by Pamela Grossman

So my girlfriend Michelle said she needed a steering wheel cover to keep her hot little hands from getting too hot in the Georgia summer sun. Up here in Seattle, we only have about a week or two of intense heat requiring such a knitterly innovation, but what a fun challenge for us to come up with something functional and cute that demonstrates to passers-by our pride in all things knit.

Lately I've been knitting Clapotis and enjoying the thrill of dropping stitches on purpose. Wheelie provides you with that fun opportunity every six rows, creating a wavy stitch pattern reminiscent of the lava lamps of the sixties. Cascade Fixation creates a springy fabric that squooshes under your fingers as you grip the wheel and go on your way. Wheelie keeps your hands comfy and temperate as you announce to the world: yes knitting is everywhere, and what's so wrong with that?

Go ahead and knit up an extra length of it to loop around your visor -- a handy place to stash your Starbucks card. Now that's a Seattle innovation. (It's actually my favorite part!)

model: Eli photos: Pamela Grossman

MATERIALS

Cascade Fixation [98.3% cotton/1.7% elastic; 100yds/90m relaxed, 186yds/167m stretched per 50g skein]; color: 9349; 2 skeins

1 set US #7/3.5mm straight needles
1 set US #7/3.5mm double pointed needles for I-cord and visor pocket
Tapestry needle
Puff paint for an extra-grippy Wheelie (optional)
Crochet hook, about a G/4.5mm, for finishing the pocket. (Alternatively, you may sew with a yarn needle.)
Straight pins to steady the pocket while you attach the sides

24 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch (Remember, this yarn is elasticized and pulls tight once you've knit it.)

[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations can be found here]

Ssp tbl [Slip, slip, purl through back loops]:
Slip the next 2 sts knitwise, one at a time, to the right needle, then return them to the left needle. Insert right needle into back loops of both sts and purl them together.

Japanese Three-Needle Bind Off:
Using a third double pointed needle, [slip one st from front needle to third needle knitwise, slip one stitch from back needle to third needle purlwise, pass first st over second stitch] until all stitches have been worked, and the 24 back stitches have been slipped through the front stitches onto your right needle.

NOTES:

Measure the circumference of your steering wheel. The completed length of the finished product should be about 55 to 60% of your steering wheel circumference. So, my steering wheel was about 49 inches around, and I made my Wheelie 28.5 inches long. You must work to the end of pattern row 24, and yet keep that Wheelie nice and tight on your steering wheel. Keep these concerns in mind as you knit!

You will always be slipping the first stitch of each row for a neat chained selvage. On the knit side, slip knitwise with the yarn in back. On the purl side, slip purlwise with the yarn in front. The center drop stitch pattern repeats over 12 rows, while the outside 2 stitches increase by one each wrong side row up until row 12, then decrease back to two stitches by row 24.

Wheelie
Pin CO end to BO end and try the cover on your steering wheel. It must stretch firmly around your steering wheel so that it does not slip while you drive!

Block as desired, to get the points to lay flat. For an extra-grippy cover, you can apply fabric puff paint to the inside of your work.

Sew CO end to BO end. Weave in ends.

Knit, crochet or twist a cord as long around as your Wheelie, plus a little extra for a knot or bow. Lace the cord through the eyelets at the base of each triangle. Pull tight and secure the ends in a knot or bow.

If you don't want the extra decorative bow there, go ahead and cut it really short and tuck the ends inside.

Visor pocket
BO, leaving the last stitch on the needle. Pin the pocket front flat to the pocket back. I inserted the crochet hook into the final stitch and used single crochet along both edges to secure the pocket sides closed. You can simply sew the pocket together if crochet scares you. Weave in ends. Steam or block as desired, to get the points to lay flat.

Slip the completed pocket over your visor so it doesn't dump the contents when you flip it down! Show off your knitted accessories with flair.