It started this past Christmas when I decided to crochet cozies to give as gifts. I figured they’d be easy and quick to make but still nice enough to be appreciated. But despite the fact that Christmas has come and gone, I am still crocheting cozies. I guess you could say I’ve gone crochet cozy crazy (akin to the felter madness I suffered from several years ago)!

What Is a Crochet Cozy?

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines a cozy as:

“a padded covering especially for a teapot to keep the contents hot”

I guess covering teapots has now extended to covering any and everything you either want to keep hot (or cold) or protect, like the plethora of electronic devices we own, so they don’t break from mishandling.

Not all of the items featured below are cozies, but if a bag or purse is small enough, then in my book, it can double as a crochet cozy (you can knit them, too, but this is a crochet blog after all :-)).

Some Crochet Cozies I’ve Made

Here are a few of the crochet cozies I’ve made since Christmas. I used worsted weight acrylic yarn to create all of the cozies except the fuchsia Granny Square Boutique Bag which is crocheted with worsted weight cotton.

Ipad Cozy

Okay, this Ipad cozy was a Christmas gift. I add it here so you can see how I adapted a crochet cozy pattern for an Ipod or cell phone. I simply added stitches and rows to create a container large enough to hold an Ipad. I also created a flap closure so the Ipad stays put. I really like the way this one turned out, and the person who received it loves it.

Japanese Star Stitch Bag

I really love this star stitch “keyhole” bag (as you can see, I have a lot of brown yarn in my stash). The crochet pattern is in Japanese, but like all Japanese patterns, this one comes with detailed symbol charts. It didn’t take long to figure them out, and I must say, working from the charts was fun. Having a visual representation of what to do is often easier than working from written instructions which can sometimes be confusing.

I also found a website that has a wealth of information on understanding Japanese patterns, including translations of common crochet pattern terms written in Kanji, the Japanese “alphabet.”

Star Stitch Cell Phone Pouch

As you can see, I’m a bit smitten with the star stitch. Is it my imagination or am I starting to see a lot of patterns that use it (like the ubiquitous crocodile stitch)?

I made these cell phone pouches by following two YouTube videos  by Teresa, aka the Crochet Geek.Unfortunately, the videos are no longer available.

Granny Stripe Boutique Bag

Granny Stripe Crochet Bag in TurquoiseAnd now we come to one of my all time favorites, the Granny Stripe Boutique Bag. The fuchsia bag follows the pattern which I adapted to create the turquoise bag. I also added little chain loops that will serve as a closures once I purchase buttons for them (those are earrings on the bags).

Next … Buttons and Lining

My next step is going to be to line these bags (except for the Ipod cozy). Lining the Japanese star stitch bag will be a challenge because it has a circular bottom, but I can see in my mind’s eye how to do it. To be on the safe side, however, I have been collecting tutorials on how to line crochet bags that I can refer to in case I get stuck. I have another bag lining tutorial pinned on my “I Heart <3 Crochet” Pinterest board.

I’ll post photos of the buttoned and lined bags when I’m done.