Knitting Patterns for Can and Bottle Coozies

Last month when I shared a collection of picnic blanket knitting patterns, I said that I would spend the summer sharing some other patterns that might be useful for summer picnics, campouts and other adventures. In that spirit I wanted to share some fun can and bottle coozie knitting patterns, which it looks like I may have never before done a full roundup of, so that’s kind of fun.

First, let’s cover our cans.

Robin Loving Life has a super simple pattern called Cozies for Everyone that is a perfect basic pattern that you can add stripes or other embellishments to as you like. It calls for worsted weight yarn but if you’ve got a can handy to make sure it fits, you can do this same method with any weight of yarn you have handy.

The Generic Double Knit Can Cozy from Supergraphique is another good basic one that you can fancy up however you like. As the name notes, it’s worked in double knitting for extra insulation (this one uses fingering weight yarn) and the pattern includes charts for the words cola and beer.

Make a stripy cozy to go with your favorite sports team’s colors with this design from Etsy seller Eros Gifts, which has instructions for 12, 14 and 16 ounce cans and uses worsted weight yarn. Or you can elevate your drinks with these striped, fingering weight ribbed can cozies, which feature a pretty I-cord edge that should hug your cans nicely. This pattern is from Love in Stitches KN. (They also have a coordinating bottle cozy if you want to make a set.)

If you’ve never felted before, can cozies are a great place to start. This free pattern from Palmeri Knits is a great way to use wool scraps and calls for worsted weight yarn.

Prefer to drink from a bottle? I think I’ve shared this scrap busting bottle cozy from Lucky Fox Knits before, but it’s worth another look because it’s so colorful and fun (and also pretty easy to knit). This may be the perfect use for all your sock yarn leftovers if you don’t want to knit socks with them.

Liat Knits has a fun pattern for a cabled bottle cozy, or check out Jeanette Mirken’s Seeing Double (a free pattern on Ravelry), which has a cute little button closure at the top.

September Hill Farm has a few cute bottle coozie knitting patterns on Ravelry, but the houndstooth one is my favorite. It’s worked in worsted weight yarn from the bottom up and would be a great first houndstooth knitting project.

Generally I like knitting patterns where I feel like you can use whatever yarn you have (because my stash is big enough and I want to use it, thanks) and make a successful project. This is one of those times when a special yarn makes the process that much easier.

The Floral Bouquet Shawl from Xandy Peters uses a specific extended color pooling yarn from Feisty Fibers, which allows you to place the bobble flowers with increasing frequency as you knit the project.

It starts with a solid color yarn, then the two color yarn is added in, and you make a bobble whenever you encounter the color pops. This would be hard to replicate with other yarn that doesn’t have the extended color pooling built in.

The background of the shawl is ribbed, making the project reversible.

The shawl uses fingering/sock yarn and comes out to be an asymmetrical triangle that’s 54 inches/137 cm long and 36 inches/ 90 cm deep and 60 inches/150 cm across the top edge.

Xandy says the pattern is for intermediate to advanced knitters. Knowing how to work traditional bobbles would probably help, but there’s a great video tutorial for how to work the floral bobbles so you can practice on other yarn or even incorporate the bobbles into other projects.

The bobbles are five-petaled flowers but they also kind of look like starfish to me, which could be fun on a child’s cardigan or other pattern. They’d also be fun on the leg of a sock or around the brim of a hat for extra whimsy.

The pattern includes photo and video tutorials, and written and charted instructions. It also includes tips on what to look for if you choose to use different yarn for the project, and instructions on how to dye your own yarn to use in the project.

If you want to give it a try, you can find the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Xandy Peters]

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