Pimp your bike (Free crochet pattern for a skirt guard included!) < with my hands

I am super happy owner of a new bike! I bought this Electra Loft on Saturday and immediately started thinking how to personalise it. This makes it much easier to spot my bike among all the other bikes and besides, the cute details just make me happy. If you want to do the same here are some ideas!

Skirt guard

I think the idea of the bike is to allow me to move freely without need to change clothes for it. However, I love skirts and that makes a skirt guard a pretty useful addition to my bike. However, I did not want to drill any holes to my new fenders, so I had to design something that wouldn’t need traditional hooks. I decided to crochet two skirt guard nets that would start from the wheel spoke and connect at the top of the fender.

I used some pattern paper to make some sort of guide so that I could estimate the size. The yarn that I chose was Sandnes Garn Mandarin Classic cotton that I used with a 3 mm crochet hook.

You can download the pattern here: Skirt Guard pattern pdf.

Just remember that all the bikes are different! This pattern fits my bike and you will probably have to modify the pattern to fit your bike!

I had to loosen the back wheel in order to slip the nets in place around the spoke. Then I sewed the nets together over the back fender from the outermost loops. I also tied the net in place from a few places to make sure that it stays away from the wheel and the bicycle chain.

I have yet to test the net in different kinds of conditions since I have only taken a few laps around the cobblestone road next to our house. However, if this net will not work in use, I will update this post!

The basket liner and a carrying handle

My bike has a nice front basket but the inside of the basket is quite rough. I thought it would be useful to line the basket with fabric to make it a bit softer.

I have saved piles of old hand crocheted lace from old pillowcases made by my late mother-in-law (or her mother). This was a perfect opportunity to give the beautiful lace a new life!

I made a pattern for the basket. In order to make it possible to drape the lining over the basket edge I made the top of the lining in two parts (to avoid the handle) and made it wide enough to go over the basket rim. I used unbleached Ikea cotton and lined it with floral polyester satin. I added the lace to finish up the liner.

The old pillowcases had had open ends with laces to hold the inner pillow in. I cut the laces loose and tied them to the ends of my lace trimmings to tie the liner in place around the basket handle.

Finally I used some leftover wadding from my winter jacket projects and by combining it with the floral satin I made a nice and soft carrying handle for the basket. This comes handy when I take the basket off and go grocery shopping.

Bicycle skirt garters

I stumbled upon this wonderful invention on Pinterest. For someone who likes to wear skirts while cycling, this is a brilliant trick that holds the skirt safely in place. With this there is no need to wear short leggings or use a safety pin to pin your skirt to your tights (What? Am I the only one who has done it?) I remembered that I had still some old baby mitten holders in storage that had just the clips I needed.

Making these garters doesn’t require much sewing skills! With the first one I just cut a piece of elastic that went comfortably around my thigh and sewed one side of the mitten holder on it:

As I still had the other end, I made a fancier one using underwear elastic and some lilac ribbon:

Now I can slip this over my knee and clip the hem of my skirt on it. Like this:

Enjoying the spring on the bicycle

With my new girly bike I can start waiting for the sunny spring days that are unfortunately alternated by small snow showers! Luckily the sun is strong enough to melt the snow away from the sidewalks in a few hours, so that I can take my bike for a ride.