Pattern: Fancy Bottle Cozy

The other day I was in need of a super quick knitting project that I could just knit on the fly. I've been dying to make a beer cozy for several years now, so this just seemed like the right time for it! I wasn't thrilled with any of the patterns I'd seen-- not because they are bad or ugly, they just weren't "ME". What resulted is me just improvising a pattern as I went along.

Turned out to be pretty easy to remember, so now I'm sharing the pattern with anyone who might be interested. I created it to fit a typical beer bottle, but the pattern could be easily modified to fit other bottles or cans, depending on your needs (but I think it's the decreasing neck section that makes it soooo sexy!)

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PATTERN:

Long tail cast on 9 stitches. Join to work in the round, place marker.

BOTTOM:
Row 1 - Knit to marker
Row 2 - (k1, yo)* repeat to marker
Row 3 - Knit to marker [18 stitches]
Row 4 - Repeat Row 2
Row 5 - Knit to marker [36 stitches]

BASE SET-UP:
Row 6 - Purl to marker
Row 7 - Purl to marker
Row (8-12) -Knit to marker

LACE SECTION (Chart below):
Row 9 - (place marker [except first repeat], k, yo, k4, sk2p, k4,yo)* 3 times
Row 10 and all even rows - (p, k to marker)* 3 times

~* YOU SHOULD NOW HAVE 3 MARKERS AND 36 STITCHES *~

Row 11 - (p, k, yo, k3, sk2p, k3, yo, k)* 3 times
Row 13 - (p, k2, yo, k2, sk2p, k2, yo, k2)* 3 times
Row 15 - (p, k3, yo, k, sk2p, k, yo, k3)* 3 times
Row 17 - (p, k4, yo, sk2p, yo, k4)* 3 times
Row 19 - (k, yo, k4, sk2p, k4, yo)* 3 times

WORK ROWS (11-20) 2 times

NECK SECTION:
Row 21 - (p, ssk, k7, k2tog)* 3 times [30 stitches]
Row 22 - (p, k to marker)* 3 times
Row 23 - (p, k, p, k, sk2p, k, p, k)* 3 times [24 stitches]
Row 24 - (p, k to marker)* 3 times
Row 25 - (p, k, p, sk2p, p, k, remove marker[except end of row])* 3 times [18 stitches]

Rows (26-end) p1, k1 rib around to desired length. I did 7 rows ribbing before bind off.

Bind off using whatever S-T-R-E-T-C-H-Y bind off method you like best. I followed this tutorial by SlipSlipKnit.com (excellent for use with ribbing.)

~*IMPORTANT TO NOTE!!!*~

I looped my yarn through the first stitch of the bind-off and tied it off before trying the cozy on my bottle--big time rookie mistake! The opening was too tight!!! Luckily I was able to unknot my yarn and redo the finishing. I instead looped my end through the first purl stitch on the row below before tying off, and now the cozy just squeezes on. Next time, I will bind off a little looser.

A couple more photos can be found on my Ravelry Project Page if you'd like to see more details. I'd love to see what you do with this super-quick and fun pattern!

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