Ok, so this week I’ve heard that some people are interested in crafting insulative beverage holders- or “koozies”, as they are scientifically known- from old wetsuit neoprene.
While there are a lot of different patterns available on the internet for standard koozies, I haven’t seen any for super-sized adult beverages, such as a Foster’s. I can’t stand beer personally, but I love this picture of Kelly Slater slamming a Foster’s after he won his 8th World Title. Maybe, he could’ve used a koozie to keep the beer cold…
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Ke11y and his Foster’s during his 8th World Title |
First, I acquired a can of Foster’s to use for measurements:
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Measuring height |
The height of the can from the bottom to the top lip is about 5 1/2″. Next, I traced the can’s bottom onto some paper.
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Tracing the inside bottom |
I took a compass to estimate the radius of the can inner bottom you can do this around the outer edge instead, if you’d rather:
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Taking a measurement from the tracing |
From here, I could draw up measurements. The can bottom is 1 and 5/16″ in radius, the width of one side of the koozie is 5 and 1/4″, and the height of each side will be 5 and 1/2″ tall:
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Dimensions laid out on paper |
Now, to give you a better idea of how this pattern will be cut, I’m going to cut out the shape of the paper, cutting around the circle, but not all the way- you want to keep a bit of each side of the circle attached to each side. Cutting out the pattern will look like this (keep in mind that the height of each side should be 5 and 1/2″, but I was constrained by the 8 1/2″ by 11″ sheet of paper I used):
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Pattern cut out |
Next, you can trace this pattern onto your neoprene scrap using chalk, or you can staple the pattern to the neoprene and cut out around the pattern.
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Neoprene cut out |
Before I sew up each side, I’m going to add a little clear window to put a message, name, or thought into on the side of the koozie. I used a folded over piece of clear heavy duty shipping tape- a piece of clear plastic, like a piece of shower curtain can be used too.
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Tape I used for a window pocket |
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Cut a piece of folded over tape out, and cut out a little notch to take pieces of paper in and out |
I sewed this window down on three sides by hand, leaving the top open using 4 lb test fishing line and a heavy embroidery needle.
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Window sewed down, bubbles in the tape are not a big deal, they won’t show on the paper. |
Next, I whipstitched the sides together with the same fishing line, making sure the edges are lined up. I didn’t have enough neoprene to reach the full can height, but it’s still pretty tall.
Here it is finished, with a fun message inside:
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Classier than those wine tags, right? |
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