Felted Wool Coffee Cup Sleeve

These cute little felted coffee cup sleeves are a stylish replacement for those utilitarian brown paper sleeves that get thrown onto your $5 latte. Fashion meets function when you put one of these warm coffee cozies onto your travel mug or Starbuck’s grande mochaccino. They are super simple to make from a felted sweater (instructions HERE if you don’t already have a stash from the fabulous Felted Mitten project) – and you can make them as elaborate or plain as you’d like!! Somehow, the amount of “embellishment” on a coffee cup sleeve usually mirrors the amount of embellishment of the coffee INSIDE the cup. So, get out the gems, buttons, and charms you double-shot-espresso-caramel-soy-latte-drinkers!

Instructions:

Decide how much of the cup you want to cover with the felted sleeve. I like to go a little bigger than the standard coffee-house paper sleeve, but not so big that it will interfere with the cup holder in my car (a critical issue). The ribbed cuff of a sweater works great because it still stretches after felting – but you can use any part of the sleeve.

If the cuff is tightly felted – you can stop here and move on to finishing it with no-slip rubber matting (final step below). If the cut edge of the cuff seems to unravel a bit, then finish it with either a wide zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine (remember, it has to stretch over the cup, so stitch loosely). Or, use a seam finisher like Fray-Check or Aleene’s Glue.

You’re almost done! Well, only if you’re the minimalist coffee-drinker type. Latte fashionistas…..read on to the next sassy step.

Personalize your coffee sleeve with needle felting, buttons, charms…..whatever! I personally love to add needle felting to anything possible, so this was a no-brainer choice for me. Also, as stated in previous projects, I have an obsession with buttons, so it was a natural SECOND choice (and perfect match with felting). If you’ve never done needle felting, give it a shot. You’ll be hooked. Pun intended. Basic instructions are HERE on YouTube (disregard the cookie cutter section – just get the basics of felting a design with roving) and the tools you’ll need are a multi-needle felting tool and wool roving.

The final step for your coffee sleeve is to make it NON-SLIP!! When I first knit a cup holder several years ago, I used it ONCE then turned it into a bracelet because it would not stay on my cup! It was actually dangerous – the cup could easily slip out of the holder and spill hot coffee (or tea or cocoa) everywhere. SO, after several “grip” trials, I came up with a solution that has worked perfectly. Granted, this adds a little extra work and time, but it HAS to be done to ensure your holder stays on your cup. Believe me – felted wool on any cup WILL SLIP.

So, get some rubberized shelf matting (as pictured) and cut a small strip to attach inside your coffee sleeve. I used a hot glue gun to attach it, but you could also sew it (attention: Project Purists). However you choose to attach the rubberized matting, just do it and you will be thrilled with your non-slip wonderful coffee cup sleeve. It stays in place through traffic, meetings, and dance class. It’s your coffee cup’s new best friend.

And voile! A warm, cozy holder for your favorite hot beverage. This is a special handmade gift and doesn’t take too much time and effort. It’s fun to “customize” these for your friends and family, and my kiddos always have fun picking out special buttons and charms for their teachers’ coffee sleeve.