Yoga mat slings can be expensive, but knitters with a bit of patience and a pair of circular needles can make their own for very little money. A yoga bag is just a long tube with a drawstring at one end and a strap to hang across the chest or shoulder. Making your own allows you to adjust the size to fit your favorite mat and adjust the strap to comfortably fit your body. Worsted-weight dishcloth cotton is inexpensive and works well for this project.
Step 1
Measure the length of your rolled-up yoga bag.
Step 2
Cast on 45 stitches using the method of your choice, leaving a long tail for sewing the end shut. Join to begin working in the round.
Step 3
Knit a tube in stockinette stitch, which means you knit every stitch, never purling. When you have a few inches done, slip the knitting over your bag to make sure it fits around. If it's too large, pinch the excess and count the number of stitches in the pinched section. Pull out the stitches and cast on again minus this number. If it's too tight, pull out the stitches and go up one needle size. Gauge does not have to be exact on this project as long as the tube fits around the mat.
Step 4
Work until your tube is 2 inches longer than your mat. Bind off all stitches. To bind off, knit two stitches and pass the first stitch over the second. Continue knitting each consecutive stitch and crossing the previous stitch over it until the tube is off the needles. Break the yarn and pull it through the last loop.
Step 5
Sew the cast-on edge closed using the left-over tail.
Step 6
Cast on five stitches, leaving a tail with which to sew the strap to the bag. Knit every row to create a garter-stitch strap.
Step 7
Bind off the strap when it reaches your desired length. Leave a tail for sewing the other end of the strap to the bag.
Step 8
Thread the darning needle with one of the yarn tails hanging from the strap. Sew it two inches below the open edge of your mat bag and tie off, with the knot and tail on the inside of the tube.
Step 9
Thread the darning needle with the yarn tail on the other end of the strap and sew it to the bottom edge of the bag. Tie off and leave the end inside the tube.
Step 10
Weave the nylon cord into your knitting to make a drawstring on the open end of the bag. Thread the darning needle with the cord and alternate sewing under and over every two to three rows of knitting. It doesn't have to be exact. Leave two long ends of cord in the center so you can tie your drawstring closed.
Tips and Warnings
- If you knit every stitch when knitting in the round, never turning your work, you will create stockinette stitch. If you knit every stitch working flat, turning your work at the end of each row, you will create garter stitch.
Things You'll Need
- 16-inch US 9 circular needles
- 300 yards worsted weight yarn
- 1 foot thin nylon cord
- Darning needle
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