Free Pattern: Knits & Purls Mini Hot Water Bottle Cover

A day later than promised, here is the pattern for the Mini Hot Water Bottle Cover I made using the leftovers from my Cosy Colourblock Shawl. It's a quick knit and I think it would make a cute gift. This one took only 31g of bulky Stone Washed XL yarn - and the mini 500ml hot water bottles it fits are inexpensive, which is an added bonus (I got mine from Amazon* for around £2 each).  

First a confession - when I started knitting this I wasn't planning to publish the pattern so I didn't weigh the amount of yarn used for each section. As an estimation, colours A and B each make up over 30% of the the total so if you have at least 12g of the Colour 3 and more of each other others, you should be fine!

You will need:

-Total of 35g of Stone Washed XL* bulky yarn (approx 50m) 

- 5mm circular needles (or DPNs) for knitting in the round

- Needle for sewing the flap 

- Mini hot water bottle*

Skills/ Stitches Used: 

- Judy’s Magic Cast On (JMCO)
- Knit
- Purl
- K2tog / P2tog decreases
- Ssk decrease
- Mattress stitch for the flap at the top

Instructions: 

Set up - 

• Using Judy's Magic Cast On, and Colour 1, cast on 40 stitches (20 on each needle)
• Round 1: *K1, p1; work from * to end, as JMCO twists half of the sts, remember to work into the back of the sts on the second needle for this round only 
• Round 2: *P1, k1; work from * to end

Bottom section - in Lemon Quartz (yellow)

• Round 3: *K1, p1, k7, p1 ; work from * 4 times
• Round 4: *P1, k1, p1, k5, p1, k1 ; work from * 4 times
• Round 5: *(K1, p1) x 2, k3, p1, k1, p1 ; work from * 4 times 
• Round 6: *K2, (p1, k1) x 4 ; work from * 4 times
• Round 8: *K4, p1, k1, p1, k3 ; work from * 4 times
• Round 7: *K3, (p1, k1) x 2, p1, k2 ; work from * 4 times
• Round 9: Repeat round 7
• Round 10: Repeat round 6
• Round 11: Repeat round 5
• Round 12: Repeat round 4
• Repeat rounds 3 to 12 once more

Middle section -  in Smokey Quartz (grey)

• Using Colour 2, start working this section as follows
• Round A: *P2, k1, p1, k1; work from * to end
• Round B: *P2, k3; work from * to end
• Repeat rounds A and B eight times

Shaping & working the opening - to keep the pattern as simple as possible, instructions are given for each needle and repeated it twice (i.e. half of the stitches are held on each needle in an identical way, work each set of instructions twice)

• Repeat A once more
• [P2tog, k3, *p2, k3; work from *to last 5 sts on needle, p2, k1, k2tog] twice = 36 sts
• [(P1, k1) twice, *p2, k1, p1, k1; work from * to last 4 sts on needle, p2, k1, p1] twice
• [K2tog, k2, *p2, k3; work from *to last 4 sts on needle, p2, ssk] twice = 32 sts
• [K1, p1, k1, *p2, k1, p1, k1; work from *to last 3 sts on needle, p2, k1] twice

• Switch to Colour 3 - Amazonite (blue)
• [K to last 2 sts on needle, ssk] twice = 30 sts
• Work in p3, k2 rib for approx 5 cm or until the front measures almost to the top of the hot water bottle lid, as pictured
• Bind off 13 sts (= 17 sts) then continue to work back-and-forth / flat in the rib pattern for another 8 cms
• Change back to Colour 2 to work 1 cm before bind off
• Bind off in pattern
• Fold the top flap over the lid and opening then use Mattress Stitch on the right side of the work to secure the flaps at either side. Work into the 'ladder' between the k2 sections of the rib - the picture below shows which stitches to work between. Sewing right up into the fold will leave a neat and almost invisible join which appears to be part of a continuous rib

Once both sides are sewn, simply weave in the remaining ends. With the flap folded open, the top section will comfortably stretch wide enough for the empty bottle to be inserted (bend it in half), and as the yarn is washable acrylic/cotton, the cover can be removed in the same way for laundering.

I really like this little cover. It's very tactile and snuggly - it has already come in handy as both children were unwell in the last week. After lots of requests from my friend Charlotte (you'll know her as my occasional model!) I've been making a full sized version in glorious colours (I got to use the purple at last) - unfortunately that meant completely altering the shaping and the gauge/ needles to suit the increased size of a standard bottle. The pattern may become available as a charted PDF in future, I'll let you know.

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