Use your leftover yarn and make a great present for the person who has everything! This is a great holiday gift idea and will help keep your MP3 player protected from dings and scratches. Alternatively, you can use this pattern to hold anything, not just an iPod!
Items You’ll Need
- Yarn (Pretty much any kind) The yarn shown in the examples is Worsted Weight 4 ply cotton yarn.
- Size 3 Knitting Needles – if you use a super bulky or chunky yarn, you might need a larger needle.
- Measuring Tape
- Yarn Needle or Crochet Hook
This pattern works for Metric or English measurements – whichever you prefer to use.
What’s My Knitting Gauge?
Because the pattern will largely depend on the yarn you use, you will first need to figure out the stitch gauge and what size to make your sock. Begin by knitting a swatch with your yarn in a rib knit (knit 1, purl 1, repeat). Make sure it is more than a few inches or cm long and wide, so you have a little extra room for measuring. When you finish your swatch, you can leave it on the needle. After you measure it, you can unravel it and use it for your pattern; unless you have plenty of yarn, you can always bind it off and hang onto it for later.
Now, take note of how many stitches fit across in 1 inch or 1 cm. Remember because it’s a rib knit, there might be some stitches hiding in the back. In the photo above, it looks like three stitches across per inch, but it is actually 5 stitches per inch because two of the stitches show on the opposite side.
Measure Your iPod or MP3 Player
Now measure all the way around your MP3 player. This will be the width of the piece you knit. Now you’ll want to subtract just a little to make sure the sock is snug, about a half inch or 1 cm.
Now measure all the way around your MP3 player. This will be the width of the piece you knit. You’ll want to subtract just a little to make sure the sock is snug, about a half inch or 1 cm. The above image shows 6 1/4 inches; subtract a half inch and it is 5 3/4″.
Also measure the height that you want the sock to reach. For thicker players, make sure you to include 1/2 of the depth to your length. iPods are very thin but other MP3 players (like the Zen player in this image) are thick enough to take this into account.
Now, using all your measurements, multiply your width minus 1 inch/1cm times your swatch stitches per inch/cm. This is how many stitches you will cast on. Then knit the piece the to match the length you measured.
For example:
Cast On = (Width – 1/2 inch/ 1 cm) X Stitches per Row
So, the Zen Player in the above image is:
5 3/4″ X 5 stitches (gauge) = 29 stitches to cast on
Rows = Knit until this piece measures 5 3/4″ in length
We’re Ready to Knit!
Cast on the calculated amount of stitches. Knit in a rib knit until your piece measures the correct length. Bind off. You will have a square or rectangle, depending on your required measurements. Now you’ll want to close the seam, which we will be putting in the back. Using a Yarn Needle or a Crochet Hook, join the side seam.
Now your sock looks like a tube. It’s time to close up the bottom! Put the side seam in the center, so it will be in the back of the MP3 player. Once again using a Yarn Needle or Crochet Hook, close up one of the ends.
Weave in any loose yarn ends and you’re finished!
Ideas for this Project
Try this pattern in several kinds of yarn. Self striping sock yarns are a great choice. Some people might prefer something more subdued, or try some fancy decorative yarn if you want some extra embellishment. Use an eyelash yarn in the last two rows to add a “fur” trim.
The socks above were knitted with the following materials:
- The white sock on the left is Sugar n Cream cotton yarn, knitted with size 3 knitting needles.
- The middle sock is wool sock yarn knitted with size 3 knitting needles.
- The sock on the right was knitted with nylon ribbon yarn and size 3 knitting needles.
