Do you need your own 'Snowman' water bottle cover?

In case you feel like making a cover for your water bottle, this is how I made the snowman ones recently.

Things you need:

• Water bottle
• Fleece background fabric - I had some tartan printed fleece
• White fleece for the snowman head and body
• black homespun for the hat
• zipper - 30cm chunky or whatever you have.
• ribbon for the neck and hat trim
• orange fabric offcut for the nose
• 2 buttons for the eyes
• 3 buttons for the shirt
• Heart button (even a snowman likes to have a heart)
• sewing machine, white, orange and black cotton, overlocker

This is how I made mine:

 

Cut the hanging top off your water bottle.

Trace around water bottle, leaving 3/4" for seam and space to put filled bottle into the cover.

For the back, fold front piece in half and cut out 2 halves, leaving a 1/2" seam at centre of back.

(if you're using checks, you may want to spend the time matching the checks as you cut out the pieces so that they match up on the finished cover - painful I know!!! - but I had to!!) 

Now for the snowman - find 2 'things' that you can trace around for the head and body.

I used a knitting frame

and a jug

Trace around the top of your front cover to get the shape for your hat.

Cut out an orange triangle nose.

Iron visoflix (double-sided iron-on interfacing) onto the back of each snowman piece.

Position all pieces on the front of your water bottle cover.  Iron in place.

Machine each piece in place, using a decorative blanket stitch around the edges.

Add features to snowman - eyes, shirt buttons, scarf, heart and hat trim.

Join back pieces together with zipper (my zipper was shorter, so I closed part of the back seam first)

Place finished front against back, right sides facing.

Sew pieces together 1/2" in from cut edge.  Overlock seam edge to neaten.

Turn through and push out edges.  Press.

Part fill water bottle with warm water (not boiling) and slip into finished cover.

Enjoy!  

But beware - they can become addictive and multiply!

The babushka one is a smaller water bottle with a fleece and cotton fabric cover, and uses an iron-on face transfer.  The girls' faces are also transfers made using photos.

If you would like to try patchwork or other appliqué covers, check out the pattern Robyn has just released through Craftsy.  She has included lots of ideas for days of creative fun.