Die-hard crafters are always looking for that next project. If you're a plant parent with containerized plants indoors or even outdoors, what could be better than creating some colorful plant cozies? These handy items can be sewn from fabric, but are often knitted or crocheted.
A cozy is often associated with teapots, but these plant cozy projects serve to brighten up and decorate plant containers, and they allow you to color coordinate with your home decor. You can differentiate your container covers according to the room’s decor or color scheme, by plants’ watering needs or plant types, or whatever else strikes your fancy.
What Are Plant Cozies?
A crocheted planter takes the 1960s macrame idea to a whole new level. DIYers have been stitching and weaving covers for plant containers for a very long time, but these days we see them more often as formal crocheted or knitted planter holders. Container cozies are great for covering up old pots, or the plastic ones that plants come in.
Container cozies warm up the feel of a room with their color and design, and add texture and interest that can make a special plant even more visually appealing.
Benefits of Plant Cozies
A plant cozy will keep your plants’ roots and soil warm, a definite benefit in winter. A crochet plant cozy is a great little project to use up leftover materials from larger projects. All knit and crochet crafters have a "stash" -- little balls of leftover yarn because no project uses exactly the amount you buy. Plant cozies make perfect "stash-busters," or ways to use up all those little odds and ends.
As an added bonus, making a plant cozy doesn’t take a lot of time and is a quick and easy craft that will fill time waiting in a doctor's office or the DMV line. There's research that indicates that hand crafting is a mood booster that reduces stress and increases concentration – great benefits for any age.
Crochet Plant Holder Ideas
The internet is filled with free patterns for crochet planter ideas. If you're working with random yarn weights from your stash, they might not match up perfectly with a pattern. But it’s easy to adapt to any weight of yarn by increasing or decreasing the needle or hook size, or holding multiple strands together.
If there isn’t enough of one color of yarn, use two or more -- stripes, zigzags, and other patterns will only make your plant cozy more interesting and personalized. Most plant cozy patterns are designed to wrap around a pot, but a few are made to easily slip on. If your plant sits in a saucer, make the type that wraps around. There are also wonderful patterns for suspended planters that will stylishly display hanging plants.
Knit Plant Pot Cover Ideas
Knitted plant covers can display a host of different kinds of stitches, or just the simple knit/purl classic look. Most knit patterns require just a few ounces of yarn. When making hanging cozies, avoid using yarn with too much stretch, because the weight of the soil and container will drag the cozy down over time.
Using circular needles and knitting in the round will keep the project from requiring a seam. This works well for larger containers. Smaller container cozies will be too stiff on round needles and should be worked on straight needles in a flat piece that will be sewn together after binding off.
Designing the cozies without a bottom will allow you to remove them when you water so they don’t get muddy or wet.
Knit a Plant Holder Without Needles
Hand knitting has become really popular, and the internet is filled with quick and easy projects. This particular art form is done with either fingers or arms. Arm knitting makes for a big finished object, like a blanket. It's also perfect for a really large planter.
Arm or finger knitting doesn’t require traditional knowledge of basic knit stitches and is a perfect beginner project. All you need for most patterns is a basic loop and slip technique to make a beautiful and snug plant cozy.
So get out there and get crafting for yourself and the plant parents in your life.