DIY Hot Water Bottle Cover

Why not recycle your old daggy jumper into a huggable cosy hot water bottle cover! It's super easy and quick to do. If you don't have an old jumper to use you can pick up some great ones at the 2nd hand stores. Here's how it's done.

You will need:
4 to 6 Cute buttons. (optional)
An old knitted roll - neck jumper.
Hot water bottle.
Needle and thread.
Sheet of newspaper.
Felt tip pen.
Scissors.
Pins.

How To:
Give your jumper a good hot wash and tumble dry to shrink it a bit. (This will help it keep its shape) Put your hot water bottle on top of your piece of newspaper and draw around the entire outline of your hottie to make your template. Turn your jumper inside out and place it on a flat surface with the roll neck at the top. (Make sure it's nice and flat and any bumps are smoothed out.)

Pin your template piece to the inside-out jumper. The top of the hot water bottle template piece (where you fill the hottie up) should be level with the top of the roll neck. Your jumper will be wider in the neck than your hot water bottle is. 

Now its time to start cutting! You need to cut your jumper in a "U" shape using your template as a guide. To cut the "U" shape, first cut around the bottom curve of the hot water bottle to match the shape of its bottom (you will need to add 1cm when you cut to allow for your seams / stitching) Next cut up each side of the template in a straight line all the way to the top of the sweater.

Now its time to start stitching! Your jumper should still be inside-out. You need to sew from the shoulder seam down each side, around the bottom curve and back up to the other shoulder seam.  Basically you are sewing a "U" shape just like you cut out.  You can hand-sew this seam with small sturdy stitches, or you can sew on your machine for a fast result. Trim away any loose ends. Now, turn hot water bottle cover in the right way out.

You can sew on buttons if you choose or if you used a jumper like my top picture with the buttons and opening already in place you can simply snip the old buttons off with care and stitch on your chosen buttons. (if your jumper was an old 2nd hand one with fugly buttons you may choose to replace them)

That's it! Your done. You can add ribbon or ties to the neck of your bottle if you choose like the following pictures or leave as it is.  Time to get cosy!