Moonlight Jar Cosies: Free Knitting Pattern glass jar art
Transform your empty glass jars into beautiful glass jar art with this free, festive jar cosies knitting pattern! Perfect for Christmas, these knitted jar covers are designed to create a cosy glow for candlelight. They can also be used to display small plants, fairy lights, or seasonal decorations. In summer, you can then reuse them as little hurricane lamps outdoors.
This free Christmas knitting pattern is a super quick project—just 1 to 2 hours—ideal for practicing lace knitting while creating something both practical and pretty. It’s also a fantastic ‘spend nothing’ project: use up leftover yarn, repurpose jars from your recycling bin, and those candles that seem to multiply in your drawer. Turn clutter into calming Christmas lights that bring warmth and energy to your home!
Sizes
This pattern gives instructions for glass jar covers that measure 16 cm (6 ¼ inches) in diameter. They are designed to fit glass jars between 21cm and 25 cm, (8 ¼ to 9 ¾ inches) and should stretch to fit, used with negative ease. The more stretched, the better they look. This will help the lace to open up.
Colour suggestions:
Knit in festive colours, to match your Christmas decor, knit in summer colours to match your outdoor space, or knit in black or other very dark colour, and paint your glass jar with poster paints before adding the cover, for a ‘stained glass window’ look.
Note on knitting in black
It is much harder to knit in black or very dark colours, as you can’t see your stitches as easily. Personally, I’m very nervous of knitting in black. My eyes are not what they were!
That said, I really wanted to try a ‘stained glass look’ for this project, so gave it a go. I found it a doddle. I’d already knitted 2 red, and one white one, so my fingers just knew what to do. I chilled out with an episode of ‘Stranger Things’, and hardly glanced at my hands more than once or twice as I knitted. (I did make one mistake, though. A very keen-eyed reader may spot it in the pictures. Do tell us in the comments if you do)
But my tip is this. Knit in an easy-to-see colour first while learning the stitch, then try knitting in black.
Yarn and materials:
Yarn required: any fingering or sock weight yarn. Samples were made using Performance Cotton Dazzle, 60% cotton, 40% viscose
One jar cover will use 35 meters (38 yards) of yarn (approximately, depending on row count).
Yarn substitutions
The thickness of the right yarn will be described as ‘sock’, ‘fingering’, ‘4 ply’ or ‘yarn group A’. The recommended needle size on the label for the yarn will be 2 – 3 mm needles, although you will possibly be using 3.5mm needles for an open, loose lacy look.
It would be possible to experiment with other yarn thicknesses, but you will need to calculate your own stitch counts based on the tension of that yarn. Use a stitch count which is a multiple of 6, plus 1. For example, the samples were made in fingering yarn, and 43 stitches (7 pattern repeats of 6 stitches = 42, plus 1 selvedge stitch).
If trying a DK weight yarn you may get success with 37 stitches, (6 repeats plus 1) or worsted weight yarn may work with 31 stitches (5 repeats plus 1). Please note these are suggestions for experiments, samples were not made to those stitch counts! I believe for this kind of project, fine yarn looks best, and sock weight knitted loosely on 3.5 mm needles so the lace opens up creates the best look.
Yarn fibres and types for substituting
You can use any yarn fibre for this project. The most eco friendly choice is the one already in your stash, so you don’t have to buy anything, regardless of fibre type.
The viscose I used gives the jars a bit of extra glow and sparkle.
Safety first.
Natural fibres, such as wool and cotton, burn reluctantly, and form ash. Synthetic fibres such as acrylic should have a fire safe coating, so will also be slow to ignite, but if they burn, can form a sticky residue that adheres to skin and causes deeper burns. Is there any risk you might use your glow jar somewhere a child or pet might knock it over? If so, either avoid naked flame (use led lights instead of candles) or stick to natural fibres. Or both.
Needle size: 3.5 mm needles, or as required to match gauge.
Needle type: the project is worked in rows, back and forth, so can be worked on straight needles, or your preferred set.
Notions:
A glass jar, up to 25cm diameter. The cover is quite stretchy, and therefore fits onto all the jars I had to hand except one very large coffee jar. It worked for me on a range of jars that had held jam, curry sauce, pickled onions, honey, and peanut butter. (That probably tells you more about my diet than you ever wanted to know, but hopefully gives you some ideas of the types of glass jars you could try)
Lights or candles
Tea lights (small candles in foil cups)
or
Short pillar candles that fit within your jar
Or
A string of LED lights that fits within your jar
Darning needle for weaving in ends
Optional: (for ‘stained glass window’ effect) poster paints
Optional: prit stick or other glue stick
Tension/gauge
Stitch gauge: 1 pattern repeat = 2.5cm / 1 inches. Row gauge: 15 repeats (30 rows) = 10cm / 4 inches
To check your tension: As the whole project is only the size of a swatch, there is not much point creating a separate swatch. Start the project, and check when the first 5 repeats are worked.
If your start seems too small: remember, more negative ease is better for this project. Are you sure it’s too small? If so, try larger knitting needles, or a narrower jar. If that fails, try a stitch count of 49 instead of 43.
