My husband, bless his heart, is convinced that I am certifiable. (He's probably right.) I'm not sure whether he is boasting or deathly embarrassed when he says about me: "She'll knit anything".
Well, that's not entirely true - I haven't knit Swiffer mop covers although I'm intrigued enough with the pictures I've seen that I probably will do that some day. I also have not knit feminine hygiene supplies, unlike my grandmother who once explained that she learned to knit as a young woman out of this very necessity during wartime in Europe.
No way, not me. Never. In. A. Million. Years.
Although I have been known to utter that threat to a teenaged daughter when she is behaving inappropriately:
"You're such a b*tch!!" then in the next breath: "Can we go to Shoppers Drug Mart and buy me some tampons?"
"Hang on, sweetie, I'll knit you some."
But I digress. I decided the other day to post a fluke-y little "invention" of mine on my Ravelry.com profile - I knit myself a cozy for my Littmann stethoscope a couple of years ago. It gets a lot of compliments from my colleagues and my patients often admire it too. It was just something I decided to whip together while watching TV and let my knitting muse lead the way.
Why would anyone (the "in their right mind" part obviously implied) want a "sweater" for their stethoscope, my husband wondered. Well, when you pay $60 - $100 for a single piece of medical equipment you want it to last a while. Stethoscopes utilize a vinyl tubing that needs to be pliable and supple in order to work properly. Health care professionals sometimes have the (bad) habit of draping their stethoscope around their neck, and over time the natural oils from the skin react with the vinyl tubing and make it stiff, brittle and prone to cracking, which deforms the stethoscope and renders an expensive piece of equipment useless. It costs about $60 to send it to 3M (the company that manufactures Littmann stethoscopes) and have it cleaned and repaired. A stethoscope cozy protects my investment. Plus it's just so gosh-darn cute!
Within hours of posting my picture on Ravelry, I received messages and emails requesting "the pattern". Coolness!! But, I didn't have one, really - it just kind of made itself and I had to make another one just so I could write the pattern. This one is for my friend, Melanie, who is a self-proclaimed "pink fan" and it features a button fastening to hold the cozy in place and keep it from slipping below the Y-bifurcation of the stethoscope tubing.
Well, that's not entirely true - I haven't knit Swiffer mop covers although I'm intrigued enough with the pictures I've seen that I probably will do that some day. I also have not knit feminine hygiene supplies, unlike my grandmother who once explained that she learned to knit as a young woman out of this very necessity during wartime in Europe.
No way, not me. Never. In. A. Million. Years.
Although I have been known to utter that threat to a teenaged daughter when she is behaving inappropriately:
"You're such a b*tch!!" then in the next breath: "Can we go to Shoppers Drug Mart and buy me some tampons?"
"Hang on, sweetie, I'll knit you some."
But I digress. I decided the other day to post a fluke-y little "invention" of mine on my Ravelry.com profile - I knit myself a cozy for my Littmann stethoscope a couple of years ago. It gets a lot of compliments from my colleagues and my patients often admire it too. It was just something I decided to whip together while watching TV and let my knitting muse lead the way.
Why would anyone (the "in their right mind" part obviously implied) want a "sweater" for their stethoscope, my husband wondered. Well, when you pay $60 - $100 for a single piece of medical equipment you want it to last a while. Stethoscopes utilize a vinyl tubing that needs to be pliable and supple in order to work properly. Health care professionals sometimes have the (bad) habit of draping their stethoscope around their neck, and over time the natural oils from the skin react with the vinyl tubing and make it stiff, brittle and prone to cracking, which deforms the stethoscope and renders an expensive piece of equipment useless. It costs about $60 to send it to 3M (the company that manufactures Littmann stethoscopes) and have it cleaned and repaired. A stethoscope cozy protects my investment. Plus it's just so gosh-darn cute!
