Free Tutorial: Floral French Press Cozy

My sweet sister asked me to make her a cozy for her french press. Of course, I immediately agreed! A quick search did not yield many patterns, and I'm sure that's because the french presses come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I knew I was on my own, so I decided to have some fun.

My sister didn't ask for anything fancy, but, well, you all KNOW how I LOVE embellishing things. I drew up a ton of ideas but ultimately decided to brighten up her coffee with flowers - lots and lots of flowers. Plus, I knew my little nieces would like them too.

In the tutorial below, I'll walk you through determining how to size your piece, and then we'll make the base. The base is great as is and you can immediately begin using it. Then we'll talk about embellishing. Specifically we'll make a five-petal flower and add it to our base.

This is a quick project. The base only takes about 1-2 hours. The embellishing will vary depending on how many you add.

​Enjoy!

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Making the Base Cozy

Materials

• Size H hook
• Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Kelly Green, or other similar yarn. I used  35 grams.
• 3-6 buttons depending on the height of your piece. I used 3/4 inch buttons.
• Embroidery Needle
• Sewing Needle and Thread
• Measuring Tape

Take Measurements

1. Take a good look at your french press and make some decisions. Do you want the cozy to fit inside the handle or wrap around the outside? How close to the top and bottom do you want it to be? 
2. Once you have a plan, take your measurements. Measure around the carafe at the widest point. Subtract one inch.  Measure your height. In my case my measurements were 13 inches around and 5 inches tall. I subtracted one inch for the width, so my target is a piece that is 12" x 5". TIP: If you want to add a border, subtract an inch from your height measurement too.

Crochet the Base

1. Chain as many as needed to get the proper width. In my case I chained 41. HDC in second chain from hook and across (40 stitches). 
2. Chain 1, Turn. HDC across (40 stitches).
3. Repeat Row 2 until the desired height is reached. In my case I added 13 more rows.

​Crochet Side One

1. DO NOT TURN. We will now start working down one short end of your piece. Chain 1 and SC across the side. The goal is to get an even tension. In my case I ended up with 20 stitches.
2. Chain 1, Turn. SC across.
3. Chain 1, Turn. SC across. Finish off and weave in the ends.

Add the Buttons
Use your sewing needle and thread to add the buttons. Try and space them evenly.  NOTE: These buttons have been in my stash for a while, but I think I picked them up at Michaels.

Crochet Button Hole Side

1. With the back side of the body piece facing you, join your yard to the unworked short side. Chain 1 and SC across. TIP: The count should match your other side.
2. Chain 1, Turn. SC across.
3. Chain 1. Turn. We will now start working on the loops. Determine how many loops you need (3 buttons = 3 loops) and figure out how to space them evenly. In my case I had 20 stitches and 3 loops. I decided that each loop should occupy 4 spaces (SC, Skip Stitch, Skip Stitch, SC). I also decided I wanted two SC on each end. You'll also want to adjust the size of your buttonhole chain based on the size of your buttons. To do this chain a scrap piece of yarn to see how many chains you need. Based on that my row ended up being:
   1. SC in first 2 stitches.
   2. Chain 5 stitches, Skip 2 stitches. SC in next stitch. SC in next 4 stitches.
   3. Chain 5 stitches. Skip 2 stitches. SC in next stitch. SC in next 4 stitches.
   4. Chain 4 stitches. Skip 2 stitches. SC in next two stitches.
   5. DO NOT FINISH OFF - YET!

Test Fit
At this point place a stitch marker in your working chain and do a quick test fit on your carafe. You want it to be snug but not over stretched. If you need to adjust your chains, or add/remove rows to get the right fit, now is the time to adjust.

​Once you are happy with the fit. Finish off. Your base cozy is done!

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Embellishing

Materials

• Yarn. Yarn. Yarn. This is a great time to use up those scraps.
• Embroidery Needle
• A sense of adventure!

NOTE: Have some fun with this. As I started digging through my buttons I thought it would be fun to add a TON of those to the piece. Of course, you'd want to ensure the buttons you use don't have shanks. I also thought out using circles or squares. It would be cool to pull out that book of crochet appliques and try those out as well. Maybe a rainbow with a cloud and sunshine? Of course, a cute little sheep is always adorable. This is the perfect time to be creative and make something that is unique to you!

Flower Center (Work in Rounds)

1. With Color A. SC 5 in a magic circle or sloppy slip stitch. (5 stitches).
2. 2 SC in each stitch around. (10 stitches)
3. (2 SC, 1 SC) around. (15 stitches).
4. Cut yarn leaving a long tail for attaching to the body. 

Flower Petals

1. Join Color B in any SC of the last row. Chain 2. This counts as your HDC. In same stitch DC, TC.
2. TC, DC, HDC in next stitch.
3. Slip Stitch in next stitch.
4. SC in next stitch. Chain 1. In same stitch DC, TC.
5. TC, DC, HDC in next stitch.
6. Slip Stitch in next stitch.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 around until you have five petals. Finish off leaving a long tail for sewing to the body.

Make as many flowers as you need to get the desired look. You can see in these photos that even a few flowers look nice. I can see embroidering leaves and stems for the group of three. 

Of course, I MUST ADD MORE FLOWERS! 

To add the flowers I used the tail from the inner circle to attach it to the body. I then used the tails from the petals to sew some of them down. I did the petals randomly as I wanted some of the petals to stand up. A good way to see how much you like being flat or standing up is to wrap it around your carafe and make any adjustments you need. You can sew all your ends in as you go, or do them at the end.

That's it! You are done! Now go make you a nice cup of coffee and enjoy your hard work.

Happy Hooking!

​Care'