This is a frilly, yet practical accessory for your daily cup of coffee. It's got other uses, as you can see, and now it's one of those things I try to have on me all the time, like cloth shopping bags and subway tokens.

You will need:

crochet hook
yarn
scissors

This project is worked in single crochet. For the finished product, I've hooked into one side of each stitch, which gives it a neat "ribbed" texture (I tried to illustrate the difference in textures in the 3rd and 4th pictures, below).

Step 1: Start Your Chain

Make a chain that's a little shorter than the height of your coffee cup. (I was a little generous here; the 20-stitch chain in this picture is long enough to make a venti latte cuff.)

Step 2: Start Hookin'

Single-crochet into your chain. Repeat for about 30 rows, or until you have a swatch of fabric that can be wrapped around your wrist.

NOTE: to get the "ribbed" texture in the picture, hook in to ONE side of each loop; the side furthest from you. Do this before AND after you "turn" your work.

Step 3: Embellish the Edge

(If you're not big on embellishment, you can skip to the next step.)

At this point, make sure your working yarn is on the same edge as the tail from the beginning of your work (you'll need this for step 4). If it isn't, you can add another row, or rip one out.

You are going to have wide, loose spaces between each "rib", along the long edge of your fabric (I circled these in the second picture below). Crochet along the long edge, single-crocheting into the tight spaces, and double crocheting four times in each loose space.

Step 4: Seam the Edges

Join the two short edges of your cuff by crocheting them together. If you were careful to line up the tail and the working yarn in step two, you can now crochet over top of the tail to hide it.

Step 5: Finito

You're done. Throw this in your bag, or slip it on your wrist before the morning commute and you can do away with dull, brown cardboard java jackets!

Also good for other temperature-sensitive beverages.