SOCK MONKEY CUP COZY KNITTING PATTERN

Transcription

1 SOCK MONKEY CUP COZY KNITTING PATTERN This is an easy knitting pattern for a super-cute sock monkey coffee cup cozy, which makes the perfect present for teens, tweens, and adults alike. Yes, it s for kids too, as this cozy fits around a sippy cup, if you make the closure with longer loops and buttons to accommodate the cup s handle. 1

2 Knit it today and be ready for Christmas. Easy to make a couple of these monkeys. Everyone will love receiving this sock monkey gift! Yarn Needed You will need just little bits of yarn for this project. Most likely you can make this entirely from sock yarn from your stash. Look for any kind of grey/brown, white/off-white and red/pink yarn. Plus you ll need either a tiny bit of black yarn, or 2 small black buttons. Your cozy will look happier and more like Christmas the brighter the red and the whiter the white you ll choose. Substitutes for the classic color trio results may result in a contemporary version of the traditional sock monkey. The yarn I used to make this demo model comes from three different brands of thin acrylics sock yarn, of which the white is the thickest, then the red and then the grey. Needle / Hook Size I used just one size knitting needles for all three colors, which is US size 3, or European size 3.00 cm. Choose one to match your actual yarn. Size 3 is a typical size for sock yarn. If you go up one size needle you will a) finish your work faster, 2) must make adjustment to the stitch count, 3) have a more stretchy/holey type of work. You also need a crochet needle of the same size. To easily add lace loops and eyes, we will be doing a few crochet stitches also. Size 3: knitting needles Size 3: crochet hooks 2

3 Yarn Needed This project is ideal for using up left-over yarn. However, if you must buy yarn, it s ok to go for inexpensive yarn. Acrylic yarn is usually inexpensive, easily washable while retaining its shape and color. So, in case there are any coffee stains, this kind of yarn is ideal. Wool can shrink and stain removal is harder. Cotton is not as stretchy, although it is typically my favorite yarn to use. So, what do I recommend? Inexpensive acrylic yarn, like this one: Red Heart E Super Saver Economy Yarn, White or sock yarn, that s not wool. The first yarn is for sale at time of this writing for less than $2.skein and comes in all colors of the rainbow. This appears to be as thick as my white yarn. (Tip: If you will only use this thickness of yarn and if you knit a bit loosely, then you may go up a needle size, and adjust the stitch count) The sock yarn is the quality I have used for the body of the cozy. Gauge & Sizing: First up: this is a very forgiving pattern as the final knitted cozy will stretch as is needed to fit to just about anything. So, there s absolutely no stress in this project. Just a fun sock monkey to make. Now, let s get a perfectly fitting cozy for your cup. We have 3 variables to deal with: 1. drinking cup / coffee cup sizes vary significantly; 2. how loose you knit varies from person to person; and 3. the thickness of yarn selected varies from size to size and brand to brand. The cozy shown in the first picture above is 3.75 high (9.5 cm) and measures 8.5 (11 cm) wide, before adding the crochet edge of lacing loops, nor the lacing. If you want to use your cozy for all kinds of coffee cup sizes from small to large, I d make your coffee cup cozy exactly this size. 3

4 This size is just perfect for a Vente coffee cup. However, as you can tell from the picture, it also snugly fits a small size coffee cup. The secret is: the lacing at the back of the cozy, which is super stretchy. 4 is the height of a small coffee cup. I like that it covers the entire cup, but if you think that your cozy is too tall for a small cup, simply skip row 7-9, which will reduce the height as is desired, without changing the pattern. Coffee Cup Cozy Pattern Preparation: make a loop and cast on 46 stitches Bottom border: Row 1: * knit 2, purl 2. Repeat from * till end. Row 2-7: repeat row 1. Tip: now is a good time to check your measurements. Your cup should be up to 1 inch bigger than the cozy you re creating. The remaining 1 inch is for the lattice closure, which we will add at the end. If your work is substantially more than an inch smaller than the cup, I would redo your work till now, and add additional stitches prorated to how much too small it is. Reduce stitches if your work is way too big. Face: Row 8: knit this row. Row 9: purl this row. Row 10-19: Repeat rows 8 and 9 till your work is about 3 inches or 7.5 cm high. In the process of doing so, add 7 stitches at the beginning and end of your work. After the first stitch in each row, increase by 1 st. in row This adds up to an increase of 10 st, (56 st. in total), at the top the grey section of the cozy. (See instructions below how to increase stitches.) 4

