The sting of the bee coffee cozy

I found this pattern for a Bee Stitch Mug Cozy and thank goodness mine looks very much like the provided image (including the color- which was not planned). I grabbed some scrap yarn that I used for a birthday present earlier this year and figured I could not go wrong with a bright yellow. I made this to brighten up a plain white mug that I got for a Secret Santa gift (mug and box were also graciously filled with Hershey’s hugs and kisses). It took me about one quarter of football (that’s an accurate measure of time, right? It was the third quarter if that helps) to complete, once I figured out what the heck I was doing. Let’s first talk about some struggles.

1. The pattern states to use two different colors of light weight yarn doubled up. This is where I began, because I thought the colors looked great together. This also worked out nicely because I had failed two previous cozies in a pattern I was generating myself in those colors. However, my yarn kept pulling and twisting and it just wasn’t working, so I went to go find some thicker yarn- and found this lovely leftover yellow and decided to go with it.
2. The written pattern (but not the chart) has an error in it, I thought it was weird but I was learning this pattern for the first time, so I didn’t question it… until I failed three times. At that point, I loaded up the youtube video and followed along to get the hang of it. From that point forward, it was a breeze.
3. I don’t know how I feel about mug cozies for mugs with handles. Right now, in the middle of this snowy and windy Iowa winter, I think they are all around a great idea. It just adds a little bit of cozy on to an otherwise dreary day. I do think this pattern, would be ice on a tubular sleeve for a disposable cup. It’s more environmentally friendly than the cardboard you get from a coffee shop, and it would actually protect against the high temperatures without having to double up on sleeves (or cups, or both).

I would do it again, and I like the bee stitch pattern, so I could see myself using it on other projects. It was a great learning experience, but I am also glad that it’s over.