Within hours of posting my picture on Ravelry, I received messages and emails requesting "the pattern". Coolness!! But, I didn't have one, really - it just kind of made itself and I had to make another one just so I could write the pattern. This one is for my friend, Melanie, who is a self-proclaimed "pink fan" and it features a button fastening to hold the cozy in place and keep it from slipping below the Y-bifurcation of the stethoscope tubing.
So without further ado, here are the instructions for my stethoscope cozy. Instructions are written for sport weight yarn, like Patons Astra (the pink one for Melanie) and fingering weight yarn such as Regia Jacquard Self-Striping (the blue, purple and green striped prototype in the first picture).
For sport weight yarn (fingering weight yarn), CO 16 (22) st and divide on 3 dpns (3.25 mm / 2.5 mm) and join. [Needle #1: 8 stitches (11); #2: 4 stitches (5); #3: 4 stitches (6).]
Work in K1 P1 rib in the round for 0.75”, then stockinette stitch in the round until length of stethoscope tubing is reached, approximately 18 – 20” (45 – 50 cm).
To shape for Y-bifurcation in tubing:
Increase 1 stitch at beginning and end of first needle, beginning of second needle and end of third needle. Knit one round. Continue increasing in this manner on alternate rows until you have 24 (50) stitches in total.
(Method is the same as working the toe increases in toe-up socks.)
For final two rows of knitting:
At the mid-point of stitches on needles #2 & 3 (last stitch on #2, first stitch on #3) YO K2tog to form a buttonhole, complete row in knitting and then knit one more row.
Work in K1 P1 ribbing until ribbing measures 0.75” (2 cm).
Bind off stitches from needles #2 and 3.
To shape tab:
Continuing in K1 P1 ribbing, work back and forth on needle #1, knitting final 2 stitches together on each row until you have 8 (11) stitches. Work another 1” (2.5 cm) in K1 P1 ribbing and then bind off.
Secure a button to the tab that will fit the buttonhole. Weave in ends.
© KCS, 2008
Increase 1 stitch at beginning and end of first needle, beginning of second needle and end of third needle. Knit one round. Continue increasing in this manner on alternate rows until you have 24 (50) stitches in total.
(Method is the same as working the toe increases in toe-up socks.)
For final two rows of knitting:
At the mid-point of stitches on needles #2 & 3 (last stitch on #2, first stitch on #3) YO K2tog to form a buttonhole, complete row in knitting and then knit one more row.
Work in K1 P1 ribbing until ribbing measures 0.75” (2 cm).
Bind off stitches from needles #2 and 3.
To shape tab:
Continuing in K1 P1 ribbing, work back and forth on needle #1, knitting final 2 stitches together on each row until you have 8 (11) stitches. Work another 1” (2.5 cm) in K1 P1 ribbing and then bind off.
Secure a button to the tab that will fit the buttonhole. Weave in ends.
© KCS, 2008
FOR PERSONAL USE AND GIFTS ONLY. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THESE COZIES FOR SALE OR PROFIT. I WILL REPORT EVERY COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.
Post Script:
My other teenaged daughter just discovered the fact that I have a blog. Which is cool, apparently. Then she saw that it is a *knitting* blog and was struck with a mixture of terror and disdain.
She says I have to delete it before her friends find out.
4 comments:
That would be my pre-teen daughter's take on it too. A blog would be bad enough, but a knitting blog?? Not pretty!
I should make my DH one of these. I don't wear mine that way, but he does and his is one of the amplified kind, even more expensive to repair. Plus he works in pediatrics, where colorful is good!
Thanks for the pattern...off to raid the stash of self-striping sock yarn for something soft and washable!
Thanks so much for posting this pattern. I have two teen daughters and they make their friends look at my blog just to see what I've been up to. As they could be featured on it at some point(this hasn't happened yet, mind you). Well I hope that one day your daughter will know how special what you do really is.
What a neat pattern! I sent it to my friend whose best friend is a doctor, and she's going to make it for her. :)
question- I have increased to 24 stitches total and now have no idea how many rows or inches to knit to the button hole?? Thanks
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