This is day 1 of 12 Days of {handmade} Christmas tutorials. Bookmark the landing page for the whole 12 Days of {handmade} Christmas series and check daily for updates!
Hello Life in Grace readers! I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my little french press cozy tutorial with you all today. My name is Kate, and I blog at Oh Write. I’ve been married for almost 10 years to the best man I could imagine God creating for me. Brett and I share our lives with our children Maren (4) and Truett (1). I spend most of my time being a wife and mother. In all the spare moments (ha!) I enjoy baking, reading, crafting, and spending time with friends.
I prefer my coffee made in a French press, but I don’t like how the coffee is cooled by the time I’m ready for a second cup. This little cozy helps to maintain the heat of the coffee while dressing up the French press itself. Let’s get started, shall we?
You will need:
2 elastic hairbands, 2 buttons, ribbon or other embellishments, fabric, flannel, silver heat-safe fabric, terry or other backing, needle and thread, sewing machine, and scissors. A straight-edge and rotary cutter will make the cutting much easier, but you could improvise if you don’t have those.
Begin by measuring your French press. Mine is a standard 8-cup Bodum press. I cut my fabric to 6 in. by 14.5 in. You could adjust the size of the fabric to fit your press. Cut pieces from the fabric, flannel, heat-proof fabric and terry.
Next, layer the front fabric (right-side-up) on top of the flannel and heat-proof fabric.
Now pin your ribbon to all three layers. Make sure to leave allowances for seams. (I use a generous 1/4 in. seam) I prefer the look of 2 ribbons. You could leave the ribbon off altogether, or use rick-rack, ruffles, or anything you’d like!
Next, you will sew down the edges of the ribbon on both sides. This will also secure the first 3 layers of the cozy together, which will make the rest of the assembly go smoothly.
Once the ribbon is secured, it’s time to attach the elastic bands. Keep in mind, the loop facing to the right in this picture is the part you will see. Be sure your loops are positioned so they will button through the handle of your press. (See how the cozy fastens onto the French press in the last picture.)
I sew over the elastic several times by back stitching. You want the elastic to be good and secure.
Now trim the string and snip the outer loops. Don’t cut too closely to the stitching, just enough to get rid of most of the excess. It should look like this:
Pin the terry to the other layers, right-sides-together.
It’s helpful to see the little tails of the elastic. You’ll back-stitch over those several times again, and this will help you ‘find’ them in order to do so. Sew around the cozy using generous 1/4 in. seams, leaving a 3 in. opening for turning.
Turn the cozy back to right-side-out. Be sure to carefully poke out the corners so they look nice and crisp. You could pin the opening together, but I usually just run the iron over it before sewing around the cozy.
Carefully sew around the edges, being sure to sew the opening closed.
This is what the almost-finished cozy will look like:
And, the front:
Line up the elastics and mark where your buttons need to go.
Using your trusty needle and thread, attach the buttons.
All ready for some coffee to warm!
Ahhh…nice and cozy!
Another version…
And…the one I kept for myself!
Happy sewing…and Merry Christmas!
This is such a cute idea. Great way to maintain the temperature and make it so pretty. Love it.
Ruth
Just love this! I see these in my future!
Oh my goodness! Genius! It’s going on the list to make! Thank you very much.
I love the taste of coffee in my french press but always hate how it cools off after the first cup. This might be just the motivation I need to try it again!
Excellent Tutorial! I found your post through a Google search. The layers of different types of material make this cozy unique. Thanks for posting…. I’m off to the fabric store! (After I dress and clean up after the tornado that blew through the house. 🙂
Such a creative and personalized idea for a French press cozy. The step by step guide makes it seem manageable even for someone like me whos not a seasoned crafter. Cheers to cozy coffee and crafting.
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