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Sunflower Tea Cosy.

 

I have been wanting to design a Tea Cosy for a while now and when a thank you gift was needed for some friends we stayed with in France, a Sunflower Tea Cosy seemed too good an opportunity to miss ! With their house being surrounded by fields and fields of these beautiful flowers it was the perfect reminder of our lovely stay.

    

For my tea cosy I used BERGERE DE FRANCE MAGIC, 2 x balls of LICHEN, 1 X ball of CRIQUET and 1X ball of SENEVE.

I worked with a 5.5mm hook for the main body of the tea cosy and a 4.5mm hook for the sunflower on the top.

As a finishing touch I added two tiny bees to my cosy and for these I used some small amounts of 4 ply yarn and a 2mm hook.

         

My tea cosy is designed to fit a 3L, 10 cup teapot.

To make the sides of the cosy. Make 2:

Row 1: Using the LICHEN and a 5.5mm hook make a chain of 31. ( If you are making a cosy for a different sized pot your chain needs to be the height of your teapot from the bottom to the top of the lid.)

Row 2: Starting in the second chain from the hook work a row of TR. 30 sts. Chain 2 and turn.

Row 3: Working in to the back loops only work a row of 30 TR, chain 2 and turn.

Rows 4 to 20: Continue working as for Row 3. Finish off. Your piece of crochet should now be the width of the teapot. ( If you are making a cosy for a different sized pot the width of your pice of crochet can be adjusted at this point by working more or less rows.)

Make a second piece as above.

          

Joining the sides of the cosy together:  

Lay one piece on top of the other on a flat surface and using pins mark on each side the space that you need to leave open for the handle and the spout.

For my cosy I left a gap of 10cm for the handle, with a seam of 4cm below the handle and 5cm above the handle.

For the spout I left a gap of 7cm, with a seam of 5cm below the spout and 7cm above the spout.

I used a needle and yarn to sew the seams. Finish off and sew in the ends.

 

Fitting the cosy to the teapot:

Turn the cosy so that the seams are on the inside and slide it on to your teapot. Using double thickness yarn run a gathering thread all around the top of the cosy and then carefully pull it up so that it closes around the top of the lid. Stitch firmly in place.

    

To make the sunflower:

The flower centre is worked in a continuous round.

Round 1: Using the CRIQUET and a 4.5mm hook make a Magic Ring and work 8 DC in to the ring.

Round 2: Work 2 DC in to each stitch from Round 1, 16sts.

Round 3: *Work 1 DC in to the first stitch and then two DC in to the next stitch*.  Repeat from * to *all the way around. 24 sts.

Round 4: *Work 1 DC in to the each of the next 2 stitches and then two DC in to  the next stitch*. Repeat from * to * all the way around. 32 sts.

Round 5: Work a round of 32 DC.

Round 6: Work a round of loose slip stitch, 32 sts. Finish off and leave a long end for sewing the circle to the cosy.

You will now have a small dome shaped circle.

       

Stitch the circle to the centre top of the cosy, so that the gathered up top of the cosy is all hidden 

away.

For the petals using the SENEVE and a 4.5mm hook make a chain of 114.

Row 1:  Sl St 1 and then *chain 9. Sl St back down the chain ( starting in the second chain from the hook ) and work down the chain as follows: DC 3, HTR 4. This will bring you back to the long chain. Skip 1 stitch and rejoin to the main chain with a Sl St in to the next stitch.*

Repeat from * to * all the way along the chain.

             

  

 

For the leaves using the LICHEN and a 4.5 mm hook make a chain of 41.

Row 1: Sl St 1 and then *chain 13. Sl St back down the chain ( starting in the second chain from the hook ) and work down the chain as follows: DC 3, HTR 3, TR 3, DTR 3. This will bring you back to the long chain. Skip 2 stitches and rejoin to the main chain with a Sl St in to the next stitch.*

Repeat from * to * all the way along the chain.

Both the petals and the leaves will benefit from blocking. Once pinned out I sprayed mine with an ironing starch as this helps to stiffen them up.

Blocking will help your petals and leaves hold their shape.

 

Joining the leaves and petals to the cosy:

Wrap the string of petals around the centre of the flower three times. Pin in place and then stitch securely.

Wrap the string of leaves around the centre of the flower , underneath the petals, once. Pin in place and then stitch securely.

    

To make the bees: ( worked in a continuous round)

Using some small amounts of 4ply yarn and a 2.5 mm hook make the bees body as follows:

Round 1: Using yellow yarn make a Magic Ring and work 4 DC in to the ring.

Round 2: Work 2 DC in to each stitch from Round 1, 8 sts.

Round 3 to 6: Work a round of 8 DC.

Round 7: DC 2 stitches together all the way around. Push all the ends inside the bee and close up the end.

Using a thin, black fibre tip pen draw on the black stripes and eyes. 

To make the wings using white yarn and a 2mm hook chain 2. In to the second chain work a DC, HTR, TR, DTR, TR, HTR and DC. Turn your work and working in to the other side repeat the same stitch pattern for the second wing.

Fold the wings in half and stitch in to place on the bee.

       

 

 Stitch the bees in to place and then it’s time to put the kettle on !

