Recently a friend of ours organized a High Tea event to raise money for the “Taiwan Xi En Orphanage” (you can read more about this organization HERE)! I wanted to quickly whip up some items for the giveaways that they were doing during the High Tea and I thought it would be so fitting to make some crocheted coffee/tea sleeves for the event! I had previously seen some moustache coffee sleeves on-line (which I knew would be perfect since it’s Movember) but when I tried to look up a pattern to follow, I could not find any simple sleeve patterns worked in the round with the shape that I wanted. Thus, I decided to create my own and share the pattern with you!
We brought home one of the cardboard sleeves from Starbucks so that I could roughly estimate how wide and tall to make mine. I had to keep in mind that the cardboard does not stretch whereas yarn has more give and of course will stretch. I needed to make my sleeve more snug to provide some leeway, otherwise it would be too big and potentially sag down. I also wanted to get the correct shape so that the sleeve tapered downwards and would stay on the cup!
I first used some cotton I had in my yarn stash to crochet a sleeve. I whipped it up in no time and was very happy with the result. Ryan then had the idea to try using hemp to crochet a second sleeve! We had some hemp lying around our house as we had used it to hang Myla’s pictures and tie the balloons for her “Cute As A Button” birthday party (see here). Ryan thought hemp would be a great material to use since the sleeve would have a cool, organic look to it and the colour matched the original Starbucks sleeve! I adjusted my original pattern of course since the hemp was much thicker than the cotton!
Instead of having to create my own moustache pattern, I found this really great one on the “Red Heart” website (designed for their Mug Hug) HERE! These moustaches are super easy to crochet and have a great shape. Random fact and in case anyone was wondering, apparently “mustache” is the U.S. spelling of the word whereas “moustache” (which is the way I’m used to seeing it) is how it’s spelled in all the main varieties of English outside of the U.S.!
We then sewed the moustaches onto the sleeves! Be sure to shape and curve the moustaches appropriately as you sew them on to achieve maximum moustache-ness (or else they could look like a weird squiggle or line!) 😀 I was so excited to try these sleeves out on actual coffee cups of varying sizes and I was delighted to see that they fit perfectly!
Crocheting with hemp was definitely hard on the hands but the result is worth it! I love the look of the hemp sleeve and it is hardier than the cotton one as it won’t fuzz up and probably won’t get dirty as easily!
***Here is the very simple pattern for these coffee sleeves:***
Note: I worked in continuous rounds (vs. joined rounds) so that there was no seam!
COTTON SLEEVE
Using medium (4) cotton yarn of desired colour and a 4 mm crochet hook,
Chain 35 and join first and last sts to form a ring, being careful not to twist sts.
R1-2: Sc 35 (35 sts)
R3: *Sc 5, dec 1*, rep 5 times (30 sts)
R4: Sc 30 (30 sts)
R5: *Sc 4, dec 1*, rep 5 times (25 sts)
R6-9: Sc 25
Fasten off and weave in end.
To crochet moustache, follow the free moustache pattern HERE! Choose thickness of black yarn and hook size depending on size of moustache wanted (for my cotton sleeve, I used lightweight (3) mercerized cotton and a 4 mm crochet hook). Sew moustache onto sleeve using black embroidery floss.
HEMP SLEEVE
Using hemp and a 4 mm crochet hook,
Chain 30 and join first and last sts to form a ring, being careful not to twist sts.
R1-2: Sc 30 (30 sts)
R3: *Sc 4, dec 1*, rep 5 times (25 sts)
R4: Sc 25 (25 sts)
R5: *Sc 3, dec 1*, rep 5 times (20 sts)
R6: Sc 20
Fasten off and weave in end.
To crochet moustache, follow the free moustache pattern HERE! Choose thickness of black yarn and hook size depending on size of moustache wanted (for my hemp sleeve, I used medium (4) worsted weight acrylic cotton and a 4 mm crochet hook). Sew moustache onto sleeve using black embroidery floss.
These sleeves are very simple and can be personalized and embellished in so many ways! You could add some beautiful edging to the top and bottom- check out Moogly’s round-up of free edging patterns HERE! And of course if moustaches aren’t your thing, you could totally add something else to your sleeve, either felted or crocheted: Crochet Pattern Central has a large round-up of free crochet appliques HERE.
Below are some free applique patterns that I thought were super cute (click on the names to access the patterns)! (1) Cupcakes by Janet of “Damn it Janet, Let’s Crochet” (2) Snowman by Sarah of ”Repeat Crafter Me“ (3) Mouse Heads by Sarah of ”Tiny Teddies Boutique“ (4) Owls by Sarah of ”Repeat Crafter Me“
I’m actually not much of a coffee drinker myself, but I recently tried something at Starbucks that was really neat: a Butterbeer frappuccino! I found this recipe on the Starbucks Secret Menu HERE and was excited to try it out- it does not taste like the Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios but it does have a nice rich butterscotch-y taste, and be forewarned that it is VERY sweet! I thought I should pass along this neat recipe in case any of you were interested 🙂
These moustache coffee sleeves will help keep your fingers from getting burned and will look so cute as you sip your daily tea and coffee! They would also made lovely gifts for friends for Christmas or for Movember and they are extremely quick to make! For something similar to a coffee sleeve, make a custom cup cozy for your mugs by checking out one of my very first blog posts, the ”Cup Cozy Tutorial“ HERE! It’s awesome being able to use something crocheted on a regular basis that is so useful and that you can keep stashed in your bag for whenever you need it! Have fun and stay warm 🙂
This pattern is an original pattern by Stephanie Lau of All About Ami. Please do not claim this pattern as your own. If you wish to share this pattern, you may link to this pattern but please do not reprint it on your site. You may keep a copy for your own personal use but please DO NOT sell the pattern or distribute it.
You may sell products made from this pattern but please clearly credit the design to me, Stephanie Lau of All About Ami, and provide a link to my blog www.AllAboutAmi.com. Permission is NOT granted for mass production or factory manufacturing of any kind. Thank you for being respectful and for your understanding!
