Tuesday 15 November 2011

Rosebuds Tea Cosy

Rosebuds Tea Cosy

To fit a 6 cup Teapot measuring 44cm circ x 18cm high.
Cosy measures 42cm circ x 18cm high (stretches to fit).

I instantly fell in love with the colours & texture of the yarn I used for the body of the cosy & snatched it up one day, while I was shopping for something else. Knitted up on a tighter tension than recommended makes a wonderfully warm & stretchy tea cosy. It needs nothing but garter stitch with the yarn doing all the work, making it so simple. You can use the whole 15 rosebuds for your cosy or just a few if you prefer a simpler design.
Materials
The cosy is designed only for this specific yarn. I won't guarantee the same results from alternative yarns, but I'll list as much information as I can, if you can't source this specific yarn.

- Lincraft Big Wool 50g balls x 2 (approx 40m per 50g ball)
Colourway - pink/green/cream

The yarn is classed as Bulky & is thick & thin texture. The ball band tension is 10sts x 15 rows (10cm x 10cm) using 8mm needles.
However to achieve a thicker fabric for this cosy I used 6mm needles giving an approx tension of 12sts x 26 rows (10cm x 10cm) worked over garter stitch.

- Moda Vera Pure Wool 8ply (dk) - 50g balls x 2 in Dark Pink for Rosebuds.

- Moda Vera Pure Wool 8ply (dk) - 50g balls x 1 in Light Green for Leaves.
- 6mm needles
- 4mm needles

Front & Back Alike - make 2
 Using 6mm needles & "Lincraft Big Wool" cast on 25sts.
Working in Garter Stitch, knit until 13cm from beginning.
Next Row - ( K2, K2 tog) to last st, K1 - 19sts.
Knit 7 rows.
Next Row - (K1, K2 tog) to last st, K1 - 13sts.
Knit 5 rows.
Next Row - (K1, K2 tog) to last st, K1 - 9sts.

Thread yarn through remaining stitches, pull tight & fasten off.

Rosebuds - make 15.
With 4mm needles & Pink 8ply, cast on 34 sts.
Using St st throughout K2 rows.
Next Row - Decrease at the beginning of this row & every knit row until 10 rows from beginning. (To decrease neatly Sl1K1PO).

Cast off.
Leave a long length of yarn at the end of each rose & set of leaves for sewing up.

Leaves - Make 10
3 leaves are knitted as one piece of knitting to wrap around the rosebud. I only put leaves on 10 of the rosebuds otherwise there is too much foliage on the cosy. The rosebuds without leaves are then used for fillers at the end.

With 4mm needles & green 8 ply cast on 21 sts.
Next row - K across 7 sts turn & work on these sts for the first leaf.
St st another 5 rows, starting with a purl row.
Next row - Decrease each end of this row, &  every K row until there are 3 sts, ending with a P row.

Next row - Decrease in first 2 sts, K1.
Next row - P2 together.

Fasten off.

Attach yarn & work in the same way on the next 7 st left on needle, & then again with the final 7 sts to form 3 leaves joined at the cast on edge.

Putting it all together.
Sew the front & back pieces of the cosy together, about an inch at the bottom (or whatever suits your own teapot) & from the top down both sides leaving space for your spout & handle. I think mine was sewn about 11cm down from the top.

The Rosebuds

With the longest edge at the bottom, start by curling the side in & then sewing it in place from the bottom to halfway up the flower. I find this stops the inside of the rosebud from popping out. Now sew a gathering stitch along the bottom edge & pull the gather in about this much .....


Start curling the rosebud from the inside edge, the gathering stops the rosebud from looking just like a tube. Stitch the rounds in place on the bottom edge as you go. Try to keep the bottom flat. When you get to the end curl the decreased edge out as you do the last turn & stitch in place near the bottom.
You'll get the hang of it after 15 goes lol.

The Leaves
Run a gathering stitch along the bottom of the triple leaf piece. You only have to gather it up enough to fit around the bottom of the rosebud like this.


Sew it in place, I also put a tiny stitch halfway up each leaf into the rosebud to keep it close against the flower.

