My big brother Jae is a Scorpio. He is a kind, generous, hard working person who deserves fun, especially for his birthday, and I am all for encouraging a bit lot of hedonism. This year, we are sending him a gift card to Total Wine in the sum of his age (since he collects craft beer) and a crochet item for a personalized touch.

After much deliberation becausemenarenevereasytofindgiftsfor, I decided to crochet a Duff beer coozy, which makes this a themed gift-set. The Simpsons was a childhood favorite of ours and thought Jae would find amusement in such a novel item.  Plus, coozies are relatively quick to work up, and I knew this would be a fun challenge to create an original pattern.

First, I made the coozy on the left, which became a prototype for the final product on the right:

The prototype is made of 3 half double crochets (hdc) rounds for the bottom, with an increase of 10 each round (30 hdc by the 3rd round) and single crochets (sc) for the sides. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that I back-post sc for a round at the top, then sc one last round, which created that defined edge at the top of the coozy.

According to a Google search, the dimensions of a standard aluminum can are 4.83 in. with a diameter of 2.6 in. at the widest point of the body. The dimensions of this coozy were intended to be slightly smaller than an aluminum can and larger than a glass bottle in order to fit both well. I used a 5.5mm hook for the prototype and (thought) I made the diameter of the base circle 2.5 in…but the end result was a tighter fit than intended. Woops.

I tend to stitch tightly. Must be all that inner tension.

The next coozy needed to have a looser fit for ease of getting on/off. I experimented with a few different stitch types before proceeding to the final product. I traded the sc for hdc, went up in size for the crochet hook, did not make that defined edge and used a different type of embroidery for the bold lettering.

Edit 1/26/2016: I have added more photos to clarify the invisible join/seam. I have also added a second set of pattern instructions to make the coozy using the standard join method. See Options 1 and 2 below. You can click on all photos to enlarge for detail.

The “Invisible” Join creates a less visible seam and is worked by slip stitching into the first stitch of each round. The chain does not count as a stitch.

The Standard Join creates a more visible seam and is worked by slip stitching into the beginning chain of each round. The chain counts as a the first stitch.

>>>Duff Beer Coozy Pattern

Materials & Notes:

-6mm hook. Gauge is 6 rows and 7 hdc in a 2×2 inch swatch. Please check your gauge before starting. I tend to stitch tightly, and I made this coozy to fit a variety of bottles and cans so it sits very loosely on a standard bottle. If you think that the coozy is too loose (judging by the photos), start with a 5.5mm hook.

-The body of the coozy will have 1 row of sc and 12 rows of hdc. If you want the coozy to be shorter, crochet less than 12 rows of hdc, per your preference.

-I used Loops & Threads Impeccable yarn in rouge, white and black.

-Darning needle.

-Refer to Tutorials & Info for an explanation of the abbreviations in the pattern.

-Special surface embroidery stitch: Follow the link to the tutorial.

>>>Option 1: The Invisible Join Method

In this method, the chain does not count as a stitch. Join the round by slip stitching into the first st of the previous round (not into the ch).

Ch 2 at the start of each round. Skip the first st (which is the same st as the ch 2), continue crocheting in the round.

Finish the round by crocheting the last st into the st that was skipped at the beginning of the round. You will need to cross over in front of the ch 2 in order to reach that first skipped st.

Lastly, join with sl st to the first st again (not the ch) to complete the round.

Cre8tioncrochet has a video tutorial that explains this method with small differences.

 With rouge yarn:

Round 1: Start with a magic ring, ch 2 (does not count as a stitch), 10 hdc into the magic ring OR ch 3, sk 2, 10 hdc in 3rd ch from hook (10). Sl st to first hdc to join.

Round 2: Ch 2, skip first st (same st as the ch), 2 hdc in the next st and each st around to the end, cross over the ch 2 and hdc into the st you had skipped. Sl st to first hdc to join (20).

Round 3: Ch 2, sk the same/first st, *2hdc in next st, hdc in next* repeat ** until the end. Cross over the ch 2 and hdc in that first skipped st. Sl st to first hdc to join (30).

Round 4: Ch 1, sc in back loop only all the way around, sl st to ch 1 to join (30). (No need to work the invisible join for this round.)

Round 5: Ch 2, sk that same/first st, hdc all the way around, hdc in the first st that was skipped, sl st to first hdc to join (30).

Round 6-17: Repeat round 5, fasten off and weave in the remaining yarn.

*Don’t forget to weave in the tail from the starting round.

>>>Option 2: The Standard Join Method

The chain 2 counts as a hdc in this method.

Round 1: Ch 3, sl st into the first ch to form a ring. Ch 2 (counts as a hdc) 9 hdc into the ring. Sl st to the top of the ch 2 to join (10).

Round 2: Ch 2, hdc in the same st as the chain, then 2hdc into each st around. Sl st to the top of the ch 2 to join (20).

Round 3: Ch 2, 2hdc in the first st, *hdc in next st, 2hdc in next* repeat until the end. Sl st to the top of the ch 2 to join (30).

Round 4: Ch 1, sc in back loop only all the way around, sl st to ch 1 to join (30).

Round 5: Ch 2, hdc all the way around, sl st to the top of ch 2 to join (30).

Round 6-17: Repeat round 5, fasten off and weave in the remaining yarn.

*Don’t forget to weave in the tail from the starting round.

>>>The instruction for the white face of the coozy is the same for both methods.

With white yarn:

Round 1: Ch 18, sk 1 ch, sc in 2nd ch and each ch across to the end OR foundation sc 17  (17).

Round 2: If you started with a foundation ch: ch1, turn, then sc back across the same row. If you used a foundation sc: do not turn. Ch 1, then sc back across in each st to the end (17).

Round 3: Ch 1, turn, sc into first st and every st across to the end (17).

Round 4-11: Repeat round 3 (17). Fasten off and leave a long tail for sewing the white rectangle onto the front middle of the coozy. Make sure to weave in the small bit of yarn from the foundation before sewing.

Using a length of black yarn, embroidery st “Duff” onto the white rectangle. I Googled a picture of the Duff beer can and eyed it, but you can also use tracing paper to pin on and st along through the paper as a guide. The paper tears off easily when you’re done. I chose not to embroider “BEER,” for the sake of simplicity.

The dimensions of the final product are roughly 2.5 in. diameter and 4.5 in. tall. The white rectangle is 4.5 in. wide and 2 in. tall.

Thanks for reading! If you make this coozy or have any feedback, please let me know as this is the first time I’ve written a pattern. You can also find it on Ravelry.

Cheers.

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