"Love Note" Cup Cozie

As you may or may not know, I am not one of those girls who loves Valentine's Day.  I'm also not one of those girls who hates it and sets out to make it an "anything but love" day.  I just sort of let it be another day.  I do, however love red and pink together and of course, hearts!  I also know that many other people go all out on this special day and want to inspire you to create something unique that shows your special someone how truly special they are.

Have you seen all the beautiful handmade cup cozies all over Pinterest?  Although my husband doesn't drink coffee or hot tea, I am a big fan of both and I bet that someone in your life is too!  Your special someone needs more than just any cup cozy... they need a "love note" cup cozy!

The envelope sits at the end of a hand stitched message: "Just thought you should know..."
It's hard to get it all in one picture, hope this helps:

With this cozy, you can tell your loved one how you feel- in a new way, each day!  I love the idea of saying encouraging words ("that you are so talented!") words of wisdom ("it gets better and you will get through this") or simply "I love you!"

It's easy to make here's how:

MATERIALS:
- Two (2) fabrics- one plain, one printed
- Thin batting
- Thread in matching color to sew & opposing color to stitch message
- Two (2) buttons
- Ribbon or (2) elastic hair ties


STEP ONE: Trace & cut the fabric. 
 
Using another cup cozy, trace the shape onto the fabric.  If you have a paper one, rip it apart so that it will lay flat.  If you have a reusable one like me (It came with a cup that I have), lay it as flat as possible, trace, line it up and then trace again.

 {Disappearing Ink pens work great, but if you don't have one with you, then a pencil works fine!}

Cut this piece out, giving yourself about 1/2 inch outside of the line to allow for the seam.

Use the (now 1/2 inch larger all around) piece to trace the shape onto the second fabric.

Do the same with a piece of thin batting.  I recommend cutting that shorter (about where the original line was drawn) so that you don't have to worry about it bulking up when you sew the seams.


STEP TWO: Stitch your message.

Using a pencil (or disappearing ink pen), write out your message onto the solid fabric.  Next, hand stitch over the pencil with the contrasting color.  I said "Just thought you should know..."

STEP THREE: Make an envelope.  I had to play around with the fabric to get the right shape but if you make it look like this one, you should be fine.

Sew the sides and bottom down next.  Start with one side, then the other, finishing with the bottom.  I suggest tacking it down at the corner edge and sewing a stitch where it folds for a crisper line and a more "envelope" look!

To finish it up, I ran some stitching across the top (just for looks).  I also folded the top down (like a closed envelope) and ironed it so that the flap would stay down when it was finished (not pictured).

STEP FOUR: Attach the envelope.

Pin your lovely new envelope to your solid fabric immediately following your embroidered message.  With a sewing machine (it's much faster!) run a stitch across the sides and bottom to secure it onto the cozy piece.

{I used red thread to stitch it together & white thread to secure it, just for fun.  It looks lovely!}

STEP FIVE: Pin all your pieces together & sew!

Face your two main fabrics, right sides together.  That means the embroidered message and envelope will be facing the heart print on the other piece of fabric.  Next, lay the batting onto either side, creating a three fabric pile.

Pin it all together and sew THREE sides (both long sides and only one short side).  Don't forget to leave one short side open!

This will attach everything together.  It will probably have this "pillow" look if you batting is a little thicker like mine:

If you sew at 1/2 inch, your stitching should line up about exactly with your original pencil lines.  It's not important that they do, but it will make you feel like it is turning out to be the right size!

Once it is all sewn up, pull the fabric right side out through the short end that you left open.

Don't freak out if it looks really small.  Instead, go iron it flat.  Because of all the batting and being reversed, it doesn't look very wide, but I promise, it's the same as your pattern cozy once it lays flat!

STEP SIX: Attach the loops.

Using ribbon or thin hair bands, create two loops that will stick out of your open end.  I used ribbon because I thought it would look nicer, but I think hair bands would be better for fitting a variety of different sized cups.  If I do this again, I will use something elastic.

It might help to get some of your favorite cups to get an idea of how big your loops need to be.  If you make them too long, they wont hold tightly against your mug.  Wrap the cozy around the cup and see how far they need to go to "close" the gap.

Don't forget to fold in the edges of your fabric pieces for a nice finished look.  Pin it all together.

Sew it closed.  I made two lines of stitches for looks, but try to get yours as close to the edge as possible to make sure that it catches everything.  You can do as many lines as you want!

STEP SEVEN: Add buttons and enjoy!

Sew two buttons onto the other end of the cozy.  These will be used to wrap the loops around to secure the cozy onto the cup.

That's it!

Seven steps but super easy!  I love the hand stitched message and that adorable envelope.  If you want to add a snap or Velcro to close the envelope you can, but ironing it down will do the trick!

Plus... it can go on ALL your favorite mugs- with or without handles!

AND... it's reversible too!

This might be the best thing ever.  I love cup cozies and this one is extra sweet.  Don't forget to add your message with love!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann