Finally, you can cycle in a maxi dress! We’re excited to announce another fresh crochet pattern is out today: the bicycle skirt guard on Ravelry, Etsy, and Craftsy. A perfect crochet project for spring or summer, or just a pretty way to yarn bomb your bike with crochet and still cycle chic. Don’t crochet? Gift the pattern to your favorite crocheter with a box of cupcakes and your biggest smile. Grandma will love making something you really want for a change!
Cycle in style
We just read this wanderlusty post over on the PUBLIC Bikes blog. It observed that–unlike in America–Italian cyclists tend to be women. What’s more, they’re often well-dressed older women. Something we all can aspire to! Our needle artist grandmother rode her bike in a skirt well into her seventies, slathering Lubriderm on her legs every day with that in mind. Not long ago, many bikes accommodated women’s fashion with metal guards like these. Probably casual dress made them obsolete.
Cycle in comfort
Fashionable cyclists like Melissa at Bike Pretty, theme rides like Tweed Rides, and Slow Bike Movements want us all to think of our bikes as places for fun. What if you thought of your bike as a tiny vacation? We think it’s important to address comfort, style, and fun on bikes. Some days comfort and style truly cause us to reach for the keys instead of the helmet.
Maxi dresses rule
Spring and summer are made for sun dresses. But if you sit around stitching like us, you might not love flashing knee. All hail the maxi dress! But there are two problems with wearing a maxi dress on a bike: it catches in the wheels without a skirt guard and rides up in the wind without a skirt weight. This crochet pattern solves the first, and will leave you with an extra clip or two to make a solution for the second. We say let’s bring skirt cycling back for good!
Options
You get both the 1/4- and 1/3-wheel size instructions in this crochet pattern. You’ll use size 3 crochet thread, which comes in a variety of fresh colors and fibers, and a 2.75 mm hook. Installation is a breeze: snap them on the fender with a handful of micro binder clips, and easily snap off again to wash or swap for another color.
Don’t fear the lace!
This pattern is a great starter project if you’ve never crocheted lace before. It’s written in normal crochet terms, just as in row-by-row instructions for a ripple stitch or a granny square. It works up fast because you’ll use a larger hook than usual for lace. While it’s an intermediate crochet pattern, we wrote it with extra clarity with beginners in mind. Required skills include chain, skip, slip, and single through triple crochet. Plus, the Knits for Life group on Ravelry has an active discussion thread for this pattern where we’ll answer any question in a day or two.
Get hooking!
Each size hooks up in just a few hours. You’ll be able to make one to match every maxi dress in your closet!
Get the pattern on Ravelry, Etsy, or Craftsy. Don’t miss new pattern announcements and coupons: our occasional newsletter brings them straight to your inbox.
Happy cycling!
xxxo,
KNITS FOR LIFE 
Too cool! Love it!
Reblogged this on Shop-o-holic Anon.
I absolutely love this! However, my bike doesn’t have any fenders….bummer! 😦
I was Googling for something like this, and this is perfect! BTW, didn’t I spend about two hours talking to you and Curt at Maria Elena’s party in May? Small world!
Laura, yes! How cool to find you again through other degrees of separation. Let me know if you want to make your own or buy one. Email me at knitsforlife at gmail dot com.