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♥

Summer Bunting

A little bit of sunshine in the garden definitely calls for all the bunting to be hung out 
and so I have designed these colourful flags to match the rest of my Summer garden set, 
which includes cushions, tablemats and nightlight jars.

For my bunting I used Rico Creative Cotton Aran in:
 Rose 00, Candy Pink 64, Sky Blue 37 and Light Pistachio 44. 

In total I made 12 flags and this took approx. 1 ball of yarn in each of the colours.

To join the flags together I used a length of white cotton cord.

I worked with a 3.5mm hook.

Using a mixture of the four colours I made 4 plain flags, 4 striped flags and 4 bobbly flags.

To make the plain flag:

Chain 2 and then work 3 DC in to the second chain. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 1: Work a row of DC. 3 sts. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 2: ( Increase row )DC, working 2 DC in to the first and last stitch. 5 sts. 

Ch 1 and turn.

Row 3: ( Straight row )Work a row of DC. 5 sts. Ch 1 and turn.

Row 4: DC, working 2 DC in to the first and last stitch. 7 sts. 

Ch 1 and turn.

Row 5: Work a row of DC. 7 sts. Ch 1 and turn.

Continue working alternate rows of straight DC and then an increase row
 until you have 31sts.

Work a further 3 rows of DC, without any further increases,
 remembering to Ch 1 and turn at the end of each row. 31sts. 
Finish off and sew in ends.

Using a contrast colour, with the RS facing, 
rejoin your yarn and work a round of DC all the way around the flag, 
working 2 DC into each corner stitch to stop the flag misshaping. 

Finish off and sew in the ends.

To make the striped flag:

The striped flag is worked to exactly the same pattern as the plain flag, 
with a total of 8 rows being worked in each of the two colours 
and with each stripe being 2 rows of each colour.

 I found it easiest to join the new yarn colour in when making the chain at the end of the row,
 and rather than cutting the yarn each time I looped it up the side of the flag, 
so as to avoid having lots of ends to sew in.

When you have reached 31 sts, work a further 2 rows of DC without the increase.

If you are working your edging in the same colour, work a final row of DC 
and continue all the way around the flag in DC, working 2 DC in to each corner stitch.

If you are changing to a different colour for your edging, 
rejoin your new yarn and work a row of DC along the top and then continue around
 the flag in DC, working 2 DC in to each corner stitch. 
Then working this final round of DC ensure you work in the loops of yarn at the edges of the flag. 
Finish off and sew in the ends.

To make the bobbly flag:

 The bobbly flag is worked to exactly the same pattern as the plain flag, 

                                   with rows 5, 11,17,23 and 29 being the bobble rows.

For the bobble row ( RS ): DC 3, work your bobble in to the next stitch
 by joining in your second colour in the yarn over, 
working 4 TR all in to the same stitch leaving the last loop of each TR on the hook, 
yarn over in your main colour and pull through all 5 loops. 
Work 5 DC, repeat bobble.

For each row of bobbles start with 3 DC, make a bobble, 
work 5 DC between each bobble and after the last bobble of the row work 3 DC.

I found it easiest to cut the yarn after each bobble, 
leaving a tail long enough to sew in the ends neatly.

After your final bobble row work 2 further rows of DC without increases. 31 sts. 

Finish off and sew in the ends. Sew in the ends of the bobbles.

Work a final round of DC in your contrasting colour all the way
 around the flag working two DC in to each corner stitch.        

Once you have made all your flags simply join them together by threading

 a length of cotton cord through the top of each flag.

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♥

 Summer Garden Set 

If you fancy sprucing up your garden table this Summer 

how about crocheting some bright and colourful table mats. 

For the tablemats I used Rico Creative Cotton Aran in:

 Light Pistachio 44, Sky Blue 37, Candy Pink 64 and Rose 00. 

I used approx. 1 ball of each to make these two mats.

I worked with a 3.5mm hook.

Round 1: Begin by making a Magic Ring,  CH2 and work 12 TR in to the ring. 

Join with a SLST. 12 sts. CH 2.

Round 2: Work 2 TR in to each stitch. SL ST to join. 24sts. CH2.

Round 3: *Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to the next stitch*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 36 sts. CH 2.

Round 4: *Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to each of the next 2 stitches*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 48 sts. CH 2.

Round 5: *Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to each of the next 3 stitches*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 60 sts. CH 2.

Round 6: Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to each of the next 4 stitches*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 72 sts. CH 2.

Round 7: Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to each of the next 5 stitches*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 84 sts. CH 2.

Round 8: Work 2 TR in to the first stitch and then 1 TR in to each of the next 6 stitches*. 

Repeat from * to * all the way around. SL ST to join. 96 sts. 

Finish off and sew in the ends.

 For the bobbly edging I chose to work in two colours.

Join in your first colour and DC 1.* In to the next stitch work 4 TR all in to the same stitch, 

leaving the last loop of each TR on the hook. 

Yarn over in your second colour and pull through all 5 loops. 

SL ST in to the next stitch*, and repeat from * to *.

Continue working your way around the edge making the bobbles in alternate colours.

  

At the end of the round SL ST to finish off and sew in your ends.

These tablemats make up part of a full garden set of Cushions, 

Nightlight jars and matching Bunting,

You can find the patterns for the Nightlight jars here

and the pattern for the cushions here.

♥