Ninja Cozy Tutorial!

I just made this ninja cozy for my iPod and thought I'd share my quick and easy instructions for cozy making. Not really a pattern, just a description of how I go about doing this. It's a suitable method for iPod cozies, cell phone cozies, or any other small electronic device that you want to keep safe from scratches.

Choose some yarn that you like and a hook size that's comfortable for working with the yarn you've chosen. You won't need much, probably less than 50 grams. Aside from that you may want some notions like googly eyes, felt, sequins, flat-backed rhinestones or other costume jewels. You'll also need one button, any size or shape, to hold the cozy shut and a small amount of thread to sew the button on.

To Begin

Start by making a chain that is long enough to go around the widest part of your iPod so that the first and last chains just touch each other when you wrap it around. I'm working with an iPod nano here and the chain I made (with an H Hook) was 20 ch long. When your chain is long enough slip stitch into the first chain you made, now chain 2.

The Body

The body of the cozy is worked in half-double crochet stitches and it is done in rounds. Start by making a hdc stitch into each chain space around, then sl st into the top of the ch 2 that you made in the last step to close the round. Begin each new round with a chain 2. It's important to work in rounds rather than spirals otherwise the closing flap will come out crooked at the end.

Continue with hdc stitches around and a sl st to close each round until the cozy is long enough to cover the entire length of your iPod. For me this took 9 rounds. Once it is long enough, make only a ch1 after your sl st.

The Flap

How many stitches do you have in your round? Half of your stitches will be used to make the flap. For my nano cozy I had twenty stitches so I'm going to use that number as an example. Adjust these instructions accordingly, depending how many stitches you have.

Single Crochet into the first 10 stitches, then hdc in the last 10 stitches. Do not sl stitch to close the round. Instead chain 2, turn and hdc back across the 10 hdc stitches you made in the last round. You'll now work in rows, making a turning chain of 2 at the end of each row.

You want to work this flap piece until it covers about one third of your cozy when folded over. Then it will be time to make the button hole.

The Button Hole

Button holes will stretch a bit over time, so don't be afraid to make the hole kind of tight. To make the button hole you'll need to make a couple of chains in the middle of your next row. My button hole row was done like this.

sc 4, ch 2, sc 4.

The number of chains you need will depend on how wide you need to make the button hole. At the end of this row make your ch 2 turning chain as usual and then do another row of hdc across, stitching into the chains in the middle of the last row when necessary. See how that makes an nice hole in the middle?

To finish off the flap, I like to ch 1, turn and do a final row of single crochet across. Then finish off and weave in the end of the yarn.

Finishing up

Use matching thread or yarn to whip stitch the bottom of your cozy shut. If you're making the cozy for an iPod or other music player you may want to leave a hole approx. 1/4 of an inch wide on the side where the headphones plug in so that you can listen to music while your player is in its cozy.

Hold the flap down where it will sit and position the button where you need it. Sew it on with thread, securing tightly. Weave in the end of the thread on the wrong side of your cozy.

Decorating

Decorate your cozy or give it a face and some personality if you like. I generally just use a low temperature glue gun or Gorilla glue to stick things to the cozy. Just be sure you don't use anything like safety eyes that will poke through the cozy and scratch the item you're trying to protect.

Enjoy! And as always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to post them.


Another crazy cozy. I made this one for a friend a few months back. That curly bit in the top right is just a loop of chain I made so that the cozy could be attached to things.