Knitted Running/Workout Accessories

With running comes sweat. I never did understand headbands or wristbands until I took up running. I still don't' wear a headband when I run - I usually opt for a hat, because it does better at keeping the sun out of my eyes.

When I was running slower (yeah, I'm still slow, but hey, I've trimmed 2+ minutes off my average pace since starting!) it was no big thing to wipe sweat off my forehead or away from my eyes by bending over slightly and using my sleeve - or the tail of my shirt. Unfortunately, it's gotten to the point where it affects my stride now, and I worried about tripping and damaging myself. Normal wristbands wouldn't do because I wear glasses, and trying to maneuver a wristband around my glasses just wasn't working...

So I have the following - a "better" wristband! I actually wear two - one on my left hand, as illustrated below around my thumb (no, I don't need the watch to hold it in place - the reason I made the cuff so wide is because I hated having my sweat drenched watch sticking on my skin). I wear the one on my right hand around my index finger - it's a little easier to get around my glasses that way.


In case you're wondering, it's Cascade Fixation knit on US2 needles. Because Fixation is mostly cotton, it certainly absorbs sweat well, though it takes a while to dry - I thought about knitting em out of wool, but I didn't think they'd be very absorbent if I did that.

It's like two pairs for the effort of one!

Say hello to my Leftover Nasturtiums...they're like two pair in one when worn with the right shoes or pants!

Pattern from Kirsten at Through the Loops

Yarn: Leftovers - Black Purl Lornas Laces Shepherd Sock (from when I knit my Jaywalkers) And black and white Dale of Norway Baby Ull (from my first fair isle project)

Knit: both pair at the same time on one US1 circular needle

Comments: In order to entertain myself for the bottom portion of the knitting, I did indeed stripe my socks opposite each other on purpose - and yes, I'm addicted to the Fibonacci sequence. It's not my fault. It's the Nerd in me.

The pattern is well written, and the only recommendations I have are to read carefully and split your stitches correctly from the get go so you don't have to move them around as I did - this isn't critical if you knit only one sock at a time, but if you magic loop a pair of socks, it caused a moment of being stumped before coming up with a solution. Also, at the end, I vaguely recall the setup for the toe decreases on the top of the socks to be off with the number of K stitches between the initial setup decreases. Oh, for the toe, don't panic if you can't decrease in pairs to wind up with 12 stitches remaining on each needle - you started with an odd number of stitches on each needle, so you'll wind up with an odd number when you get to that point...I actually got carried away and grafted the toe when I had 13 stitches on each needle (how's that for my pattern reading skills?) but it worked out perfectly with my stripes that way :)

A Sock Experiment for Socktoberfest

Ever seen knitted things and figure "I can knit that - and way better too!"? I'm constantly doing that with sweaters these days - and certainly no silly iPod sock was going to be worth the money, especially when I could knit my own custom one and learn a thing or two while doing it...

Since I'm still waiting for a certain 2nd Gen nano case to be released, I figured I'd make myself an iPod sock for the interim. For this "sock," I wanted to give double knitting a try - I wanted a double thick layer of "sock" to protect the nano (since I'm not terribly good about being very delicate with things in my bag/purse) - and that way I could also see if I would like to attempt the extreme knitting sock technique as described in the recent Knitty (in case you're wondering, I think I've decided it's not for me - it's much faster for me to knit 2 socks on magic loop).

Anyhow, this "sock" is indeed reversible, has a flap built in to secure the nano inside *and* a space to allow me to connect my earphones to the nano thru the sock!

Super easy to make, I made mine out of sport weight scraps of Misti Alpaca Sport (mmm alpaca) knitting on US4s in 2x2 rib for a nice snug fit. Striping is in my favorite sequence - hooray! Fibbonacci!
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