Now attach the rosebuds. I started with the ones with leaves, putting 3 around the top (you can put a filler one right in the middle of these at the end). Then alternate another row down from these leaving some space for 4 more filler flowers without leaves to fill up spaces. Just play around with it, until you're happy with the look.
The best way is to attach the flowers with a stitch while it's sitting on the teapot & fasten them on securely afterwards.
© Jennifer Stacey 2011

For personal use, not to be sold for profit.
That's about it.
Let me know if there are any mistakes. I did write this out very late at night, so please let me know if there's something you think I've left out, or if there is anything you don't understand.

Love Jen.

34 comments:

  1. thank you for the pattern, that`s realy kind.
    i`ll have to look for the yarn and then make it :-)
    greetings

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  2. Thanks Jen, hope you've been keeping well - Jen.

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  3. It is BEAUTIFUL. There is something about pink and green isn't there. I love how you followed the More is More principle with bouquet.
    Loani

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  4. Thanks Loani, you know I rarely venture into flowerdom (even though I love it there) but when I saw the yarn that's all I could visualize for it - Jen.

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  5. I forgot to tell you today how I love this pattern. It's a really good use of the thin-and-thick yarn, and the buds are just gorgeous. This just has to go on my to-do list!

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  6. Oh Thanks Audrey, that's so nice of you! I had a lovely afternoon knitting & chatting - Jen.

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  7. Oh I absolutely LOVE this! Gorgeous!!

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  8. I think I can knit this one! Not hard. The pattern is pretty straight forward and think it will be a Christmas prezzie for one of my dear friends, that's if I can bear to part with it once it is done!

    Thank you so much for sharing!

    Jenny2

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    1. Thanks Jazzee for your lovely comment ... you'll have to make two then :-)

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  9. Thanks Airy Fairy - Jen.

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  10. Thanks for this - I've just finished one (of several!) for Christmas presents this year - such a lovely pattern, and gorgeous on the teapot! xx

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    1. Thanks Marilyn, glad you liked it.Thanks for the feedback, I really do appreciate it - Merry Christmas!

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  11. Many many thanks for sharing your lovely pattern my 1st cozy is for my youngest daughter she loves all things quaint and pretty

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  12. Many many thanks for sharing your lovely pattern my 1st cozy is for my youngest daughter she loves all things quaint and pretty

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  13. Many many thanks for sharing your lovely pattern my 1st cozy is for my youngest daughter she loves all things quaint and pretty

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    1. Thanks mobro, I'm glad it turned out well for you, I hope your Daughter loves it - Jen.

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  14. Jenny Stacey. Your a lovely lady, thanks for this beautiful pattern.

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    1. Oh thank you Shirley xxxx, sorry I haven't had a chance to come back and reply - Jen.

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  15. Greetings from South Africa - Making Tea cosies as Christmas gifts as they are so light and small to take on holiday. Have played with the pattern and loving this one - put a combination of bigger and smaller roses and leaves and this will be a special gift.

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  16. This looks gorgeous & I'm going to attempt to make it for my Mum. It's so nice to see your site & know that you're a Brisbane gal - as I am too! Thanks for the lovely patterns.

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    1. Thanks Suzy! So nice to hear from a Brissie girl, where are you in Brisbane? A group of friends and I meet every fortnight for a knit together, would be great if you were close by :-).

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  17. gracias, puedo añadir la información de tu blog
    gejala penyakit radang lambung

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  18. Hi Jen I'm from Argentina and I.'m a knitting lover. This project is a piece of art! ILove cosies but in my country it is very difficult to find pattrons or books because people here are not used to it. Thanks for sharing!! I'm knitting it! I hope it will be as beatiful as yours. 💖

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  19. AnonymousJune 18, 2015

    Hi Jen, I'm not from Argentina like the last knitting lover Estella - I'm just down the road - on the Gold Coast. Found you by accident and absolutely love your designs! I bought a Royal Albert teapot in the January Sales and your pattern is perfect! I will get the yard tomorrow! Just barely an intermediate knitter, but my mumsy will help me...she's a pro... Thank you so much - it's gorgeous! Cher.

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  20. Hello Jen, you are so generous to share your delighteful patterns. Thank you kindly. I love your designs. Hello From Australia

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    1. Thanks so much Vic, I appreciate your lovely comment :-).

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  21. You have to select all, (highlight the page), then copy and paste it into a word document.

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  22. Thank you for this lovely pattern.

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I love reading your comments, and I'm very happy to help you with any questions about my patterns. The comments are moderated only to stop spam mail coming through, so your comment will be published as soon as I get a chance to check them - thanks Jen.