Hot Water Bottle Cover in Schachenmayr Bravo Baby - S8640 - Downloadable PDF

Hot Water Bottle Cover Knitting Pattern – Schachenmayr Bravo Baby S8640 (Free Downloadable PDF)

This free downloadable knitting pattern, design S8640 from Schachenmayr, provides full instructions for creating a beautifully textured hot water bottle cover — a cosy, practical accessory that makes a wonderful handmade gift. The finished cover measures approximately 20 cm (7⅞ inches) in width when lightly stretched, making it suitable for a standard hot water bottle. The pattern is worked in two matching halves that are seamed together at the sides, resulting in a neat, professional finish.

What Is Being Made

The project is a knitted hot water bottle cover designed to wrap snugly around a standard hot water bottle. The cover features a decorative cable-textured body section and a stretchy ribbed cuff at the top. The cuff is designed so that the uppermost 7 cm folds outward, creating an attractive turned-back collar effect that adds a charming finishing detail. The two halves of the cover are knitted separately and then joined with side seams.

Design and Construction Details

Each half of the cover begins with a provisional cast-on of 56 stitches using a smooth waste yarn, allowing the second half to be picked up and worked identically from the same base. The main body is worked in the cable pattern (Grundmuster) as charted, with stitches increased on both sides — first 2 x 2 stitches and then 2 x 1 stitch every second row — bringing the stitch count up to 68 stitches. This shaping gives the cover a gently curved silhouette that follows the contours of a hot water bottle.

After working 28 cm in height in the cable pattern, stitches are decreased symmetrically on both sides — first 1 x 2 stitches, then 1 x 2 and 1 x 1 stitches every second row — reducing the count back down to 58 stitches. The work then transitions into the ribbed cuff (Bündchenmuster), which is continued for a further 13 cm before being cast off loosely to maintain stretch and comfort. The side seams are then sewn together, with care taken to allow the top portion of the cuff to fold outward as intended.

Techniques Used

• Provisional cast-on using a smooth contrast waste yarn, enabling stitches to be picked up cleanly for the second half
• Cable knitting using a cable needle (Hilfsnadel), with both 4-stitch and 5-stitch cable crossings worked to the front and back
• Symmetrical increasing at both edges in the body section to shape the cover
• Symmetrical decreasing at both edges to taper toward the cuff
• Ribbing (2 x 2 rib) for the stretchy cuff section
• Seaming the two halves together along the side edges
• Working from a knitting chart (Strickschrift) for the cable pattern, with only right-side rows charted and wrong-side rows worked as stitches appear

Stitches Used

• Knit stitches (M rechts) — used throughout the body and cable sections
• Purl stitches (M links) — used in the ribbing and as background stitches in the cable pattern
• 2 x 2 Rib (Bündchenmuster) — alternating 2 knit, 2 purl stitches for the cuff
• 4-stitch cable crossings — 4 stitches held to the front or back on a cable needle, followed by 4 knit stitches, then knitting the held stitches
• 5-stitch cable crossings — 5 stitches held to the front or back on a cable needle, followed by 5 knit stitches, then knitting the held stitches
• Edge stitches (