Make Your First Crochet Cup Sleeve

Ever wanted to add a handmade touch to your daily coffee or tea ritual? Imagine wrapping your cup in a warm, textured sleeve that you fashioned yourself! This project is a wonderful way to make something both beautiful and functional. This guide will walk you through assembling your very first crochet cup sleeve, just like the lovely dusty rose one pictured. It has a beautiful, woven-like texture that comes from a special stitch called the Alpine Stitch. It might look complex, but we’ll break it down step-by-step. It’s an ambitious but very rewarding first project! Let’s gather our supplies and begin this fun little adventure together!

What You’ll Need

Before we start stitching, let’s get our tools ready:

• 🧶 Worsted Weight Yarn: About 30-50 yards. The yarn in the image has a soft, dusty rose color. Choose any color you love! Cotton yarn works well for absorbency, but acrylic or wool blends are great too.
• 🪝 Crochet Hook: A size H/8 (5.00 mm) hook is a good starting point for worsted weight yarn, but check your yarn label for recommendations.
• ✂️ Scissors: For snipping the yarn.
• 🧵 Yarn Needle (or Tapestry Needle): This has a large eye and blunt tip, perfect for weaving in yarn ends neatly.

Getting Started: The Basics

If you’re brand new, welcome! We’ll go over the essential starting steps.

Making a Slip Knot

This is how most crochet projects begin.

1. Make a loop with your yarn, crossing the working end (attached to the ball) over the tail end.
2. Push your hook through the loop.
3. Catch the working yarn with your hook and pull it back through the loop.
4. Pull both yarn ends gently to tighten the knot onto your hook. It should be snug but able to slide.

The Chain Stitch (ch)

This forms the foundation.

1. With the slip knot on your hook, wrap the yarn around your hook from back to front (yarn over or yo).
2. Use the hook to pull that yarn through the loop already on your hook. That’s one chain stitch!
3. Repeat this motion to make more chain stitches. They look like little interlocking ‘V’s.

Joining in the Round with a Slip Stitch (sl st)

To make a circle for our sleeve:

1. After making the required number of chains, bring the ends together, being careful not to twist the chain.
2. Insert your hook into the very first chain stitch you made (the one next to the slip knot).
3. Yarn over, and pull the yarn through both the stitch and the loop currently on your hook in one smooth motion. This joins the chain into a ring.

Assembling Your Cup Sleeve: Step-by-Step

We’ll build this sleeve round by round. The textured pattern is made over two repeating rounds, so take your time!

Measure Your Cup: Before starting, wrap your foundation chain around the bottom part of your usual takeaway cup. It should fit snugly. The pattern requires an even number of stitches. For a standard cup, 30 chains is a great starting point.

Round 1: Foundation Round

1. Make a slip knot and Chain 30 (or another even number that fits your cup). Join with a slip stitch to the first chain to form a ring, being careful not to twist it.
2. Chain 3 (This counts as your first Double Crochet (dc)).
3. Work 1 dc in each remaining chain all the way around.
   • How to dc: Yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull up loop (3 loops), yarn over, pull through first two loops, yarn over, pull through last two loops.
4. You should have 30 dc stitches total (counting the starting ch 3). Join with a slip stitch to the top of the starting Chain 3.

Round 2: Creating the First Row of Texture (CRITICAL STEP)

This is where the magic happens! We will alternate a single crochet with a post stitch.

1. Chain 1 (Doesn’t count as a stitch).
2. *Work 1 Single Crochet (sc) in the next stitch. Work 1 Front Post Double Crochet (FPdc) around the post of the next dc from Round 1. Now, skip the stitch in the current round that is directly behind the FPdc you just made.*
   • How to FPdc: Yarn over. Instead of inserting your hook into the top loops, insert it from front to back, going around the vertical post of the stitch from the previous round. Bring the hook back out to the front. Finish the stitch like a regular dc. This makes the stitch pop forward!
3. Repeat the pattern between the asterisks (*) 14 more times, for a total of 15 repeats.
4. The round will end with the ‘skip stitch’ step after your last FPdc. Join with a slip stitch to the first sc you made in this round. (Your stitch count remains exactly 30: 15 sc and 15 FPdc).

Round 3: The Post Round

1. Chain 3 (counts as first dc), then work 1 dc in each stitch around. Join to the top of the starting ch 3. (30 dc total).

Round 4: Creating the Offset Texture (CRITICAL STEP)

To make the woven look, we will now offset the pattern from Round 2.

1. Chain 1 (Doesn’t count as a stitch).
2. *Work 1 FPdc around the post of the first dc from Round 3. Then, skip the stitch in the current round directly behind the FPdc you just made. Work 1 sc in the next stitch.*
3. Repeat the pattern between the asterisks (*) 14 more times, for a total of 15 repeats.
4. You will end with an sc. Join with a slip stitch to the top of the first FPdc you made in this round. (Your stitch count remains exactly 30).

Rounds 5-8 (or until desired height):

• Repeat Rounds 3 and 4 until the sleeve is tall enough. For the height in the photo, you will likely end after completing a total of 8 or 9 rounds. Always end on a texture round (like Round 4, 6, or 8).

Final Round: Finishing Edge

1. Chain 1 (Does not count as a stitch).
2. Work 1 sc into the same stitch as the join, and in each stitch around.
3. Join with a slip stitch to the top of the first sc.

Finishing Touches

1. Fasten Off: Cut the yarn, leaving about a 6-inch tail. Yarn over and pull the tail completely through the loop on your hook. Pull it tight to secure.
2. Weave in Ends: Thread the starting tail onto your yarn needle. Weave it back and forth through the inside stitches of the sleeve for an inch or two. Snip any remaining excess yarn close to the fabric. Repeat this for the ending tail. Be careful not to pull too tightly, which could pucker the fabric.

Your Cozy Cup Companion is Ready!

Slide your beautiful, handcrafted sleeve onto your favorite takeaway cup. Feel the satisfying texture and take pride in the lovely piece you brought into existence with your own two hands and a hook! Isn’t it wonderful how simple loops of yarn can become something so practical and pretty?

Experiment with different yarn colors and maybe even try adjusting the stitch pattern slightly once you feel more confident. We’d love to see your finished cup sleeves! Share a picture online and tag us, or just enjoy the warm feeling (literally!) of your accomplishment. Happy Stitching!