beer cozy

Now that the hot, sweaty days of summer are upon us, it's time to share one of my favorite patterns with you: the beer cozy. I particularly like this project because you can get a bunch of them out of just a little scrap yarn, they make great gifts (real last-minute gifts), and it takes no longer to whip one up than one episode of MI-5. Just about any wool/acrylic/blend yarn will do, but I don't recommend cotton - beer condensation and sweaty palms don't do as well with cotton.

Sizes: One Size

Materials:

• Any worsted weight yarn in wool or acrylic (leftovers of Cascade 220, Lion Brand Wool Ease or Plymouth Encore worsted are all very appropriate).
• US size 7 or 8 double-pointed knitting needles
• one stitch marker
• Tapestry needle

Gauge: approx. 4 st/inch

Knitting the basic cozy:
CO 32 st. Divide evenly across 3 DPN's.
PM, join and knit in K2 P2 ribbing (in the round) for 6 rows.
Change to stockinette st and k 12 rows.
Change back to K2 P2 ribbing and k 6 more rows.
Bind off loosely in rib pattern.

Variations
This is the basic anatomy of a beer cozy. For variations, you can knit the whole thing in the ribbing, add stripes, get wild with cables or openwork, or add names or pictures to the stockinette portion of the cozy.

If you want to add graphics to the cozy, like 'his' or 'hers,' or your initials, I recommend knitting it flat and then sewing it closed - changing colors in the round (other than for simple stripes) is more trouble than I can handle.

I particularly like making sets of his & hers (or his & his, or hers & hers) beer cozies as housewarming gifts for my stylish lush friends. This is the little grid pattern I use for them.





Have fun with your cozies!

important notice: This is a free pattern and you are welcome to use it for all the non-commercial purposes you like. However, you may not reproduce this pattern to sell, and you may not sell what you make with it. You may donate what you make with it to charity, and you may use it for charity fundraisers only if 100% of the proceeds are donated to the charity (and by charity I don't mean your kid's college fund). Thanks for understanding!