Pamper a loved one -- or yourself -- with a cuddly hot water bottle cozy in organic cotton yarn. Worked in the round on two circular needles, this piece knits up quickly with no seaming and almost no finishing.

It’s a great project for learning to read charts and for practicing intermediate techniques like twisted stitches, bobbles, and two-stitch cables. The charming branch-and-bud motif was adapted from stitch pattern number 36 in Hand Knitted Motif Pattern, part of the Asahi Original series.

Note: as the magazine photo is styled, the budding branches motif appears to be centered; however, the pattern is written so that the motif is placed asymmetrically to the side as in the project photos here.