How to crochet cute coffee sleeves!

Have you been wanting to crochet a coffee sleeve with a cute patch on the front, but don’t know where to start? I’m sharing all my tips from over 3 years of experience making and selling “coffee cozies.” When I first started, my cozies were rough. Bless you if you ever purchased any. But I’m proud to say I never asked for help and I figured out everything I’m about to share with you on my own.

In this post you’ll find the pattern for the cozy, where to buy the best quality felties and how to attach them, what I believe is the best yarn to use, and more. I hope you find these tips helpful and tag me if you make a cozy so I can see! 🙂

I also want to say if you plan to sell these, the word “koozie” is trademarked so you will need to call them something else so you don’t get in trouble. Hence where “cozy” came from.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Yarn

I have tried MANY acrylic yarns over the years for making cozies. In my opinion, the very best yarn for making cozies is Loops & Threads Impeccable Yarn from Michaels. It is stiff and durable, making it great for holding its shape and staying on a cup. Basically, you want something that’s not too soft or thin when it comes to make cozies.

You may be wondering why I use acrylic instead of cotton, especially for drinks that sweat. Cotton stretches out and then doesn’t go back to it’s original shape, so your cozies will continue to get bigger and bigger. Trust me, I’ve tried. 😉

Here are some other yarns I use for cozies and recommend:

• Big Twist Value and Big Twist Premium from Joann Fabrics
• I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby
• Vanna’s Choice from Lion Brand (I use the oatmeal color a lot in the fall)
• Brava Worsted from KnitPicks
• Red Heart Super Saver

Felties

I purchase all my felties from other small shops. I don’t have the money to invest, time, or space for an embroidery machine, but that means I have been able to support other makers by purchasing their felties!

I haven’t given away the information about where I get my felties until now. I spent a whole year or more buying from different shops until I finally found my favorites. It took a lot of trial and error (and money) to find the best quality, designs, and customer service. The first appliqués I tried were iron on patches from a website in China that took a month to come… LOL. Here are my recommended shops on Etsy. You can click their names for a link!

• Treasured Forever. Jill keeps her turnaround low (about 2-3 days) and has high quality felties. She also has so many cute and unique designs to choose from, and is always adding more, even daily. This is by far my FAVORITE feltie shop and where I got 99% of my felties!
• LynnGirl Designs. Lori has very high quality felties and unique designs. She is where I find all my pretty mouse heads. Turnaround is average so just make sure you give yourself time before holidays.
• RaggityBaggity. I have ordered from Leslie for years. She takes custom orders and has quick shipping and excellent customer service.
• Komfort by Kae Felties. Kae has unique and very high quality felties. Her word/phrase felties are super cute! Turnaround is a bit longer so make sure you order well in advance.
• One Stop Supply Shop. Brandy has super cute felties, especially holiday ones. I love her Christmas trees!

Some shops sell their felties pre-cut. If they have the option to save money and order uncut, though, I always choose that option!

Pattern

Now it’s time to make your cozy! To crochet the cozy, you’ll need:

• Worsted weight (4) acrylic yarn
• I/9 5.50mm crochet hook
• Tapestry needle
• Scissors

To start, ch (chain) 26. Being careful not to twist, join to the first ch with a slip stitch and pull tight. Then ch up 1.

Next, hdc (half double crochet) into the first ch and in each ch around. You should have 26 stitches. Do NOT join. Instead, hdc into the first stitch from the beginning of round 1. This will create a small gap you can close up when you weave in your ends.

Continue to hdc for 7 total rounds. Use a stitch marker if you need help keeping track of where the rows start. When you get to the end of round 7, you’ll see it’s at a slant, so hdc in the next 3 stitches. Then skip 1 stitch and slip stitch in the next.

To finish, slip stitch again in the very next stitch, cut the yarn and pull tight to close. Turn inside out and weave in both ends. I like to weave both ends up toward the center and tie a triple knot so you don’t risk them popping out! Cut the ends short and you’re done. Now it’s time to add a cute feltie!

Attaching the feltie

To turn your cozy into a cute, personalized accessory, you’ll need a feltie and hot glue. You will also need a small piece of cardboard or something to catch any mess.

First, slip the cardboard into the middle of the cozy so you don’t accidentally glue the middle together. Then trace a line of glue around the inside of the feltie. Make sure you leave a little space so it doesn’t squish out. Then firmly press it onto the front of the cozy for a few seconds.

You may be wondering if hot glue is really the most durable option, and it is! In the beginning I hand stitched each feltie onto the cozy. It was slow and hurt my fingers, and it was also hard to find the exact color of thread and hide my stitches. The felties never felt very secure and didn’t stretch around the cup as well either, so I started looking for other options. Once I started using hot glue, I wished I hadn’t wasted all that time sewing them on. I have tried to pull and cut a feltie off a cozy before and it was physically impossible. So rest assured your cozy is secure and durable!

What’s the point of cozies?

If you’ve never used a coffee cozy before, you may think they’re just a cute accessory. Of course, they are super cute and fun to show off your favorite colors, characters, shows, quotes, etc. But they’re actually quite essential! When you’re drinking a hot drink, they keep your hand protected, and cut down on paper sleeve waste because you can reuse your cozy over and over (I always keep one or two in my purse). What you may not know, though, is how amazing they are for cold drinks! Not only do they keep your hand dry, they also keep the surface they’re sitting on dry as well. I don’t know the science behind it (LOL) but when a cozy is on your ice drink, the bottom doesn’t sweat. Pretty amazing!

So, cheers my cozy friends! I can’t wait to see all the coffee sleeves you make! Please tag me on IG @kneedlesandlife if you make one so I can see!

XOXO, Kalley

Before you leave…

Looking for tips for how to ship your cozies? Click here for my shipping on a budget blog post!