Elf Wine Cozy

Does this elf look Grumpy to you?  Like maybe he needs one or two more holiday cookies?  Or better yet, holiday fudge?  My friends.. meet the latest in the crochet wine cozy lineup: the Elf Wine Cozy!
This is a very versatile pattern and can be made so many different ways to represent your favorite Christmas character.  Be sure to read down to the end for some variations you might enjoy!

I’m loving the wine cozies these days.  Since they are made with two strands of yarn held together with a large size hook, it makes for a pleasant evening project. It’s just the perfect project to pull out when you want to snuggle down under your afghan and watch holiday movies on TV, but you still love to keep your hands busy.

And it’s a fun, but inexpensive gift to make.  It’s a great way to use up leftover yarn.  And I’ve got so much leftover yarn in my stash, that somehow I feel like I’m “doing good” by chipping away at my yarn stash and making something “for free’.  When it’s done, pair this elf wine cozy with a bottle of wine and you have a very nice gift for someone.  I love that.

Can we talk about those ears for just a second?!  Aren’t they THE CUTEST?!  I love how they curl just the littlest bit and really “make” the elf wine cozy–well–perfect!

I went for button eyes.  There’s something about shiny, plain buttons that really appeals to me (I bought these at Hobby Lobby).  Remember those really FUN buttons on the Snowman wine cozy?!  Sigh.  But if you’d rather crochet the eyes instead you can easily follow the pattern for the nose and make a couple of eyes in a dark color yarn.  So many options with this pattern!

Purchase an ad-free printable version of the Elf Wine Cozy pattern here

Elf Wine Cozy Pattern

Here is what you will need:

• • US J10/6.00 mm crochet hook (Did you know you can purchase my go-to hooks on Amazon?)
  • Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice worsted weight yarn in Beige, White and Kelly Green
  • Scraps of black, red or rust yarn for outlining eyebrows and mouth
  • (2) 11/16″ (or 5/8″) black buttons (for eyes; you can also crochet them instead)
  • tapestry needle and scissors
  • Sewing pins (optional but helpful for placing the mouth and eyebrows)

Resources and tutorials you may find helpful in following this pattern: Crochet Abbreviations, US to UK Crochet Conversion Chart.  Find links to stitches on the “Tutorial” menu: Getting Started will show basic stitches used in many patterns and Crochet Stitch Dictionary shows our growing collection of crochet stitch tutorials.

Cozy

Wine cozy is worked using 2 strands of yarn.  So either pull a strand from the outside and inside of the yarn skein or wind a small ball to use as your 2nd strand.

R1:  Using 2 strands of Beige color yarn, make a magic ring, chain 3 (counts as 1st dc) 11 dc in ring (12 dc total). Sl St to 1st st.

R2:  Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc here and throughout), 1dc in same st as joining, 2 dc in each of the remaining stitches. Sl st to 1st st. (24 st)

Now work in even dc:

R3-11: Ch 3 for 1st stitch, dc in remaining stitches (24 st)  Sl st to 1st st.  Change to Green color in joining slip stitch of last round.  Fasten off beige.

R12: Continuing with Green, Ch 3 for 1st stitch, then, working in the back loop, this round only, dc in remaining stitches (24 st)  Sl st to 1st st.

R13-17: Continuing with Green, working in both loops, ch 3 for 1st stitch, dc in remaining stitches (24 st)  Sl st to 1st st.

R18:  Ch1, sc in same st as joining and next 2 st, ch 14, skip 7 st, sc in next 5 st, ch 14, skip 7 st, sc in last 2 st.  Sl st to 1st st.

R19:  ch 1, sc in same st as joining and next 2 st, sc 16 in ch-14 loop from the previous row, sc in next 5 st, sc 16 in ch-14 loop, sc in next 2 st. Sl st to joining. (42 st)

R20:  ch 1, sc in same st as joining and around row. (42 st)

Hat Brim:

R1:  Using 2 strands of yarn, and holding wine cozy right side up (with the handle loops up and beige face down), attach white yarn to the free (front) loop of any stitch in round 12.  Chain 3 (counts as 1st st), dc in each stitch around.  Join with sl st to 1st stitch. (24 st)

R2-3:  Chain 3 (counts as 1st st), dc in each stitch around.  Join with sl st to 1st stitch. (24 st)

Ears (make 2):

With beige and using TWO STRANDS of yarn, make a magic ring.