5 Monkey Hat: The section that is in red/white stripes represents the monkey hat. In White: Row 20: Attach the white yarn onto the grey yarn and knit a row. In Red: Row 21: Attach the red yarn onto the white yarn, and purl row. In Red/White: Row 22-23: alternate every two stitches with the red and white yarn. Knit row 22, purl 23. Row 24: knit and cast off, stitch by stitch. Admire your work, and have a coffee/chamomile tea. Monkey Mouth: Note: We are knitting the mouth sidewise. Just for fun, and because I thought it would be easier and neater. Cast on 9 stitches. Use the white yarn for the first 4 st, red yarn for the center st, and white for the last 4 st. Row 1: knit 4 white, 1 red, 4 white Row 2: purl knit 4 white, 1 red, 4 white Row 3: knit 3 white, 3 red, 3 white Row 4: purl 3 white, 3 red, 3 white Row 5: knit 1, add a stitch, knit 2 in white, 3 red, 2 white, add a stitch, 1 white Row 6: purl 4 white, 3 red, 4 white Row 7: knit 4 white, 3 red, 4 white Row 8: purl 4 white, 3 red, 4 white Row 9: knit 4 white, 3 red, 4 white Row 10: purl 4 white,1 red, add a stitch, 1 red, add a stitch, 1 red, 4 white Row 11: knit 4 white, 5 red, 4 white Row 12: purl 4 white, 5 red, 4 white Row 13: knit 4 white, 5 red, 4 white Row 14: purl 4 white, 2 red together, 1 red, 2 red together, 4 white Row 15: as per row 9 Row 16: as per row 8 Row 17: as per row 7 5

6 Row 18: as per row 6 Row 19: reverse of row 5: : knit 2 tog, knit 2 in white, 3 red, 2 white, knit 2 tog white Row 20: as per row 4 Row 21: as per row 3 Row 22: as per row 2 Row 23: as per row 1 and cast off each st after you knit it. Tip 1 / optional: knitwear always curls a bit. If you want a tidy mouth edge, do as I did and crochet around the edge in sl. st. in white. Tip 2: If you want to have a wider open mouth that I have featured in the pictures, replace some of the white stitches around the red of the mouth with red yarn. Simple. Chimpanzees have big grins, so go for it! Make that mouth as red as you like. Sock Monkey Eyes: 2 Easy Options to Make Eyes: Hello 6

7 A. IF you have a crochet needle handy, then find a bit of black/very dark yarn, and crochet the following: Make a loop, ch 3, make 7 dc, close round with sl. st, and cast off. Weave in ends. Make 2. OR B. IF you don t have a crochet needle, don t know how to crochet, or don t have black/dark yarn laying around, then simply find 2 black buttons and sew them on as eyes. Note: The eyes in this picture are slightly larger than what I am telling you to do, which will be just perfect. Ears (optional): The easiest way to make half circles is to crochet them, and this is how: Make a magic loop. Row 1: ch 3, 8 dc in magic loop, ch 3, turn work. Pull magic loop. Row 2: 2 dc in next st, dc, repeat from * till end. and cast off. Use the ends to attach ears to monkey face. Because this is officially a knitting pattern, this is how I knit the ears: Cast on 8 Row 1: knit Row 2: purl, adding a stitch at the second st from the beginning and the end (10) Row 3-5: knit, purl, knit Row 6: purl 2 tog at the beginning and the end of row (8) Row 7: knit first 2 and last 2 st. tog (6) Row 8: purl first and last 2 st tog (4) Row 9: don t knit first st, knit second st, cast off, knit third st, cast off, don t knit 4 th st, cast off, cut off yarn and pull through final loop. Weave in end on top of ear along the ear edge, so as to firm it up and shape it even rounder. Make 2. Pompoms: To make a small pompom by twirling the yarn 20x around 2 fingers held together. Pull the thread thru the two fingers and secure the yarn in the middle. Take it off your fingers and make a knot. Cut the loops on both sides open, and you have a pompom. For a red/white pompom, take both a red and white thread and go around your two fingers 10x instead of 20. 7

