DIY Style: Knitted Bangles (2024)

Project excerpted from Stashbuster Knits: Tips, Tricks, and 21 Beautiful Projects for Using Your Favorite Leftover Yarn.

Whether worn individually or stacked together, these bracelets are a great use of scrap yarn. Check out the DIY tip on slide 11 to learn how to design your own.

Size 3 [3.25mm] knitting needles, or size needed to obtain gauge

1 cable needle

3 purchased bangle bracelets, two 1 1/4" [3cm] wide and
one 2 3/4 " [7cm] wide

Blunt-end yarn needle

The sample projects use Louet North America’s Gems Fine/Sportweight (2-fi ne/sportweight; 100% superwash merino wool; each approximately 3 1/2 oz/[100g] and 225 yd/[205.5m]): #47 Terra Cotta (A), #53 Caribou (B), #51 Pink Panther (C), and #30 Cream (D)

GAUGE
31 stitches and 32 rows = 4"/[10cm] in stranded stockinette stitch.

To save time, take time to check gauge.

Alternative Colorway 1
Louet North America’s Gems Fine/Sportweight: A = #45 Violet, B = #48 Aqua, C = #26 Crabapple, and D = #22 Black

Alternative Colorway 2
A = #39 Fern Green, B = #48 Aqua, C = #54 Teal, and D = #05 Goldilocks

NOTE: For the colorwork in the charts, use the stranded technique (slides 6-10).

Aztec Stitch Pattern (multiple of 4 stitches)

With A, cast on 16 stitches. Begin the Aztec Pattern, and work even until the piece measures approximately 10"/[25.5cm] from the beginning. Bind off, leaving a 36"/[91.5cm] tail.

Dots Stitch Pattern (over 16 stitches)

With B, cast on 16 stitches. Begin the Dots Pattern, and work even until the piece measures approximately 10"/[25.5cm] from the beginning. Bind off, leaving a 36"/[91.5cm] tail.

Cable Stitch Pattern (over 19 Stitches)

With A, cast on 19 stitches. Begin the Cable Pattern, and work even until the piece measures approximately 10"/[25.5cm] from the beginning. Bind off, leaving a 36"/[91.5cm] tail.

In this color knitting technique, 2 colors are worked across each row, and when a color is not in use, it is carried loosely across the wrong side of the fabric, creating horizontal fl oats. Knitters can choose among the following methods for holding the yarn.

Holding One Color in Each Hand: Here’s the mostefficient way to work stranded knitting: Hold oneyarn in each hand, wrapping them around yourfingers to control the tension the way you normally do. To work a stitch with the color fromthe right-hand yarn, insert the needle into the nextstitch knitwise or purlwise according to your pattern,wrap the right-hand yarn around the needle to makeeither a knit or purl stitch; to make a stitch with thecolor of the yarn you’re holding in your left hand, insertthe needle into the next stitch knitwise or purlwisedepending on your pattern, and wrap the left-hand yarnaround the needle to complete the stitch.

If you’renormally an American-style “thrower,” you can put bothyarns in your right hand and use the appropriate colorto knit or purl each stitch. Knitters have two possiblemethods to choose from.

Method 1: Loop both yarns around the right index finger. Use the bend of the top joint of your finger to keep the two yarns apart.

If you typically knit Continental-style, you can work with both yarns in your left hand. Again, knitters have two possible methods to choose from. With either method, the right-hand needle can easily “pick” the yarn called for in the color pattern.

Method 1: Place both color yarns over the left index finger. Use the bend of the top joint of your finger to keep the two yarns apart.

Darn in all remaining yarn tails. Sew the cast-on edge to the boundoff edge. Place the knitted fabric on top of the appropriate bangle, and sew the long side seam, enclosing the bangle inside the fabric. Fasten off and darn in the remaining yarn tail.

NOTE: It would be easy to create the two multicolored bangles using even smaller bits of yarn. For the Aztec Bangle, just add a new color each time the colors change (every four rows); for the Dots Bangle, use a different contrast color for the circular motifs, changing colors on Row 1 and on Row 4.

DIY: Switch It Up! It’s easy—and fun!—to design your own bangle covers. Simply knit a swatch in a stitch pattern you love, and count the number of stitches per inch. Then, carefully measure the distance around the side of your bracelet (all the way around so it will be lined as well as covered), and multiply this number by your stitch gauge, allowing for a little stretch. Add one selvedge stitch to each side for seaming, and happily cast on! You could even knit a bunch out of leftover yarn to coordinate with all your handmade sweaters. . . .