Beginner · free small project

Open crochet mug sleeve

A firm single-crochet strip that wraps a mug with its ends either side of the handle and closes with a chain loop and a button. Its length comes from your measured mug circumference minus the space the handle needs.

Original Purlgrid recipe · engine-checked counts · diagrams are previews, not photographs of a physically made sample.

Supplies and skills

Cotton or cotton-blend yarn, a crochet hook suited to it, one button (1–3 cm), a sewing needle and thread, a yarn needle and a flexible tape measure.

  • Foundation chain
  • US single crochet
  • Chain loop and sewing on a button

How to make it

  1. Measure the mug: wrap a tape around it where the sleeve will sit (circumference), then measure the space the handle needs — the width of the handle where it joins the mug plus a little clearance (handle gap). Decide the sleeve height.
  2. Crochet a single-crochet swatch with the same yarn and hook, wash and dry it as you will wash the sleeve, then count stitches and rows in 10 cm. Enter all measurements below.
  3. Chain the stated foundation, work the rows of single crochet and fasten off. Every row has the same number of stitches; the turning chain is not a stitch.
  4. Add the chain loop and sew on the button as listed, try the sleeve on the mug and adjust the loop before weaving in its ends.

Decorative grip only: it is not heat protection and has not been tested with hot drinks. Take it off before microwaving or washing the mug.

Saved on this device

My projects ↗
Make the pattern yours
Optional: estimate yarn from a weighed swatch

Use a washed, dry sample in the same yarn and stitch pattern. Fill all five measurements; the estimate includes the reserve you choose and covers the main fabric only.

Foundation chains
43
sc in every row
42
Rows
14
Loop chains
17

Strip 23.3 × 7.0 cm for a 26 cm mug: the length is the circumference minus the 3 cm handle gap, rounded to whole stitches. No stretch is assumed (single crochet is firm). Gauge used: 18 sc and 20 rows per 10 cm.

handle gap 2.7 cm23.3 cm · 42 sc × 14 rowsbuttonloop: 17 ch
Engine schematic to scale, flat. The loop passes under the handle and over the button. Not a photograph of a made sample.

Working instructions

Terms used here: ch = chain; sc = US single crochet (UK double crochet); sl st = slip stitch.

Chain 43. Row 1: work 1 sc in the second chain from the hook and 1 sc in each remaining chain — 42 sc. On every later row, chain 1 and turn (the turning chain is not a stitch), then work 1 sc in each stitch.

  • Rows 1–14: sc 42 (42 sts in every row).

Fasten off after row 14.

Finishing and fit

  1. Loop: on the short edge where the last row ended, join the yarn with a slip stitch into the end of row 7, chain 17, slip stitch into the end of row 8. Fasten off.
  2. Button: sew a 1.8 cm button to the other short edge, level with rows 7–8, one stitch in from the edge.
  3. Fit check before weaving in the loop ends: wrap the sleeve around the mug with the handle in the gap, pass the loop under the handle and over the button. Add or remove chains until it closes without stretching.

Hot drinks: this sleeve is for grip and decoration. It does not make a hot mug safe to hold and is not tested as heat protection. Take it off before microwaving or washing the mug, and keep yarn away from hobs and open flames.

Materials

  • Smooth cotton or cotton-blend yarn (about the thickness that gives 18 sc per 10 cm with your hook)
  • One 1.8 cm button, sewing needle and matching thread
  • Crochet hook, yarn needle, scissors, tape measure

No fabric yarn amount is assumed. Add a weighed, measured swatch below for an area-based estimate of the main fabric.

Approximate time: about 0.5–1.1 hours of stitching: 648 stitches at 10–20 stitches per minute. Every pace above is an assumed range, not a timed sample; enter your own pace to replace the main one. Finishing (seams, weaving in ends, blocking) is not included.

Stitch totals: 588 sc, 43 foundation chains, 17 loop chains.

  • ✓ Every row keeps the same stitch count.
  • ✓ The instructions cover every row exactly once.
  • ✓ The strip (23.3 cm) leaves 2.7 cm free for the handle on a 26 cm mug.
  • ✓ The loop is anchored on rows 7–8 of 14.

Questions about this project

Why is the strip shorter than my mug?

The ends stop either side of the handle. The engine subtracts your measured handle gap from the circumference and rounds to whole stitches; the loop bridges the gap under the handle.

Will it keep my drink warm or my hand cool?

We make no such claim. A full hot mug can still be too hot to hold. Use the sleeve for grip and decoration only.

Terms and next steps

k = knit; p = purl; sc = US single crochet; MC = main colour; CC = contrast colour. A number after a stitch abbreviation is the number of stitches to work. Read repeat instructions as written.

Abbreviation references: Craft Yarn Council knitting terms · Craft Yarn Council crochet terms and US/UK comparison.

More small projects · Save notes in My projects · Beginner guides in seven languages