8 If your pompom turns out too big, loop the yarn around your pinky and ring finger instead. If that s still too big, loop the yarn around a small piece of cardboard that s small enough to result in the right sized pompoms. So easy.make 2 pompoms of the same color scheme, and one pompom of a different color scheme. Tip: for fuller pompoms, use more than 20 loops around your fingers. For smaller, full pompoms, use the technique I set out on the website last year or so: How to Make Pompoms. This picture shows the laced back of the work. Making Ribbon Laced Coffee Cozy Closure Now is another good time to measure it to make sure that it is approximately the right size. If it is way too small, you can widen the lace section by substituting the sc with a dc. If it is way to big, you can substitute the lace section by joining the edges of the monkey head without the lace. How To Make the Loops for the Lace With a crochet needle, attach red yarn to the top of one of the sides of the your cozy. Ch 4, * skip 3 rows and make a sc, attach grey yarn to red yarn and continue in grey *ch 3, skip 3 rows and sc. Repeat from * till the bottom end of the side of your work. Cast off. Do the same at the other side. You probably end up having 6 loops on either side. You can also make all the loops in grey as I did in for this demo model. How To Make the Lace Take 2 strands of grey, white or red yarn of about 59 / 1.5 m and work them together: make a crochet loop and chain this entire length of yarn with your crochet needle. Pull the last inch of 8

9 yarn through your last ch to cast off. Lace this cord through the loops on the edges of the cozy as if lacing shoe laces. The lace should be just long enough. Once laced in, attach a pompom at both ends of the lace. Assemble Sock Monkey Coffee Cup Cozy Attach the mouth at width center. Leave a bit of collar at the bottom and enough space on the grey above it to place the eyes. If you want the mouth to be raised a bit, fill it with 2 tiny strips of an old sock or other washable fabric. Do not stretch the mouth while placing, but instead, let it raise a bit. Next, sew on the eyes symmetrically on the face, above the mouth. If you want they eyes to stand out, you can go around the eyes with a bit of white yarn, however, it will make it look more like a frog rather than a monkey, which has black eyes. Attach a pompom right above the center of the mouth, on the edge of your cozy. Now attach ears on either side of the face, about 3-4 st from the edge of the mouth. If you knitted your ears rather than crocheted them, then slightly fold the ears on the edge which is to be sewn on to the head. This will make the ears stand out more. How to Increase Stitches On a purl row: With your right-hand needle, take the yarn between the two stitches and put it onto your left needle. Then purl that stitch. On a knit row: Almost the same, but with a difference. With your right-hand needle, take the yarn between the two stitches and put this loop onto your left needle. Now knit a stitch IN THE BACK of this loop. Tip: if you knit this 9

10 st regularly as you did when purling, you ll end up with a large hole in your work. If you are doing it in the back of the loop, it will look magically perfect. Stitches Legend sl st. ch dc sc slip stitch chain double crochet single crochet tog st together stitch This project takes about 2-4 hours depending on knitting/crocheting experience & speed. Now go make a couple of these monkeys! They are sure to put on a smile on your face, and on everyone else s! It has been so much fun working on this project and literally everyone who has seen them has made favorable comments about them. Also those folks who are not so much into the cuteness of things! I hope that these instructions are clear. If you have any questions or like any clarification, just Rose at contact@finecraftguild.com. This is my very first knitting pattern, so I am sure that there are better ways to describe what I mean, and I have not yet found those ways. Your feedback is welcome and future knitters will be grateful for your comments. For more knitting, crochet, sewing and other patterns, visit or the blog at 10