Cast-iron pan handle cozy

I came up with this pattern after my husband told me that our cast-iron pan handle became too hot to handle whenever the burner was on. He found it hard to touch the pot so I created this cozy based on the dimensions of the pot handle of our cast-iron pan.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)
Yarn: Bernat Super Saver Worsted Weight Acrylic Yarn in Clay

Pattern:
Cast on 18 stitches. Knit for 23 rows.
Row 24: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 16 stitches.
Row 25: Knit.
Row 26: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 14 stitches.
Row 27: Knit.
Row 28: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 12 stitches.
Row 29: Knit.
Row 30: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 10 stitches.
Row 31: Knit.
Row 32: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 8 stitches.
Row 33: Knit.
Row 34: Bind off two stitches and knit the remaining 6 stitches.
Row 35: Knit.
Row 36: Bind off three stitches and knit the remaining 3 stitches.
Row 37: Knit.
Row 38: Bind off last three stitches.

Sewing:
Use some leftover yarn and start stitching the handle piece together starting at the smallest part where the first stitches were bound off. Do the mattress stitch all the way up, catching one or two stitches on each side with every stitch.

Once you reach the end of the piece, you will find that you have some excess knit fabric sticking up - this covers the bottom of the bulbous end of the pot handle. Sew this piece to the handle cozy on the left side with the mattress stitch.

 Then sew the last edge together.

Weave in all ends to strengthen the seam.

Estimated time for this project: about 40 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes to knit this up (perhaps less) then at least 10 minutes to sew this up.

Notes:

• I made two of these and I got better at it with the second one with the lessons that I had learned. If you bind off two stitches at a time, it lines up perfectly on this pot handle. 
• This cozy was custom-made for our cast-iron pot. Use your own pot and it's dimensions to determine if you need to add more stitches and such. I did this through trial and error, constantly wrapping the knit fabric around the handle to see if I had too much or to little. 

Ideas:

• Why not knit one of these up in a color that matches your kitchen?
• Or, this is a great way to use up leftover yarn. It doesn't take much yarn to make one of these, perhaps the leftover bit from making a dishcloth.