Straightforward Tea Cozy

Straightforward Tea-Cozy
© O. Rainsford 2010

Stitches:
sl st = slip stitch
ch = chain
dc = double crochet (treble in British English)
2-Dc cluster = (Yo, Insert hook in next st, yo, draw yarn through st, yo, draw yarn through 2 loops on hook) twice, yo draw yarn through 3 loops on hook.

First of all, you need a teapot. Mine – a Christmas present from Santa – is a 1.4l stainless steel teapot, standard-issue in the British Isles (can be bought at most department stores.) This pattern should also fit a china pot, it may need to be tweaked with an extra stitch here or there.

Important note: TURN your work at the end of each round, so each alternate round shows the ‘front’ of the stitches or the ‘back’ of the stitches. This is important later, when you have to work the flaps of the cosy.
The photographs show the different sections of the tea-cozy worked in different colours. You can do a plain cosy in a single colour, or alternate with stripes of different colours. Once you have mastered the basic structure, you can experiment with colours and embellishments.

Starting at the top of the cosy and working down: chain 3, join with sl st in first chain to form ring.
Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as dc now and throughout), 9 dc in ring, join with slip stitch, TURN [10 dc in total.]
Round 2: Ch 3, dc in same stitch, 2 dc in next 9 stitches, join with slip stitch, TURN [20 dc in total.]
Round 3: Ch 3, dc in same stitch, dc in next st, *2 dc in next stitch, dc in next st; repeat from * to first stitch, join with slip stitch, TURN [30 dc in total.]



Round 4: Ch 3, dc in same stitch, dc in next 2 st, *2 dc in next stitch, dc in next 2 st; repeat from * to first stitch, join with slip stitch, TURN [40 dc in total.]
Round 5: Ch 3, dc in same stitch, dc in next 3 st, *2 dc in next stitch, dc in next 3 st; repeat from * to first stitch, join with slip stitch, TURN [50 dc in total.]
Round 6: Ch 3, dc in same stitch, dc in next 4 st, *2 dc in next stitch, dc in next 4 st; repeat from * to first stitch, join with slip stitch, TURN [60 dc in total.]

Check that the tea-cosy is big enough by putting it on top of the teapot. This round part should come down far enough to just about touch the handle and the spout. **If your teapot is bigger, or wider, you might have to do one more row. In which case you would follow the instructions for round 6, but this time you would add a dc in the next 5 stitches after the double dc, giving you a total of 70 stitches when you’re done.



Now it gets a little tricky: place a stitch marker after the 30th stitch (or 35th if you have done the alternate for bigger teapots, marked ** above.)



Turn your work and begin the next round:

Round 7: Decrease by working 2-dc cluster in the first two stitches: *[yo , insert hook in first st, yo, draw yarn through st, yo, draw yarn through 2 loops on hook,] repeat from * in next stitch, then yo and draw yarn through 3 loops on hook. This creates what looks like this: ˄. Now dc in the next 26 stitches, 2-dc cluster in the final two stitches in this round. TURN
Round 8: Repeat round 7: 2-dc cluster in the first two stitches and last two stitches of this round, but with 24 dc in between. TURN
Round 9: Repeat round 8: 2-dc cluster in the first two stitches and last two stitches of this round, but with 22 dc in between. TURN
You can see the effect in the photo: the yellow part shows how we’ve decreased the number of stitches. This shapes the area around the teapot’s spout and handle.



Round 10: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each stitch across (no more decreases!) TURN [22 dc in total.]
Round 11: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each stitch across, TURN [22 dc in total.]
Round 12: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each stitch across, TURN [22 dc in total.]
Round 13: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in each stitch across, TURN [22 dc in total.]
This is shown in the photo – the pink part:



If you drape the cosy over the top of your teapot, it should reach down as far as the bottom of the handle/spout. In the next round we’re going to increase again, so the bottom rounds will stretch to meet under the handle and spout sections.
Round 14: Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the same stitch, dc in next 20 stitches, 2 dc in last stitch. TURN. [24 dc in total.]
Round 15: : Ch 3 (counts as dc), dc in the same stitch, dc in next 22 stitches, 2 dc in last stitch. TURN. [26 dc in total.]
** If you have a bigger teapot you can add an extra row of dc along the bottom – no increases!



And that’s the first side done! Now you turn it around and do the whole thing all over again, on the other side. Start at the stitch marker and do from Round 7 on again. Make sure your work is facing the same direction as it did on the other side.

When you’re finished, it should look something like this:



Fold it over and stitch the sides of the last two (or ** three) rows together.



You can tidy up the sides by doing a row of sc (Br. English: dc) along the edges of the spout/handle openings.










This is the finished product without any edging (I'll use a contrasting colour to edge the spout/handle openings and along the bottom as trim.)




The legal bit: You may make these for your personal use, as gifts, or to sell at craft fairs or craft markets. You may not reproduce this pattern in print or claim it as your work. You may not sell the pattern. Do not copy and paste pattern to another website, please use a link.


Other ideas:

Builder's Tea-Cozy
This is the builder's tea-cosy: the no-nonsense, cuppa-tea-and-chocolate-bikkie tea cosy for the life-saving mug of tea that you need at the end of a long, hard day:


(Round 12 has been done in a contrasting colour, same colour used to edge spout/handle openings)

Straightforward Springtime Tea-Cozy


(altenate rows in contrasting colours)

Old-Fashioned Tea-Cosy
Expecting the Queen for tea, are we? Time to get out the best china...


This cosy is done in sky blue till row 14 - the last two rows, 14 and 15, are done in grass green. Simple crochet flowers are sewn on and the stems and bees are added using a simple stocking stitch.