Warm and Cozy, Snuggly and Toasty!
Throughout the month of December, I was seeing encouraging posts full of “last minute” gift ideas. Hah! I don’t consider gift ideas last minute till I hear reindeer hooves stamping on the roof! And in my usual holiday tradition, I came up with this idea on Christmas Eve. I had been glancing through one of my knitting books, Linda Guy’s And So To Bed..., and came across her beautiful hand knitted hot water bottle cozy. It reminded me that I wanted to make some of these for the kids years ago but never got around to it.
Inspiration struck. Obviously I had no time to pick up my knitting needles, but I did have some old wool sweaters in my sewing stash… I grabbed my keys and ran off to Walgreens around the corner to buy a couple of classic pink rubber water bottles, then back to my sewing nook to rummage through my stuff. Less than two hours later and, whalaa! Two more presents under the tree.
The sweaters belonged to my husband, so there’s a little additional connection there for my kids. I was able to use just the sleeves on both sweaters, using the ribbed cuffs for the top edge. The ribbing allowed plenty of stretch to get the empty water bottle nestled inside. The appliques came from scraps of felt I had. The moon design for my daughter came from the book. My son, now 21, has never outgrown Superman, so a quick Google search for the Superman logo yielded something I could copy for his present. I love it when a (last minute) plan comes together!
Sorry I don’t have better photos of the finished cozies, but I was too tired to take photos right after I made them, and the next day, right after we unwrapped our gifts, I only had a quick minute to snap a few shots before my kids both grabbed their cozies, filled them with hot water, and sauntered off to their rooms for a ceremonial nap. Teenagers: never too awake to sleep.
If you’d like to pull together one (or a few) of these quick cozies for yourself, feel free to download a very rudimentary pattern here or below. Hopefully, you can use a ribbing cuff or hem for the top edge, then that edge is finished for you. Use a 3/8″ seam on the other edges – a serged edge would be great, but a zig zag edge will do to cover the edges. If you have the time, first put the sweater through a hot water wash and a hot dryer to full (felt) it. Then the edges won’t ravel and it’s wonderfully cozy to cuddle with. I’ve made a habit of doing this before I add the sweater to my up-cycle stash. That way I’m ready for any last minute inspiration!
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