Free Pattern and Tutorial: Coffee Cozy

Coffee Cozy: the best project for beginners.

Favorite or Queue on Ravelry here.

Concise, written pattern located at the end of this post.

I teach crochet classes, and I believe that the very best first-time crochet project is a coffee cozy. It is small, quick, and tubular. Tubular crochet is excellent for beginners because it provides repetitive practice of one stitch, thus allowing mastery of that one stitch.

We have our coffee cozy for sale in our Etsy shop, but we wanted to give you step-by-step instructions on how to learn to crochet by making a coffee cozy. Of course, these skills can be applied to any of our tubular crochet patterns, and the coffee cozy size can be adjusted to become a wristband, a headband, or whatever your creative mind wishes it to be!

So here we are: welcome to our little online class.

Here’s what you’ll need –

Materials: Hook size (I-9) 5.5 mm, medium worsted weight cotton yarn

We will start with the most basic crochet skills and go from there. If you don’t need a specific instruction, just keep scrolling until you find pertinent information.

Let’s begin!

Step one: Hook hold and cast on.

There are two ways to hold a hook: pencil and knife. Pencil: hold the hook as you would a pencil. Knife: hold the hook as you would a knife. Pretty self-explanatory, right? I crochet with the knife hold. If you use this method, don’t pretend you are going to cut carrots. Either way you choose to hold the hook, hold it as gently as possible. Feel how it rolls in your hand and between your fingers. Think of it as an extension of your body.

Casting on and chaining are the very basic beginnings of any crochet project: whether simple or complex. To understand crochet, you have to learn to chain because every stitch has this basic skill at its root. And in order to begin your chain, you have to cast on first. Casting on is a slip knot, and learning it is a one time skill. You can cast on by making a slip knot with your fingers then tightening it on your hook. An alternative method (and the one I use most often) is to cast on with your hook. This is the method I will explain in more detail below:

Click on any picture to get a closer view.

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Casting on:

1. Pull out a length of yarn and put the skein on the table between you and the hand holding the hook. Lay a length over the hook as shown in the picture above. The short length is called the tail. The length between you and the hook we will refer to as ‘yarn’. Place your forefinger on top of the yarn to secure (as shown above). — 1. Pull out a length of yarn and put the skein on the table between you and the hand holding the hook. Lay a length over the hook as shown in the picture above. The short length is called the “tail.” The length between you and the hook we will refer to as “yarn.” Place your forefinger on top of the yarn to secure (as shown above).

2. Using your free hand, move the tail under the hook and cross over yarn. I pinch the tail and hold the yarn with my other fingers. Do what is comfortable for you.

3. Point the hook down between the tail and yarn. Lift hook under the yarn so it’s on the hook as shown in picture above. You have two loops on your hook. — 3. Point the hook down between the tail and yarn. Lift hook under the yarn so it’s on the hook as shown in the picture above. You have two loops on your hook.

4. Next, grab the loop on the left with the hook and draw it through the loop on the right.

Note: I am pinching the loop on the right as I draw through the loop on the left. Daintily show the loop who’s the boss! Casting on is a slip knot – you can do it with your hands or your hook as shown. There isn’t a wrong way to make a slip knot as long as it slips!

Position your fingers in a way that is comfortable and lets you do what you want with the yarn and hook. Don’t be concerned about form or doing it the right way. You need to get used to the yarn and hook in your hand and really make it an extension of your body!

5. Pull on the yarn to tighten the loop on the hook- but not too tight. Notice how you can tighten by pulling the yarn and loosen by holding the tail and pulling up on the loop. It’s basically a slip knot! Take your hook out and pull on the tail and the yarn until the loop disappears - there shouldn’t be a knot. Try this process again (or your favorite way of casting on) and we will move on to chaining. — 5. Pull on the yarn to tighten the loop on the hook – but not too tight. Notice how you can tighten by pulling the yarn and loosen by holding the tail and pulling up on the loop. It’s basically a slip knot! Take your hook out and pull on the tail and the yarn until the loop disappears – there shouldn’t be a knot. Try this process again (or your favorite way of casting on) and we will move on to chaining.

Step Two: Chaining

1. Begin by casting on. You have one loop on your hook (as shown above). Place finger on loop to hold. Wrap yarn over hook (Abbrev. yoh or YO) from back to front. (Or said another way: move yarn away from you, up, then toward you over the hook.) — 1. Begin by casting on. You have one loop on your hook (as shown above). Place finger on loop to hold.

2. You now have two loops on your hook. — 2. Wrap yarn over hook (abbreviated: yoh or YO) from back to front. (Or said another way: move yarn away from you, up, then toward you over the hook.) You now have two loops on your hook.

3. Draw the loop on the left through the loop on the right. It is the same movement you practiced while casting on.

Note: When counting chains, never count the loop on your hook. Only count the ones hanging down. In this picture, there is only one chain made.

