https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/upcycled-jars • Posted by rainbowjo86
Before recycling your glass jam or sauce jars, think about up-cycling them to give them a new lease of life! my flat is full to the brim of these little beauties; they're used for storage, candle holders, vases and are an excellent place to keep you knitting needles for your current projects! All you need is your scrap yarn, some knitting needles (i'd suggest 4mm+) and the ability to cast on, knit and cast off.
Before recycling your glass jam or sauce jars, think about up-cycling them to give them a new lease of life! my flat is full to the brim of these little beauties; they're used for storage, candle holders, vases and are an excellent place to keep you knitting needles for your current projects! All you need is your scrap yarn, some knitting needles (i'd suggest 4mm+) and the ability to cast on, knit and cast off.
For the jar pictured, I used 4ply, rainbow yarn and chunky (10mm) wooden needles. Depending on whether you want to be exact, you can measure the diameter & height of the jar to begin with. I simply cast on, using the long tail method, until the the piece measured the height of the jar.
KNIT!! For every row I slipped the first stitch, so that the boarder lines on the top and bottom of the jar kept a clean line. As you're knitting and the piece develops; make sure you check that you check the length - you don't want to go too far and make the piece too big! Remember - The yarn will be loose, as you're creating large stitches; you will want to make the piece about 1" - 1.5" smaller than you need, as the yarn will stretch around the jar. If you make it too big, the cozy will slip off.
Once you're finished, cast off loosely - keeping the same tension as you have throughout the piece - if you cast off too tight, the piece will go wonky...which will create all kinds of issues! When you're at your final stitch, bind off, leaving a long tail; you'll use this to stitch the cast on and cast off sides together.
Its up to you if you want to use a needle to sew the pieces together, but I found that the stitches were so big, you can simple thread through with your fingers. Picking up a stitch from both the cast on and cast off side; thread the tail down to close off the gap. When you've made it to the other end and both sides are secure; knot the remaining tail to make sure it doesn't come loose and cut off any remaining yarn. Slip the cozy over the jar, sit back, take a look and bask in the knowledge that it was THAT easy and is still THAT lovely!