cover-ups

Cover up  n.  1. a device or stratagem for concealing;  2. a loose outer garment

Let’s talk about cover ups.  No, no, no… I did not do something I shouldn’t have.  At least I don’t think so!  This month we are embarking on 3 months of small projects that can be made in time for Christmas.  I thought about covering up the fact that I’m already thinking about Christmas.  When you are a knitter you have to think about Christmas early.

So I thought rather than creating some story to cover up the fact that Christmas is on my mind, I would create a knitted cover up!  A baby cover up, to be exact.  Babies are always needing to be covered up for some reason or other.  As cooler weather approaches we’ll start to see moms bundling their little ones under blankets in their car seats and strollers.  And inevitably, as mom happily drives down the road, baby kicks the blanket off in the back seat and is no longer … yeah … covered up.  Or Mom and Baby are out for a brisk fall stroll and suddenly the stroller is rolling over the pretty blanket that baby has kicked off.

Too often moms cover baby with a blanket, then fasten the 5-point harness over the blanket.  There are lots of patterns available that even show you where to place slits for the harness straps to go through.  Neither is a good option.  Did you know that the minute you place a blanket under the shoulder straps of a car seat or stroller, the safety rating is voided?!  If anything were to happen and the strap came unbuckled, the parent would be at fault for improper use of the safety seat. 

So I set out to design a car seat (or stroller) cover up that would stay in place and not affect the safety rating of the device.  A car seat cover up is really just a small blanket, so you could use any pattern stitch you wanted to.  The key is how it attaches to the car seat.

This month’s pattern is a Car Seat Cover Up that has a small strap on the back.  The base of the 5-point harness slips through the loop and holds the blanket in place.   Once this is done, fasten the harness normally then draw the blanket up over baby and tuck in.

  

The Knitting Doodle’s Car Seat Cover Up is made with bulky weight yarn, using the Double Seed Stitch pattern.  It an easy and nice looking pattern stitch; and with bulky yarn this project knits up in no time.  I put a contrasting stripe in the center, but let your imagination run wild for your Cover Up.  Get the needles moving for the baby or toddler in your life – it’s always nice to be able to give a gift that is not some plastic toy!

Cords

 

Cord  n.  long, thin, flexible string or rope made from several strands of fiber

Cords are such useful things.  Without cords, how would you …tie your shoes? … Lower the blinds?  … Hang your laundry?  This month I thought we could explore cords from a knitter’s point of view.  In other words, let’s have fun with i-cords!

Knitting i-cords has to be one of the easiest things you’ll ever knit.  You only need 4 stitches and you only need to know how to do the knit stitch.  No purls, yarn overs, cables … just plain old knit stitch.  Part of my reason for featuring i-cords comes from you, the Knitting Doodle followers.  I have had a number of requests recently for projects that kids could do other than knit a scarf.  I immediately thought of i-cords. 

To make an i-cord you will need yarn and 2 double-point needles. 

For sport-weight yarn use US size 4 or 5 needles.

For worsted weight yarn use US size 6 or 7 needles.

Cast on 4 stitches. 

Row 1:  Knit.  Without turning your work, slide all 4 stitches to the right end of the needle.

Repeat row 1.

Now keep repeating Row 1 until the cord is the desired length. 

Easy!!  Kids like making i-cords because they see progress quickly, which keeps them enthusiastic about the project.

Here are some projects to make with i-cords:

Necklaces:  knit an i-cord 20-24” long. Before you sew the two ends together slip pony beads onto the i-cord and space evenly around.  (This necklace was made with Paton’s Grace – a sport-weight mercerized cotton.)

Bracelets:  knit an i-cord 6-8” long.  Sew the two ends together, then make a “bar” by wrapping yarn over the join for about 1”.  You could also add beads to a bracelet if you wanted.  (These bracelets were made with Paton’s Grace.)

Lanyards:  Knit an i-cord approximately 30-32”.  Lay both ends side by side.  Attach a lanyard clip, then wrap yarn around the cords just above the clip for about 1”.

Headbands:  knit an i-cord approximately 18-20”” long (measure on your head for exact length.)  Join ends together.  For a braided i-cord headband, knit 3 i-cords 20-22” long.  Braid the three cords, then fasten together in a circle.

Earphones:  starting at the plug end, knit the i-cord around the earphone wire by passing the yarn under the wire before starting each row.  Knit to one ear-bud, then pick up stitches and the “Y” and knit to the other ear-bud.

I-cord projects are small, quick and easy – perfect for taking along when travelling.  And it’s never too early to start on stocking stuffers for Christmas!