Sometimes out of necessity is born an idea. We always stayed at the same hotel when visiting our oldest daughter and her family when they lived in Fairfax, Virginia. This hotel was popular with travel groups – sports teams and international tour groups. We would see and meet people from around the world every morning getting breakfast in the common area of the lobby. It was fun, friendly, and busy!
Each morning at the hotel, we would start with a cup of coffee while scoping out a table. Fresh, hot, halfway decent coffee in a paper cup with a lid and one of those cardboard sleeves to protect your fingers from the heat. 0ne morning, after a particularly busy weekend at the hotel, we poured our coffee, placed the lids on and looking around, there weren’t any cardboard sleeves anywhere for our hot coffee cups!
We managed to get our hot coffees over to a table. While my husband watched the morning news, I pulled out my crochet. He looked at me and asked, “can you make me a cozy for my coffee cup? One, that covers the whole bottom?” Why, yes, I can! My husband has large hands. So, I knew why he wanted a cozy that covers more of the coffee cup than the usual cardboard sleeves. So was born that sunny morning in Virginia, The Fairfax Coffee Cozy.
The cozy is made from 100% cotton and fits snugly over a size small or medium “fast-food” coffee cup. Not only does it protect your fingers, but it also helps insulate the cup to keep your coffee hot longer. I keep extra cozies in our cars for road trips and give them to friends and family when they need to take a coffee for their trip back home. Since this time, more and more places no longer offer the cardboard sleeves. So, another reason to keep these cozies on hand. If you find the cozy you have made has stretched out, throw it in the washer and dryer. It will return to its original size.
The pattern includes tutorial pictures and a link to a video on how to crochet the reverse single crochet stitch also known as the crab stitch. One ball of yarn makes several coffee cozies and it’s a great way to use up cotton scrap yarn, too! The digital crochet pattern is available at Miss Sharon’s Craft Cupboard on Etsy.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1252718074/the-fairfax-coffee-cozy-digital-crochet
I’ve given away most of my Fairfax Coffee Cozies the past few months. Writing this pattern, I’ve re-supplied our own supply of them for our summer trips. Enjoy and happy crocheting! – Sharon
Cute!