History
From Wikipedia:
Although the history of the tea cosy may begin when tea was introduced to Britain in the 1660's, the first documented use of a tea cosy in Britain was in 1867. It is probably the Duchess of Bedford who, by establishing the activity of afternoon tea in 1840, would have brought the popularity of the tea cosy. Afternoon tea was the time for networking and keeping up to date with aristocracy gossip and topical news. With all the chatter at teatime the teapot would get cold, which would have at times cut short some tea parties. And so, the tea cosy came about. Tea cosies then flourished during the late 1800's, where they appeared in many households across Britain, motivated by the obsession of decorating and covering objects characteristic of the Victorian era.
Tea cosies started to be used in North America in the same period. Newspapers of the time reveal that tea cosies enjoyed "a sudden and unexpected rise in public favor" among women who hosted tea parties. Newspapers of the time included advice columns on how to make one: "Some very handsome ones are made of remnants of heavy brocade, but linen is generally used, embroidered or not, according to taste, as these covers are washable. Make the covering large enough for your teapot and provide a ring at the top to lift it off with."
Below is a felted cozy and my favorite elephant cozy from Lucky Beans. The cozy at the top of the post is from Mary Engelbreit.
OK, so I can't resist -- and this is well-known by my friends -- but I simply can not resist elephants! If feel the same and you'd like to make the cozy above, the instructions follow. Many thanks to Jill Mongato from Salt Water Pearls for permission to publish her pattern (liscensed under Creative Commons).
