Just Pootling

 

♥

Tea Cosies.

 

With the arrival of Autumn just around the corner 

there can be nothing nicer than sitting down for a good cup of tea 

and cosying in for the shorter days ahead. 

And it goes without saying that every teapot deserves the very best of tea cosies !

The two cosies above both make me feel very Autumny 

and the free pattern for the sunflower tea cosy is all written out below. 

The bee hive tea cosy is a pattern from my book Crocheted Home  and, 

I have to say, 

it was great fun hooking up all of the little bees for this one.

For the Sunflower tea Cosy:

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.

(Although I have detailed the yarn that I used any DK or Aran weight yarn 

can be used and worked with the correct hook number suggested on the yarn label.)

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 !

 

♥