Inhaler Sock to the Rescue!

i’m an asthmatic. i was diagnosed when i was 5 years old, so for the past 20 years i’ve had to carry an albuterol rescue inhaler with me everywhere i go.

if you’re an asthmatic, you know how annoying this is and you also know that it’s even more annoying that when you need the stupid thing, 9 times out of 10, you find the cap that’s supposed to be on the mouthpiece not there but somewhere else in your bag. this leaves you in a situation, take your meds and inhale whatever crap got stuck on the inside of the inhaler or die from the attack.

it’s sooooooooo gross!!!!!!!! and i’ve dealt with this for years and let’s face it, i’m horrible when it comes to taking care of my inhaler. my asthma is so well maintained that i almost never use my inhaler, but it’s always with me just in case. this leads to me never washing the inhaler/mouthpiece, ending up with an expired inhaler at the worst time (like when on vacation and i forgot to pack my insurance card >.<, i did this while on my last trip to Florida), or ending up letting the prescription expire. i take the stupid thing for granted b/c i’ve been dependent on it for so long.

the scenario of finding a dirty, disgusting, inhaler with the cap on the other side of my bag has happened so many times that after i learned how to make socks, i was looking at my brand spanking new inhaler and thinking *hmmmm this looks like a tiny foot! it would be easy to make a sock for this out of scrap yarn!*

that and CVS sells neoprene inhaler cozies that cost $8, are ugly, and have this awkward belt clip… kinda dorky! not to mention, it’s really bulky.

so, yesterday, i was bored at home and had a giant bag of scarp yarn staring at me and no WIPs on hand. i found my favorite (and smallest) balls o’ scrap and knit something up really quick and it fit and worked perfectly!!!

granted, an inhaler sock is dorky… it’s still cooler than that neoprene thing that CVS sells

**PATTERN:**

about 1/16 of a ball of worsted weight wool yarn. i used some Patons Classic Wool Marino in Wedgewood and Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Squirrel Heather.
(i used two colors b/c i ran out of the Patons and the KP was the only other scrap i had that complimented the Patons)

needle size doesn’t really matter… i used US size 6 dpns, but whatever works for your yarn selection is fine too.

***Gauge does not matter… hell this pattern was invented while i was knitting a circular gauge swatch for it!***

just CO 30 sts on 3 dpns, work 1/2 inch of 1×1 rib then St st for another 2.5 inches.

heel flap:
place 15 sts on one needle and work the following for 10 rows
row 1: sl 1 *k to end of row
row 2: sl 1 *p to end of row

turn heel:
row1: k 7, ssk, k1 turn
row 2: p 5, p2tog, p1 turn
keep working until gap, dec, k/p 1, turn until all sts are worked (10 sts remain)

needle 1: k one more row then pick up 5 sts along edge (15 sts)
needle 2: k 15 sts
needle 3: pick up and knit 5 sts along edge and k first 5 of needle 1

gussett decreases
rnd 1:
needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog k1
needle 2: k
needle 3: k1, ssk, k to end

rnd 2: k all sts on all needles

repeat this until 30 sts remain

k for one more round

“toe” (it’s not really a toe)
needle 1: k to last 3 sts, k2tog k1
needle 2: k, ssk, k to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1
needle 2: k, ssk, k to end

rnd 2: k all sts on all needles

move sts to two needles, kitchener stitch closed.

voila! inhaler sock!

it’s supposed to be a loose fit around the mouthpiece so the sock can come off easily when having an asthma attack.

yup… i’m a dork b/c i did this… but hey! necessity is the mother of invention and dammit i had a need for this!