A bottle carrier is a genuinely useful small project. It takes very little yarn, finishes in an evening, and solves an actual problem – carrying a water bottle without occupying a hand or taking up space in a bag.
Yarn
Cotton or a sturdy cotton blend. This is a case where the fibre does real work: the carrier holds a full bottle, which is heavier than it sounds, and it will get wet from condensation. Cotton is strong, it does not stretch out of shape under load the way acrylic does, and it washes well.
Avoid anything soft and springy. A bottle holder in a stretchy yarn will sag until the bottle slips through the bottom.
Making it fit
Measure the circumference of your bottle and work the base and body to match it snugly. A carrier that is even slightly loose lets the bottle tip and slide out; one that is slightly tight will still stretch enough to take the bottle and will hold it securely.
Most bottles are close to the same diameter, but the tall narrow ones and the wide insulated ones are not. Make the carrier for the bottle you actually own.
The strap
The strap is the part that fails. It carries all the weight, and a strap worked in the same open stitch as the body will stretch until it drags on the ground.
Work it in a tight, solid stitch – single crochet through both loops, or a row of slip stitches worked along the length to reinforce it. Better still, crochet the strap around a length of cord or webbing so the fibre core takes the load and the crochet is decoration. Attach it to the base rather than only to the top edge if the pattern allows, so the weight pulls on the whole carrier rather than tearing at the rim.
Finishing
An open mesh body lets the bottle breathe and dry, and shows the colour of the bottle through it, which many people prefer. A solid body insulates slightly better and hides a battered bottle. Either works; the strap construction matters far more than the stitch pattern you choose.