Chains are made in two steps: yarn over hook (yoh), then draw yoh through loop.

Practice making chains until you are comfortable with the process. Once you feel comfortable making chains and casting on, let’s get to the fun part – creating your coffee cozy. I know, your brain feels full right now, but you just have one stitch and a few techniques to learn!

Step three: Chain (ch) 25 (or number of chains to fit your cup)

chaining-05 — First, chain 25 and measure your chain around the cup you are using. Your gauge (how loose or tight you crochet) will determine how many chains you need.

Step four: Connect your chain with a slip stitch (sl st)

First, make sure the right side of the chain is facing you. When held horizontally, the chain should look like sideways “V’s”. — First, make sure the right side of the chain is facing you. When held horizontally, the chain should look like sideways V’s.

The other side, or the wrong side, of the chain has a ridge along the middle.

1. After making sure your chain is straight, insert hook into the first chain made.

2. Hook inserted into first chain made. Two loops on hook.

4. Pull the yoh through both loops on hook.

5. One loop on hook. Your chain is now connected!

Step five: Single crochet (sc) in chain (ch)

Note: A chain has three different loops. We will be working in the top loop that is the loosest and most easy to work under. Once stitches are worked in the chain, the other two loops appear to be twisted together at the bottom of the chain.

Click on the picture above to get a closer look. Or, better yet, observe your own chain and notice the way it loops. The front of the chain looks like a series of sideways V’s. The back has a ridge. The top loop of the sideways V is where we work one stitch before we move to the next top loop and work another stitch.

Observe where you pulled up the last loop when you connected your chain. As you can see in the picture above, you will insert your hook in the chain loop right beneath the loop you just pulled through. Turn the chain so it is horizontal and the sideways V’s are facing you.

Single Crochet Step by Step:

1. Insert hook into one chain space as pictured above. — 1. Insert hook into one chain loop as pictured above.

6. Draw the yoh through the other two loops on your hook.

7. One loop remains. One single crochet completed.

To create the next single crochet, repeat steps 1-7 in the next chain.

Row 1 is complete once a sc is worked in each chain around the circle.

Step six: single crochet (sc) in first sc made

Note: In crochet, the top of each stitch has two loops that look like a V. Unless otherwise directed, always work under both loops of stitches in previous row.

1. Insert hook into first single crochet made in first row. Repeat steps 1-7 from the tutorial above.

Step seven: sc in each sc

Single crochet steps:

1. Insert hook under both loops of next stitch.

2. Yarn over hook (yoh).

3. Draw yoh through stitch.

4. Yoh.

5. Draw yoh through both loops on hook.

6. One loop remains; one sc complete.

Note: From this point on (until we finish off) you will continue to work a single crochet (sc) in each stitch and around each row.

If you need a picture tutorial for these steps, repeat the instructions for step five: single crochet in chain.

When your cozy reaches 9 rows of sc (or as the pattern is written: 2.5 X 4″) move onto step eight.

Use the tail left from your cast on to help keep track of rows – each time you come around to it means you finished a row.

Step eight: Finish with a slip stitch row.

Slip Stitch (sl st) Step by Step:

1. Insert hook into next stitch and yoh.

3. You have two loops on your hook. Pull the loop on the left through the loop on the right (Left handed: pull the loop on the right through the loop on the left). — 3. You have two loops on your hook. Pull the loop on the left through the loop on the right. (Left handed: pull the loop on the right through the loop on the left.)

4. One loop remains on hook and one slip stitch (sl st) completed.

Work a slip stitch in each stitch around the row following steps 1 – 4.

Step nine: Finish off and tie

If you want to read all about why I tie the loose ends of yarn instead of weaving them, you can visit the Finish off and tie tutorial. But if you are ready to finish your cozy, continue scrolling. You are almost done!

Finish off:

1. After completing your last stitch, cut yarn. Normally you want to have 10″ of yarn. For this cozy I just needed about 4″.

2. Yarn is cut... get ready to pull up on your hook. — 2. Yarn is cut… get ready to pull up on your hook.

3. With your hook in the last loop, pull the hook upward so the yarn slips through as shown.

4. Insert hook into the last stitch from back to front. (The right side of the work is facing you)

5. Working this direction, you are kind of yuh (yarn under hook) instead of yoh (yarn over hook).

6. Pull the tail of yarn through the stitch.

Tie:

2. Insert hook into a few stitch loops between the tail and the center of project.

3. Draw yarn through loops. Do the same with the tail of yarn on the other side (tail created while casting on).

5. Tighten without making your project warp.

7. Cut yarn near the knot. — 6. Cut yarn near the knot.

Turn your project from inside-out to inside-in, slip it on your coffee cup, and you are ready to keep your drinks warm in style!

Cozy pattern and details located at the end of post.

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Introducing our Coffee Shop Cozy and Applique Pattern: