-cord (yikes, enuf hyphens for ya?) is not the most interesting thing I've ever done. In fact, it sent me screaming out the door to Hobby Lobby, where I purchased a Clover Wonder Knitter.


Using a Clover Wonder Knitter
(Photo from JoAnn.com)

This is the gizmo I used to call a "Knitting Nancy" only much cooler: imagine if ole Knitting Nancy's head spun around like The Exorcist. It comes with two wheels to make small or large diameter I-cords, using from 2 to 6 pegs.

What a great little toy! I even -- oooooh so casually -- handed it to my husband, who cranked out about 200 yards of I-cord while watching TV. Hah! Brilliant invention, fun to use, I recommend it!

So if your iPod Nano needs a home and you want my exact stitch-by-stitch instructions, just let me know & I'll send them along or post them or something.

Meanwhile, I'll just go bask in the warm glow of a finished project!

Happy scavenging,

--Margaret (a.k.a. Maggie Belize)

Urban Scavenger's Update! As of July 22, JoAnn's has the Clover Wonder Knitter on SALE for $6.37. Best price I've seen for a new one.