Knitting

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Knit Yourself a Can Cozy

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It’s great when you can knit things you will use all the time, and one summertime essential that can easily be knit is a can cozy. These little sleeves keep condensation off your hands when your beverage gets sweaty, adn they can show off your love for fiber in a cool way.

If you like felting or you’ve wanted to try that technique, you can try the Felted Beverage Can Cozy from Recipes for Felting or Just Cozy from Nancy at Measured Threads. And before you think there’s no way you want to use wool on something in summer, it’s actually insulating and can help keep your drink cool.

I like the simple Can Cozy from Yarn Gear (another Arkansas knitter!) mostly because it’s cute and I recently used that exact color of yarn on a project for the girl. The Rainbow Knit Can Cozy from Taffy lass Knits is even easier, just Garter Stitch worked flat and seamed, but without a bottom on the project there is a possibility your can will slip out.

The Knit Can Cozies from Red Heart let you show off your team spirit, while TenClay has a couple of designs from a guy’s perspective.

The pattern from HoleyHoot Designs is a little fancier, with a bit of Feather and Fan on the body, while Tin Can Knits has a cute cabled cozy made especially for coffee but I’m sure it would work with other beverages as well.

I Do Not Drink…Wine from Wild Talents Designs wins the invisible prize of being the cozy pattern with the most fun name; her idea was to make cozies to serve the same purpose as wine glass cozies, but she doesn’t drink wine. Don’t Sweat it by Pam Stiff is another one with a great name.

And possibly the classiest, because it’s made with Malabrigo Sock (though you could use whatever you have) is the Garter Coaster Beer Cozy by Jessica Landers. And while I don’t want to call anything not classy, the Generic Double-Knit Beer Cozy from Clover Linné may be as close as we get, with the word beer knit into the cozy.

Do you have a favorite can cozy pattern? We’d all love to see it.

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Coffee Cozy Knitting Patterns

During the summer (which is what it is where I am writing from) I like to share patterns for things that you can knit and use even when it’s warm out. And sometimes they are things you can use when it’s cold, too, like this collection of coffee cup cozies. Because hot coffee is a must almost any time of year. 

This simple pattern form Darling Jadore is a great one for beginners and could be a good first knitting in the round project. It uses worsted weight yarn and includes video tutorials if you need extra help. 

If you want a perfectly plain cozy that you can jazz up with your own designs, check out the Base Doodle Cup Cozy from Jamie Lomax. This free pattern on Ravelry comes in two sizes (short and long) and is meant to be used with her doodle charts to make it your own. You could also keep it plain, add stripes or design your own motifs to stitch on it. 

Most coffee cozy patterns that I see are just sleeves meant to go over travel mugs, but what if your mug has a handle? This pattern from Stacey’s Knit Wits has an I-cord loop and button so you can use it on a mug with a handle or a travel cup. It uses DK weight yarn.

Coffee cozies are a fun way to play with stitch patterns and learn new techniques. If you’ve never knit cables before, this cozy from Purple Wool Co. would be a great first cable project, as it features simple braided cables all the way around. It uses worsted weight yarn and is worked in the round. 

Try double knitting to make an extra-insulating coffee cozy with this pattern from Tracy Leming. It includes little color changes so you can get the concept of how double knitting works on a small scale. It also can include a little pocket for a tea bag if you want. This one uses worsted weight yarn and is a free pattern on Ravelry.

Or try stranded knitting with the Love in the Air cozy from Danielle Thuen. It features hearts of different sizes and is worked in sock yarn. You’ll need to make sure those floats are nice and loose so it will stretch to hug your cup. You can find this pattern on Ravelry. 

They’re also a fun way to add a bit of flair to an otherwise plain cup. KnitnKaboodle Designs has this lovely leaf-shaped cozy pattern, which you could use for hot or cold beverages by changing up the fiber you choose (that’s pretty much always true). It is made in pieces that are stitched together and can be worked in a single color or choose different colors for each leaf.