Editor: Liz Johnson

Wednesday, 26 May 2010 04:00

Sew4Home lives in Coffee Land - the beautiful Pacific Northwest, home of Starbucks® , Seattle's Best® and Peet's Coffee & Tea® . We're never more than five steps from a barista, however, we also like to have lots of ways to make coffee within the comfort of our homes. The French press style coffee maker has seen a resurgence of popularity in recent years. These contraptions make an awesome cup of coffee, but if you let the press stand for any length of time, the coffee goes cold. Enter the French Press Cozy, brainchild of Sew4Home team member, Julia Chapman. This one is made from an off-the-shelf placemat and can be stitched up faster than you can say, 'grande skinny double-shot latte hot vanilla no whip.' The pattern provided below as a download is for a standard Bodum French Press, measuring 6½" high x 14-7/8" circumference with a 4½" handle opening. A seam allowance of 3/8" is included in the pattern.

Test this pattern on your own French press by cutting it out and wrapping it around and through the handle, remembering that 3/8" will be taken up all around. Too big? Fold it down to fit and tape in place. Too small? Measure by how much, and then redraw around the pattern onto a larger sheet of paper, adding the extra amount to all sides. As always... remember to add in 3/8" for the seams.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome 3160QDC)

Fabric and Other Supplies

One standard placemat: a heavy or quilted fabric is best
4-6” of ¾” wide sew-in Velcro
Scrap of insulating fabric: such as flannel, a batting remnant or Insul-Bright (optional)
All purpose thread
See-through ruler
Fabric pen or pencil
Iron and ironing board
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Straight pins
Tape measure

Getting Started

Measure your French press

Height: Measure from the bottom to ½" from the pouring spout. The cozy should cover most of the height.
NOTE: In most cases we've come across, an average placemat folded in half lengthwise is a perfect fit for the majority of standard French press models. It's just slightly shorter than the press, but still fits quite well enough to insulate. Plus, it allows you to end up with a nice, pre-finished bottom seam because you don't have to cut top or bottom - just the sides.
Circumference: Run a tape measure around the outside body of the glass and holder, threading the tape through the handle.
NOTE: This measurement will need to be slightly adjustable depending on the thickness of the placemat and the added padding. Make your pattern ½"-¾" longer than the measurement taken to allow for that thickness. Final adjustment can be made with the placement of the Velcro so don't sweat a super exact fit... just leave a little extra length in cutting.
Length of handle opening: With the tape laying flat against the body of the carafe holder, run the tape measure from the top inside edge of handle where it connects to the holder to the bottom edge where it connects to the holder.

The Pattern

Download and print the French Press Cozy Pattern.
IMPORTANT: This pattern consists of TWO 8.5" x 11" sheets. You must print this PDF file at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page.
Butt the pages together and tape. Do NOT overlap. Cut out along the solid line.
NOTE: As I mentioned above, this pattern is sized for a standard Bodum French Press, measuring 6½" high x 14-7/8" circumference with a 4½" handle opening. A seam allowance of 3/8" is included in the pattern. Test this pattern on your own French press by cutting it out and wrapping it around and through the handle, remembering that 3/8" will be taken up all around. Too big? Fold it down to fit and tape in place. Too small? Measure by how much, and then redraw around the pattern onto a larger sheet of paper, adding the extra amount to all sides. As always... remember to add in 3/8" for the seams.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Fold your placemat in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and pin the pattern to it. Be careful to place the folded edge where indicated on pattern.

NOTE: Remember place mats vary in size, so your layout may appear differently than pictured. As I mentioned above, in most cases, you should NOT have to cut along the finished bottom edges of the place mat; the height will be correct as folded, giving you a nice finished edge to work with. If you have a tiny press and need to cut along the bottom, you'll tuck up those raw edges and seam closed in the steps below.
Cut out the pattern. Do not cut the fold.
OPTIONAL STEP: Cut a strip of insulating material such as batting, flannel or Insul-Bright. Several layers of fabric can be used depending on how thick you want the insulation and how thin the original place mat is that you've chosen. This insulating material will not show from the outside so it doesn't need to match. To avoid extra bulk on the seams cut the material as shown to fit within the main body of the cozy. With the piece opened out flat, pin the insulation piece to one half of the wrong side. Sew ¼" from the raw edges of the insulation piece.
Fold placemat in half lengthwise, right sides together, and pin both short sides.
Using a 3/8" seam, sew down each side and around each small curve.
Trim seams and clip curves.
Turn right side out through the open bottom and press well.
Lay the pressed piece flat on your work surface. The fold should be at the top and the finished edges (for all of you who didn't cut the bottom edges) at the bottom. The piece should be wrong side down. However, the only way it has a ‘wrong' side is if you added a layer(s) of additional insulation. If so, the stitching holding the insulation in place will show on one side; this should be the ‘wrong' side.
Cut a length of Velcro to fit your tab. 4" should be about right.
Pin the prickly side (the hook) of the Velcro to the left tab through both layers.
Sew around all four edges of Velcro.
Wrap the cozy around your French press with the folded side along the top. Pull the tab with the stitched Velcro over the top of the other tab through the handle. With a pin or chalk, mark where to place the opposite piece of Velcro so you have a nice snug fit.
Stitch the second fuzzy side of Velcro (the loop) in place on the wrong side of the opposite tab.
Top stitch the bottom finished edges together approximately ¼" from the bottom edge.

NOTE: If you have a tiny French press, and you had to cut off the finished bottom edges of your place mat, you'll need to turn the raw edges up about ¼" to ½" all the way around to create a small hem. Press and pin in place. Then, top stitch the bottom edges together. If you used a heavy place mat, this will create a lot of layers to stitch through. You may need to futz around with the exact hem depth and seam allowance to create the best level of ‘bulkiness' without messin' with the finished height you need.