I love baby projects. They are small and cute but then everything in miniature is cute. The best thing about baby projects for me personally is the fact that they are fast. I am someone who loves instant gratification and baby projects provide fast, almost instant gratification because their size dictates that they don't take long.
I am always trying to think of something unusual to make for baby gifts to friends (and, to be quite frank, something that might sell well from my Etsy shop). While I love baby hats, everyone makes them; the same goes for baby blankets as well. A knitted baby bottle cozy though, now that's much more unique. It's practical too.
Baby bottles can get a little slimy, what with little hands coated in mother's milk/formula, teething drool, and baby urp-up grabbing the bottle to 'help'. This can make that bottle not so easy to hang on to, especially during those 3AM feedings where mommy is half asleep herself. A nice bottle cozy made of worsted cotton yarn absorbs the moist sliminess and adds traction for mommy's hand. It may also help keep that warm bottle warm just a bit longer for those slow eaters and, I think, it looks pretty darn cute.
To be honest, this wasn't my original idea. I saw a crochet version in a book and thought it was a great idea so I sat down and came up with my own knitted design. It's very easy and, this is the part I like, it's very fast. I can whip a couple of these in an evening. This pattern is sized to fit the standard Gerber-style baby bottles, plastic or glass, with a 2-inch diameter (measured at the bottom, since they kind of taper at the top). You can vary the length as noted to fit the 8-ounce bottle or the shorter, 4-ounce bottle.
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Baby Bottle Cozy
You Will Need:
Pattern:
Cast On 224 stitches onto Circular needle. Use stitch marker to mark the end of the round.
Join being careful not to twist the stitches and work in the round as follows:
Next make an I-Cord drawstring tie as follows:
I am always trying to think of something unusual to make for baby gifts to friends (and, to be quite frank, something that might sell well from my Etsy shop). While I love baby hats, everyone makes them; the same goes for baby blankets as well. A knitted baby bottle cozy though, now that's much more unique. It's practical too.
Baby bottles can get a little slimy, what with little hands coated in mother's milk/formula, teething drool, and baby urp-up grabbing the bottle to 'help'. This can make that bottle not so easy to hang on to, especially during those 3AM feedings where mommy is half asleep herself. A nice bottle cozy made of worsted cotton yarn absorbs the moist sliminess and adds traction for mommy's hand. It may also help keep that warm bottle warm just a bit longer for those slow eaters and, I think, it looks pretty darn cute.
To be honest, this wasn't my original idea. I saw a crochet version in a book and thought it was a great idea so I sat down and came up with my own knitted design. It's very easy and, this is the part I like, it's very fast. I can whip a couple of these in an evening. This pattern is sized to fit the standard Gerber-style baby bottles, plastic or glass, with a 2-inch diameter (measured at the bottom, since they kind of taper at the top). You can vary the length as noted to fit the 8-ounce bottle or the shorter, 4-ounce bottle.
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Baby Bottle Cozy
You Will Need:
- Worsted weight cotton yarn
- 1 set of 4 double pointed needles, size US7
- 1 16" circular needle, size US7
- 1 stitch marker
- Yarn needle
Pattern:
Cast On 224 stitches onto Circular needle. Use stitch marker to mark the end of the round.
Join being careful not to twist the stitches and work in the round as follows:
- Round 1 - K2tog to end (112 stitches)
- Round 2 - K2tog to end (56 stitches)
- Round 3 - Switch to DPNS. K2tog to end (28 stitches)
- Round 4 - Knit
- Round 5 - *YO, K2tog, Repeat from * to end (the eyelet row)
- Round 6 - Knit (28 stitches)
- Round 7 - *K2, P2, repeat from * to end
- Next Round - K2tog to end (14 stitches)
- Next Round - Knit
- Next Round - K2tog to end (7 stitches)
Next make an I-Cord drawstring tie as follows:
- Using two DPNs, cast on 2 stitches.
- Knit the stitches but do NOT turn the work.
- Slide the stitches to the other end of the DPN. The yarn now comes from the last stitch.
- Bring the yarn around the back and and knit the stitches. Once again, do NOT turn the work. Simply repeat the process of sliding the piece to the other end of the DPN. You will be essentially working in small tight round using two DPNs.
- Continue until I-cord is 24-inches long.
- Periodically pull down gently on the cord as it forms to help the stitches fall in place and prevent kinking.
- Bind off then cut the yarn and pull it through the last stitch to secure it.
- Weave the ends by pulling them back up through the middle of the I cord using a yarn needle.
I was wondering if you have any suggestions for changing the pattern to a different diameter bottle. I am using Born Free glass bottles which have a 2.5 inch diameter at the base. I'm a newer knitter and not sure how to change the pattern to accommodate this.
ReplyDeleteGreat comment because there are lots of different diamter bottles out on the market!
ReplyDeleteI'll see if I can get pen to paper and figure it out for you sometime this weekend. Then I'll probably just amend this blog post to include my method for making this and similar alterations.