R1: Work 8 hdc in the ring, do not join.

R2:  sc in next st, 2 sc in next stitch (hdc, dc, ch2, sl st in 2nd ch from hook, dc, hdc) all in next st, 2sc in next st, sc in next st.  Then sl st in next 3 st and sl st into the 1st stitch in row.  Fasten off, leaving a strand for sewing.

Nose:

With beige and using ONE STRAND of yarn, make a magic ring.  Work 6 sc in the ring, sl st to 1st sc and fasten off.  Leave a long strand for sewing.

Finishing the Elf Wine Cozy:

Sew button eyes on row 9 with 2 stitches in between (see photo for guidance).  Sew nose on row 8, centered between eyes.

Position ears on either side at the top of row 8 and tack down over row 9.

Using scraps of black and rust yarn, carefully make large backstitches, following photos closely.  Finding the look you like can take a few tries, so you might take your first stitch and not pull the yarn all the way through, leave several inches to weave in later.  Then try different placements.  When everything is as you like, weave in the ends.

If you find this part tricky, here is what I suggest:  Lay the elf wine cozy flat on a table.  Take a scrap piece of your chosen yarn and carefully form a mouth with the curves, as you lay it on the elf’s face.  Use straight pins to carefully pin the “temporary mouth” in place.  Use this as a guide as you back stitch the mouth.  Thread a needle with yarn and back stitch a small section at a time, unpinning the “temporary mouth” as you go.  Repeat the process for the eyebrows.

Weave in any loose ends.

Variations:

There are lots of ways to change up this pattern to suit your theme or mood.  Change the hat to red or another color.  Change the skin tone to another shade.  Or try a non-traditional lime green yarn for the skin tone.  No buttons for the eyes?  No problem… use the nose pattern to crochet eyes out of black yarn instead!

Want to make your elf into a grumpy elf?  Kick it up a notch by giving your elf yellow eyes with black accents using these instructions:

Grumpy Right Eye:

With yellow Color yarn, make a magic ring.  In the ring work: ch1, 3hdc, 3dc, 3tr.  Fasten off yellow yarn, leaving a long strand for sewing.  The piece should have a flat edge and a rounded part.  The flat edge is the top of the eye, with the last triple crochet worked forming the top right side of the eye.  Now you will work a row of single crochet with black on the top flat edge of the eye as follows:  Attach black to the side of the last triple crochet worked.  Work 4 sc in the side of the triple crochet, work 1 sc in the side of the first hdc, then rotate your work slightly and work 2 sc in the top loops of the same hdc.  When you are done there should be a row of black on the flat side of the eye.

Grumpy Left Eye:

The left eye is similar to the right eye, just in reverse.  With yellow Color yarn, make a magic ring.  In the ring work: ch4 (counts as first tr), 2 tr, 3 dc, 3 hdc.  Fasten off yellow yarn, leaving a long strand for sewing.  The piece should have a flat edge and a rounded part.  The flat edge is the top of the eye, with the last half double crochet worked forming the top right side of the eye.  Now you will work a row of single crochet with black on the top flat edge of the eye as follows:  Attach black to top of the last hdc work.  Work 2 sc in the top of the hdc, rotate work, work 1 sc in the side of the same hdc, then work 4 sc in the side of the starting ch 4 (which represents the first tr of the yellow crochet). Remember, the goals is 1 row of 7 sc across the top of the flat part of the eye.

Once all the facial features are in place, weave in any loose ends.  Insert your favorite wine bottle and voila!  Your Crochet Elf Wine Cozy is complete!

Purchase an ad-free printable version of the Elf Wine Cozy pattern here

More Free Crochet Wine Cozy Patterns

If you love this Gingham Crochet Wine Cozy pattern, you might also like to check out these other wine cozy patterns.   You can find all our Home Decor Patterns here.

1. Sunflower Wine Cozy  //   2. Rooster Bottle Holder  //   3. Scrap Yarn Wine Cozy

I love seeing your finished projects! If you enjoyed making one of my patterns I’d love to see yours on Instagram, be sure to tag me @crochet365knittoo.  If you are on Facebook, stop over to the Crochet 365 Knit Too Facebook page or pop over to the Crochet365KnitToo Club and share a photo!  I’d love to see your work!