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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 !

 

♥

                                                                   ♥  DAISY BLANKET  ♥

                     Following on from Granny square day 2021 here is the pattern for my Daisy square.

                     Each square measures approx 15cm x 15cm and my blanket is 9 squares wide

                     by 11 squares long. 

Of course, the blanket can be adapted to whatever size you choose, 

the finished measurements of mine are W = 146cm and L =176cm.

I used a DK yarn weight and chose to use Sublime Extra Fine Merino. Any DK weight yarn would work equally well.

Once I had made the required number of squares I joined all of the squares together in dc, in the same coloured yarn.

For my edging I worked rows of dc along the top, bottom and down each side, working enough rows so that the edge could be folded in half to create a lovely weighted border, and then stitched in to place.

                    For this blanket I used a size 4.5 needle and Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool DK.
                        Here is the pattern for one of the squares. I chose to work the main part of                                                     the square in htr's as I like the slightly more detailed look it seems to give. 

                                                   Chain 4 and join together to make a circle.
                                             Chain 1 and extend the loop to the height of a treble.

                                    * ( yrh, insert hook in central ring and pull up loop) x 3 times.

                                               yrh and draw through all loops on hook, 1 ch.
                                            Repeat from * 7 more times, sl st to join in first ch.
                                                   You should now have a circle of 8 petals.

                                  Finish off the circle and join in the next colour by pulling a loop 
                                            through one of the spaces between the petals. Ch 2.

                                             Then do 2 htr's in to the same space as the 2 ch. 
                                                   You will now have 3 htr in one space.
                         Into the next space work 2 htr, ch 2, and 2 htr. This makes your first corner.
                       

                                               In the next space work another group of 3 htr.
             The next space is your 2nd corner so work 2htr, 2 ch and 2 htr all into the same space.
        Continue working the round and join together with a slip stitch into the top of your first chain of 2.

                                      Begin your 2nd round: ch 2 and then 2 htr in to the same space.
                                                           In the next space work 3 more htr.
                                                 The next space is a corner, so 2 htr, 2ch, 2htr.
                                                               Continue working round.

                                 All corners are 2htr, 2ch, 2 htr and all spaces in between are 3 htr.

                                 Add as many rounds as you like to get the size square that you want.
             To finish the square off and to leave yourself with a good joining edge work one row of dc all                        around the edge, making sure that on each corner you dc 3 stitches into the one corner stitch.

                 To finish the flower add a coloured centre by stitching a French knot into the middle.
                           I learnt how to do a French Knot by watching a video demo on YouTube.

and that is pretty much it!

 

♥ Simple, lightweight pompom blanket ♥

I have so enjoyed making this blanket, from start to finish it has been such an easy, 

uncomplicated make that hasn't demanded any extra concentration

 and has made for the perfect calming crochet project .

I first knew I wanted to make it after I finished my Chelsea Flower Show cushion. 

I wanted a lightweight blanket, that would be plain in design 

and that would co-ordinate with the main colourway of the cushion. 

The finished blanket measures W 120cm  x H 140cm .

The yarn that I chose to use is DROPS Baby Merino, 

it's beautifully light and soft and is 100% superwash merino wool.

The colour is very similar to the DROPS yarn that I used for the cushion, 

and the two shades work beautifully together. 

To tie the two makes together I edged the blanket and made

  the pompoms in the same DROPS Cotton Merino that I used for the cushion.

The pattern is written in UK terms.

Tension square:

22 sts x 25 rows, worked in dc with a 3mm hook = 10cm x 10cm.

♥

 

To make the blanket:

Materials:

26 x balls of DROPS BABY MERINO in colour 43.

3 x balls of DROPS COTTON MRINO in colour 29.

3mm crochet hook

35mm pompom maker

For the blanket:

Using the DROPS baby merino and the 3mm crochet hook work a chain of 261. 

Keep your chain taut, but not too tight, as this will make the first row a little easier.

If you find that even whilst keeping your chain relatively loose it is still difficult to 

work the first row, try using a 3.5mm hook just for the initial chain.

Row 1: Starting in the second chain from the hook work 1 htr in to each chain

 all the way along to the end. 260 sts. At the end of the row, chain 1 and turn.

Row 2: Starting in the first stitch of the row, work 1 htr in each stitch all the 

way to the end of the row. 

When I work htr's I work each stitch into the space below the stitch rather than directly 

under the stitch as I find this gives a lovely neat appearance to the finished blanket. 

If you prefer to work htr's in the usual way it will work equally work.

And that really is the most complicated part over as now all you need 

to do is keep repeating Row 2, 

remembering to chain 1 and turn at the end of each row.

Keep crocheting away until your blanket measures approx. 139cm, 

finishing on a right side row.

At the end of the final row, finish off and sew in the ends.

 

To edge the blanket:

Round 1: Using DROPS Cotton Merino and the 3mm hook, join in the yarn at the top 

right hand corner, at the start of the row ( right side facing), and work a row of dc. 

Work 2 extra dc in to the last stitch and then continuing on around, 

 work 1 dc in to each end of row stitch all the way down the left hand side of the blanket. 

Work  3dc in to the last st and then work 1 dc in to each

 stitch along the bottom of the blanket. 

Work 3dc in to the last stitch and then work back up the right hand side of the blanket. 

Work 2 extra dc in to the last st and then sl st back to the beginning of the top row to join.

Round 2: Where you have just joined the end of the round, chain 1 and work 1 dc in to 

the same stitch. Now work another complete round of dc as for Round 1. 

Sl st to join at the end of the round, as for Round 1.

You could choose to finish your edging at this point, or, if you wanted to add a further 

round to give extra weight to the blanket, you could work 1 round of Rope stitch 

all the way around the edge of the blanket. 

Rope stitch is essentially dc, but worked in a clockwise direction

 rather than the usual anti-clockwise direction.

Once you have completed the border make sure all your ends are sewn in carefully.

For the pompoms:

For my pompoms I used a 35mm pompom maker and the DROPS Cotton Merino.

To keep all the pompoms the same size make sure you wrap the same amount

 of yarn evenly around the maker for each one. 

I worked 90 wraps of yarn for both the top half and bottom half of each pompom.

Make sure that the tie for the centre of the pompoms has tails of a good length 

as you will be using these to stitch the pompoms to the blanket.

                                 

The key to getting a neat pompom is to spend a little bit of time trimming 

each finished pompom with a small pair of scissors.

 You will find that this makes all the difference to the finished look, and that it is 

so worth spending a little bit of time doing this.

In total I made 24 pompoms.

Once you have made the pompoms, lay your blanket out on a flat surface

 and evenly space 12 pompoms along the top edge

 and then the same along the bottom edge.

Once you are happy with the positioning stitch them securely in to place.

And that completes your blanket !

All you need to do now is to find the perfect chair or sofa to lay it on.

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