Tea Cozy Swap

I've been working on a secret project, I'm participating in a tea cozy swap over on Ravelry. My swap partner Lisa received her parcel this week, so I'm free to post pictures. I knitted up this fulled tea cozy using the stitch count and decreases from this pattern by Kristen Nicholas, from knitty 2006. I added my own touches, the checker board pattern, the ring at the top, and an i-cord edge so I could personalize it a bit for Lisa. I also lined it with red quilted fabric to keep that tea pot of hers extra cozy warm!




This is a picture of her kitchen, which I love, she even has a red microwave! I think the tea cozy fits right in.



I wanted to explain about these little felted rings. They're drip catchers meant for the spout of the teapot. You can buy something that works similar, a plastic ring with a little terry cloth insert. I was hoping to find a nice red one to send along with the swap parcel, but no luck. Then I had the idea to make a little felted ring myself. It's actually an advantage, since these are much easier to wash.

If you want to make some for yourself, it's really simple. Using size 6 double points, cast on three stitches using two strands of 100% wool held together. Knit an I-Cord for 4.5" then bind off the stitches as one stitch and join the two ends to form a ring. There is a great tutorial here at Natural Suburbia, if you need a refresher on how to knit an I-Cord. After you get a few knitted up (it's always nice to have a spare or two) toss them in a hot washer and agitate until they're the right size to fit snugly over your tea spout. Here's a little trick I use when I'm felting/fulling in the washer, I put the items in a mesh lingerie bag along with three tennis balls. This keeps them all together and the fulling process goes a lot faster.

Have a wonderful weekend! Blessings Friends!
Melissa