Tuesday 24 January 2012

making winter warm and cosy


Do you really need to be feeling under the weather or have a sore back to fill one of these and snuggle under a blanket in front of a good film? Well it helps. Mind you, so does a bar of Green&Blacks. I crocheted this without a pattern - it looks precisely tailored for a hot water bottle but it's just a rectanglur pocket with an eyelet row somewhere near the neck of the bottle. I made a cord using chain stitch with two strands of the wool, and added the oversize pompoms for a fun element. The wool is Rowan Big Wool Fusion in three shades (which had been in my stash since learning to knit 4 years ago).

Being a bit of a novice I made the 'fabric' a little tightly woven. If I were making another I'd use a bigger crochet hook to create a much looser weave and therefore let a bit more heat through! I'd also do the whole thing in rounds rather than in two pieces (front and back). Doh!

6 comments:

  1. I really like this style of hot water bottle cover. I recently knitted one and I love it. It really insulates the bottle, so much so that it was still warm at 8 this morning! I agree about making the crochet holey to let warmth out. Mine is a lacey pattern and is thick in parts and holey in others. It seems to offer the best of both worlds that way.

    I plan to crochet one next. Yours is really pretty and I love the pom poms!

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    1. Hi Sara, welcome to my blog! So nice to get some feedback when I've only just started out here! A lacey pattern is a good idea, I'll definitely be making more of these; especially as shop bought ones are so expensive.

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  2. Very nice hot water bottle cover ...

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    1. Thank you Sue, I think I'll keep tabs on the stitch count next time and write up a pattern. Big wool is so quick and easy.

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  3. I do like hot water bottles (so much that I have a large collection of them...) but your one really does look extra cosy!

    Thank you for adding it to the Making Winter Project.

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    1. A 'collection', mmmmh, now that's got me thinking because if I had a 'collection' it would be the perfect excuse to do more of these! All different of course!

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