I’m starting a new series today, one I’ve been thinking about for a while. I have a sketch sheet full of coffee sleeve drawings to prove it. I just love making these little cup cozies, and I’d like to share some of my new ideas with you. Welcome to the Coffee Sleeve of the Month!
I have several themes I plan to cover with these, but I’m going to start with Father’s Day. Many dads out there like to fish, or pretend to fish while they relax and soak up some sun (or rain, depending on where they like to hang out). Now, you can give him a fish he can always bring home, even when the ones in the river aren’t biting.
You’ll need this pattern, cotton fabric for the front and back, a 3” piece of elastic cord and a 1/2 – 1” button. For the inner lining, I like to use two layers of ironing board fabric (the shiny silver stuff) and one layer of thin cotton batting. You can use one layer of InsulBrite if you prefer, and leave out the ironing board fabric and batting.
Cut one fish body from the outer fabric, flip the pattern over and cut for the inside. Do the same if you’re using the ironing board fabric.
Fold the fin in half with the wrong sides together and points touching. Stitch around the edge, leaving the last half-inch open. Turn right side out and press. Press the opening to the inside. Stitch around close to the edge, except the side with the fold.
Using the mark on the pattern as a guide, pin the fin onto the front fish body. Stitch close to the folded edge of the fin, leaving the rest of the fin loose.
Layer the pieces as shown below:
If you’re using InsulBrite, leave out step 1, and replace steps 5 and 6 with the single piece of InsulBrite.
Pin the layers together. Stitch around the outside, 1/4” from the edge, leaving a 2” opening at the bottom. Add some extra stitching over the elastic in the seam allowance to secure it from popping out. Clip the corners and clip in on both sides at the top of the tail.
Turn right side out and press. Stitch all the way around, close to the edge.
Wrap the nose around to touch the tail, as it will wrap around a cup. Mark the spot the elastic reaches on the nose by pulling it taut, but not stretching. Stitch the button at that mark, sliding a toothpick underneath at the beginning. The toothpick will create a small gap so the elastic can loop around under the button.
I’ve found the best way to apply these to a cup is to loop the elastic around the button first, then slide onto the cup from the bottom.
Fish on!
