Purl-Side-Out Beer Cozy Knitting Pattern

Summer's in full swing, the weather's hot, and a cold drink is heaven on days like this.  With that in mind, I decided to knit myself a beer cozy.  (Well, technically I knitted myself an Izze cozy because I don't drink beer, given my celiac disease and all, but I digress.)

I was messing around with a stripey pattern when I was swatching the other day, and I realized that the purl side of my work held way more visual interest than the knit side.  Obviously, the knit side is traditionally the "right side" to face out, but I didn't see any reason why tradition had to stand in the way of an attractive piece of knitting, so that's why this cozy has the purl side out.

This decision also came with a surprise bonus.  Being inside-out makes the stockinette stitch want to roll in at the top and the bottom of the cozy so it perfectly hugs the curves of the bottle.  I had originally planned to knit a bottom for this cozy so it wouldn't slip off the bottle, but the slight rolling made it fit so nicely that the bottom became unnecessary.

Let's get down to business with the pattern.  I made this on flat needles and seamed it together.  I know that having a seam (and therefore a little hump) is less than ideal, but working this pattern inside-out in the round got very complicated very quickly when it came to switching colors and stranding the yarn.

Materials:
Worsted weight cotton yarn in 3 colors (I used Sugar & Cream original cotton yarn in yellow, white, and tea rose.)
Size 5 knitting needles
Tapestry needle
Scissors

Abbreviations used in this pattern:
Yarn A =  tea rose (aka pink)
Yarn B =  white
Yarn C =  yellow

Pattern:
Cast on 30 stitches with yarn A

Row 1: (Yarn A) purl
Row 2: (Yarn B) knit
Row 3: (Yarn C) purl
Row 4: (Yarn C) knit
Row 5: (Yarn B) purl
Row 6: (Yarn A) knit

Rows 7-24: Repeat rows 1-6 three more times.  There should now be four yellow stripes and four and half pink stripes on the knit-side of your work.

Row 25: (Yarn A) purl
Row 26: (Yarn B) knit
Row 27: (Yarn C) purl

Bind off knitwise with yarn C

Finishing:
Weave in the ends.
Lay the knit rectangle on a flat surface with the knit side up, fold the right and left sides (where all the stranding is; not the cast on and bound off edges) toward each other to form a loop.  Seam those two edges together, keeping all the stranding on the inside (aka the knit side) of the loop.  I recommend using mattress stitch on the purl side to make the seam invisible.

Happy knitting!  As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask them, and I would love to see a picture if you make one of these too.

xoxo
Laura