On the other hand, If your start seems too big: try a larger, wider glass jar, or re-knit on smaller needles. If that fails, try 37 stitches instead of 43.
Construction:
The jar covers are worked flat, from the top down, and seamed closed.
Many knitters prefer knitting in the round. However, for this pattern, knitting flat and seaming is much easier. I experimented, so you don’t have to. Sewing one short seam is a lot less fuss than managing adjusting stitches between needles for this stitch pattern.
Accessibility
This blog post is formatted for accessibility. You can find out more here. You can purchase a PDF of this pattern, which is available in standard format with 15 point font, and large print 22 font, both of which use a dyslexia friendly print style.
Stitches Used
The project is knitted with a traditional Shetland lace stitch, using a simple row repeat.
Shetland lace knitting is easier than it looks. The stitch pattern is short and easy to memorise.
Stitches used and their standard abbreviations:
This pattern uses 4 stitches, with a cable cast on and standard cast off.
K: Knit
K2tog: knit 2 together
K3tog tbl: Knit 3 stitches together through the back loop. Slide your right needle from right to left through the back loop of the next 3 stitches. Wrap yarn around needle and knit all 3 together as if they were one.
Note: working 3 stitches together through the back loop is a little easier than through the front loop, for most. However, you could use a standard k3tog, or indeed a p3tog in place of the k3tog tbl, as long as you are consistent, and do it the same way every time.
YO: Yarn over, also called YRO or ‘yarn round needle’ Bring yarn under the needle to front of work (as if you were about to purl), then bring it up and over the top of the needle.
Cable cast on:
This cast on method creates a sturdy, tight foundation, which will help the cover grip to the top of the jar. You can substitute your preferred method, but I found this method the best for this particular project.
Create a slip knot, and put it on your left needle. (First stitch) Insert right needle into stitch, wrap yarn round needle and pull through, exactly as for a knit stitch. But, now you slip the stitch back on the left needle. (2 stitches created). Put the right needle between the 2 stitches, and repeat to create your 3rd stitch. Keep going until you have 43 stitches on your left needle.
Cast off (Bind off)
Use a standard bind off. (knit the first 2, drop the first over the second, repeat to end). This creates a tight, structured base, and helps the cover grip to the base of the jar.
Preparation
Step one: wash any labels off the jars. I found the best way was to put them to soak for an hour in a bowl of soapy water, then pull off as much of the paper as possible, then wash in the dishwasher.
Step two: (optional) paint the jars to create a stained glass effect (best if using black, or possibly white, yarn)
I used some cheap poster paints bought in the bargain shop (same as dollar store in US)
I used the primary colours, blobbed them on somewhat randomly, and smoothed them together. Where they overlapped, I had some lovely extra colours such as green between the yellow and blue. I let this dry for an hour, and it was ready to use.
Jars Cosies knitting pattern starts
Set up: Cast on 43 stitches.
Row 1: k 1, yo, *k1, k3tog tbl, [k1, yo] twice, rep from * to final 5 stitches, k3tog tbl, k1, yo, k1.
Row 2: knit to end.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 another 15 times, or to length for your glass jar.
Cast off.
Repeat of row 1 using full words for screen reader and neurodiverse access:
Accessibility Row 1: knit 1, yarn over, knit 1, *{repeat from this point} knit 3 together through the back of the loop, [knit 1, yarn over] twice. Repeat the full step from the *, knitting 3 together, then knits and yarn overs. On the last 5 stitches you repeat once more, leaving out the last 2 stitches – you work, knit 3 together through the back of the loop, knit 1, yarn over, knit 1.
Blocking:
There is no need to block your work, before or after sewing up. When they are stretched to fit over the glass jar, this will have the same effect as blocking. To get a very perfectionist look, you may want to lightly spray with water when you first put them on the jar, and adjust so the columns are straight and the lace is fully open, then leave to dry completely.
Seam together cast on and cast off edges with yarn tail, and weave in ends. Pull onto jar, with cast off edges around the bottom, and the slightly wavy cast on edge around the top. If it’s not sitting in place perfectly, use a little glue stick around the rim of the jar.
Pop your candle or lights in the jar, and enjoy!
Congratulations, your glow jar is now complete. Have a wonderful holiday season!
What to create next
The Fairy Lights pattern and the Wind Spinner knitting pattern both knit up in the same weight yarn, and they all look great together. For those who are multi-talented crafters, I also have a crochet wind spinner pattern that will coordinate perfectly for a hand crafted seasonal celebration.
Copyright.
This pattern, including the wording and the pictures, are my work and copyright. Please do not distribute them in any way except by using the link to this blog post. You may not copy in any way, including by making your own videos, if they are directly based on my work.
This blog is not intended for commercial use. You may sell finished items based on this pattern only if you have made them in your own home, with your own hands. However, selling your own makes from this pattern, especially for charity, is strongly encouraged. I would love to hear about your event, and how it went.
Thanks and Acknowledgements:
This pattern was proof read and formatted as a PDF by Dara Addams. It was based on a stitch featured in the book ‘The Magic of Shetland Lace Knitting’ by Elizabeth Lovick.