With knitting, of course!
Every time I go to my yoga class, I think there must be some way to add knitting to yoga. Because some beautiful knitting always makes any wonderful thing even better. As I carry in my yoga mat, I have also been studying everyone else’s yoga bags and straps. While I could just run out and buy one there seemed to be no joy in that. Finally I came up with the idea of the Yoga Cardigan. (It may have been during final relaxation. I know I am supposed to be clearing my mind. Don’t judge.)
To make the Yoga Cardigan, you knit a oval which wraps around your mat. The handles are made of simple i-cord. This threads over the mat to secure the mat while also serving as the handles with which to carry your mat. The oval is closed with a button.
The cardigan is finished with an i-cord edging. This edging is used to make the button hole. If you have never done an i-cord edging before, I have included a video tutorial to help you out.
Pay no attention to the click-clack in the background. That is my kitty pacing impatiently around my kitchen floor waiting for his morning cat food. It is the only exercise that he gets most days so the vet approves.
If you have never done i-cord before or if it has been a little while, I have also included a brief video on working i-cord. I-cord is short for idiot-cord, so don’t overthink it!
When making a yoga cardigan for your yoga mat, roll your mat up and measure the 
circumference. My mat was around 12 inches around. The cardigan also fit my daughter’s mat with a 15 inch circumference but it was not ideal. If I made a yoga cardigan for her, I would probably add a couple more rows to the oval section. I would say that this pattern will fit a 10 to 14 inch mat pretty well.
And finally, if you are going to make this mat case I would recommend a fun yarn. I love the look of self-patterning yarn in circular knitting. I can not wait to see what other people choose!
Loophaven Loft 