Crochet Mug Cozy

Remember the felt coffee cozy tutorial I posted a while ago? Well I love my coffee cozy a ton, but I’m trying to cut back on trips to Starbucks and make my own lattes and tea at home instead. I didn’t want that to mean giving up my adorable cozy though, so I made a crochet mug cozy I can use on my mugs at home!

How cute is that thing?! I love the colors, love the button, love the edging and tiny little buttonhole loop; I love the whole thing!

And it was a simple and quick project too. It took me about two hours to crochet this, including the two times I started and then had to unravel it all because I messed it up. 🙂 I didn’t have a pattern to follow because I wanted it to fit this mug exactly, so I sort of made it up as I went, and the first two times I started it wasn’t fitting quite right.

It was so quick, easy, and awesome that I made another one for my mom when I was back in CA visiting for a weekend!

I left a bunch of yarn back home because I had WAY too much to bring with me when we moved, so I used a couple soft yarns in fun colors to make this one for Mom. I made this one specifically to fit her mug, so again, no pattern.

But there is a bit of method to the madness, so if you’re interested in making your own crochet mug cozy, here are the materials you need and some basic instructions:

• yarn (two colors if you want the border and buttonhole loop to be a different color)
• a crochet hook
• a button
• a tapestry needle

These instructions will show you how to crochet a mug cozy tailored exactly to one of your mugs, so grab your favorite mug and let’s get started!

I explained a couple of the basic crochet stitches and linked to some useful tutorials in my first post about crocheting: crocheting a catnip mouse toy for our kitties. If you need a refresher on the stitches, go check that out!

Body of the crochet mug cozy:

We’re going to work from the bottom up.

For the first row, chain enough stitches to wrap around the bottom of your mug. You want to leave a little bit of mug uncovered right at the bottom so that your cozy doesn’t get icky and gross if there are spills on the counter or whatever.

I chained 44 stitches to start the grey mug cozy. As I was chaining that first row I continually measured against the bottom of the mug to make sure that the chained row would fit around the bottom without being too close to the little rim the mug sits on.

At the end of your chain row, join the round making sure not to twist the chain.

If the sides of your mug are straight up and down you don’t need to worry about increasing the number of your stitches. I was not so lucky. Both mugs I made cozies for had round or slanted sides, so after the first row I started increasing a few stitches each row to make sure the cozy would fit. 🙂

This cozy is made with double crochets for all the subsequent rows, so after your first chained row, double crochet one row all the way around (remember that since the rounds are joined, you’ll need to chain three at the start of your round to give it enough height). Join the round.

Keep crocheting double crochet rows (increasing a few stitches per row if you need to) until your rows reach the bottom of the mug handle. For me this was just one single row of double crochet.

On the next row, crochet all the way around except for the last two or three stitches, leaving a little gap for the handle. Chain three and turn.

Keep crocheting double crochet rows back and forth (remember to leave a gap for the handle, and increase a few stitches each row if you need to) until your cozy reaches the desired height. As you crochet, keep checking your work on your mug to make sure it fits. Increase or decrease as needed.

Cut your yarn, leaving a tail of a few inches. Tie a knot and weave the ends in.

Edging, button, and buttonhole loop:

If you slip your cozy onto your mug, it probably won’t stay on very well. That’s what the edging, button, and buttonhole loop are for! Your button is going to go to the left of the handle and your buttonhole loop will come over the top of the handle from the right and loop around the button.

Grab whatever yarn you want to use for the edging. Start by attaching your button on the left side of the mug, up near the top corner. Grab a tapestry needle and use the same yarn you’re going to use for your edging to attach the button.

Once your button is sewn on, start with the edging. Begin where the bottom of the mug handle will sit. Slip stitch the edge of your crocheted work to the left of the handle, up towards the top of your cozy.

When you reach the top of your cozy, slip stitch all the way around the top, but don’t start down the right side of the handle when you get to the corner! Your buttonhole loop needs to start here.

Chain a bunch of stitches coming out from the right-side corner. Your chain needs to go over the top of the mug handle, around the button, and then back to the corner where it started.

Once your chain is long enough, continue slip stitching down the edge of your work on the right side of the handle until you meet up with your first slip stitch. Cut your yarn off, weave in the ends, and you’re done!

Brew up a delicious cup of tea and enjoy! Warm beverages without burning your hands, perfect!

What’s your favorite warm beverage? I don’t drink coffee, but I fell in love with tea and milk while we were on our honeymoon in Ireland, so that’s what I drink now. Or chai lattes! Would you ever use a mug cozy at home? I know that usually, if your tea is at a drinkable temperature, then it’s probably not too hot to hold in your hands either, but I love the way they look so I use one every time!