Tea Cozies

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).

Elephant Tea Cozy Pattern

by Jill Mongato, 2007

Licensed under Creative Commons

This pattern fits a teapot with a 19” circumference at the widest point. If your teapot is larger or smaller, adjust your gauge or change the number of stitches/rows. It might take a little bit of adjustment to get it right.

Yarn

MC: Caron’s Simply Soft in #9717 Orchid. You’ll use less than half a skein.

CC: Red Heart Super Saver #0382 Country Blue. You only need a few yards for trim.

Needles

Sz. 8 DPNs (4)

Misc. Supplies

Size 8/H crochet hook

Yarn needle

Stitch holder/spare needle

Spare circular needle (any size)

2 small buttons

Sewing needle and thread

Gauge

15 stitches/20 rows = 4” in Stockinette stitch (CC gauge will be slightly larger.)

Pattern Notes

READ BEFORE STARTING!

The finished cozy has a slit in the back for the handle to fit through. The pattern starts in the round. After a few rows, you’ll split for the opening by turning your work and purling the next row. Continue in Stockinette until the slit is the length of the handle, then re-join and finish the cozy in the round. The pattern will refer to “Rounds” or “Rows” when appropriate.

Body

CO 56 stitches, using long-tail cast on, or substitute any cast-on that is easy to pick up and crochet into.

Divide stitches onto DPNs, being careful not to twist, and join.

Round 1: K all sts

Round 2: K to last stitch. K into front and back of st.

Round 3: K into front and back of st, K around (58 sts)

Round 4: K1, K f+b, K 27, turn work to divide for handle (You will now be working flat. See Pattern Notes).

Row 5: Purl 31, P front and back, P 27, turn work (60 sts)

Row 6: K 32, K f+b, K 27, turn

Row 7: P 33, P f+b, P 27, turn (62 sts)

Row 8: K 20, K f+b, K 20, K f+b, K 20, turn

Row 9: P 20, P f+b, P 22, P f+b, P 20, turn (66 sts)

Note: This pattern was corrected for errors on 18 March 2008. If you downloaded or printed the pattern before this date, please check Rows 8 and 9 and make corrections.
Row 10: K 14, K f+b, K 22, K f+b, K 13, K f+b, K 8, K f+b, turn

Row 11: P 39, P f+b, P 29, turn (70 sts)

Row 12: K 20, K f+b, K 19, K f+b, K 8, K f+b, turn

Row 13-15 (or number of rows required to reach correct handle slit length):

Work in Stockinette across

Row 16: K to end of row, re-join across slit

Round 17: Knit around

Round 18: K 10, K 2 together, K4, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K5

Divide for Spout: Slip the 14 spout stitches onto a spare needle or stitch holder to pick up and knit later.

Continue knitting next stitch after spout sts:

K 5, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K 4, K 2 tog, K 10

Rounds 19 and up:

*K 2, K 2 tog* across each round until 10 stitches remain.

Break yarn. Draw yarn through remaining stitches, pull tight and secure.

FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE PATTERN, YOU WILL BE WORKING WITH THE COZY WHILE IT IS ON THE TEAPOT.

Transfer the spout stitches from the stitch holder onto a circular needle, so they can wrap around the spout.

Fit the cozy over the teapot.

Note adjustments you need to make and correct them before proceeding!

Work bottom of teapot

You will probably have a gap between the bottom of the cozy and the bottom of the teapot. You will now crochet a band to cover this gap.

Using crochet hook, Single crochet into each cast-on stitch.

Continue in SC until you reach the bottom of the teapot, decreasing as necessary to follow the shape of the pot.

Work Spout

Measure the length of the spout that is sticking out of the cozy. You’ll want to leave a little space (about ½ to ¾ inch) uncovered; subtract this from the measurement.

Multiply the length you need to knit by your number of rows per inch to determine the number of rounds you need to knit. Write this down!

NOW, TAKE THE COZY BACK OFF THE TEAPOT.

Transfer the stitches onto DPNs.

Pick up 6 sts from above the spout stitches (where you re-joined the body after transferring the spout sts to the holder).

Join and knit stitches in the round until you reach the correct number of rounds. Bind off loosely and break yarn.

Ears

Make 2 MC and 2 CC:

Cast on 10 sts

Row 1: P all sts

Row 2: K f+b into all sts (20 sts)

Row 3-7: Work in Stockinette

Row 8 and up: Work in stockinette, decreasing 1 stitch at the beginning of each row until

12 stitches remain.

Next Row: *K 2 together* to end. (6 sts)

Break yarn and pull through remaining stitches; secure end.

Sew MC ears to CC ears right-side out.

Finishing

Handle: Crochet with CC around slit.

Tail: Sew or twist a few strands of yarn together. Thread through yarn needle and

secure to back of body below handle.

Ears: Sew flat sides of ears onto body using scraps and yarn needle.

Eyes: Using sewing needle and thread, sew buttons to face.

Hair: Make a pompom from yarn scraps and sew to top of head.

Weave in all ends and you’re done!