Hi knitters,
I've got a great free pattern for you. Debbie Lu says that she uses hers all the time. It uses hand dyed worsted wool or your could use up bits and pieces of worsted wool left overs
Debbie Lu’s Felted Tea Cozy
Yarn: 100% wool hand painted or variegated worsted weight yarn. The pictured cozy was made with Two Windows Dye Co. the Good the Bad the Worsted - 2 skeins, 440 yards total, and 2 different color ways. The cozy could also be made out of leftover worsted wool as a stash buster.
Needles: Size 10½ double pointed needles. You will only need 4 of the 5 needles.
A similar sized crochet hook
This cozy is 9½” tall and 13¾” wide. It will fit a tea pot that is 6” tall and 9½” wide. If your tea pot is larger than this, the hexagons may be increased by a multiple of 2 stitches on each side. And the cozy will be made taller by the rounds of garter stitch on the bottom.
Directions for a Hexagon:
Needle #1 CO 15 stitches, pm, CO 15 stitches
Needle # 2 CO 15 stitches, pm, CO 15 stitches
Needle #3 CO 15 stitches, pm, CO 15 stitches
Round 1: Yes, you have 90 stitches evenly divided on 3 needles. Carefully join into the round, make sure that the
Ssitches are not twisted, knit. Slip the markers as you meet them.
Round 2: K2tog, k11, ssk, slip marker, k2tog, k11, ssk. Repeat on all needles, there will be 11 stitches in each section.
Round 3: Purl all stitches
Round 4: Knit all stitches
Round 5: Purl all stitches
Round 6: *k2tog, k to last 2 stitches in section, ssk* repeat for all 6 sections
Round 7: Knit all stitches.
Repeat round 6 & 7 until there are 3 stitches left in each section. Make sure
you don’t forget to repeat round 7 this time.
Last round: sl, sl, k, psso for each section. Take the markers out. There
will be 6 stitches left on the needles. Cut the yarn, leaving a tail. Using a
bodkin, thread the yarn through the loops and pull tight. Weave off ends.
Make 9 hexagons just this way. You may use more than 1 skein in some of them. This will mix up the colors and give you an interesting look.
Half Hexagon: make 2
Needle #1 CO 15 stitches
Needle # 2 CO 15 stitches
Needle #3 CO 15 stitches
Row 1: Purl all stitches. You are NOT knitting in the round, but in rows.
Row 2: k2tog, k11, ssk - for each side of the half hexagon
Row 3: k all stitches
Row 4: k all stitches
Row 5: k all stitches
Row 6: k2tog, k until last 2 stitches, ssk repeat for all 3 sections of half hex.
Row 7: p all stitches
Repeat round 6 & 7 until there are 3 stitches left in each section. Make sure you don’t forget to repeat round 7 this time.
Last row: sl, sl, k, psso for each section. There will be 3 stitches left on the needles. Cut the yarn, leaving a tail. Using a bodkin, thread the yarn through the loops and pull tight. Weave off ends
Pie Shaped Piece: make 2
CO 15 stitches work as for half hexagon but only with one side, not 3.
Assembling the Hexagons:
Arrange the hexagons as you would like them. There are 2 sides to the cozy and the folded hexagons are on both sides. And actually in the finished felted cozy, they are in the top and center of both sides of the cozy.
Joining the Hexagons:
Make a slip knot out of yarn and put the loop from the knot on the crochet hook. Holding 2 hexagons back to back with the sides to be joined together put the crochet hook through the side stitch of one and then the next. Using crochet hook, pick up a loop of the yarn and pull it through both edges. Next, slip the loop that was already on the hook over the loop that you just made and you should be back to one loop on the hook. Repeat all the way down one side. Great you have just joined 2 hexagons. Continue joining the hexagons, half hexagons and pie shaped pieces until your have a large hat like shape. This crocheted join will give additional texture to the finished felted cozy.
Pick up stitches around the bottom of the cozy and knit several rounds of garter stitch. This will help ground the design and give you the opportunity to add height to the cozy. Remember it will be felted and it will shrink. There are 6 rounds in the sample. Bind off all stitches.
Weave in all the loose ends. Use standard felting procedure in a washing machine to felt it. As your cozy is drying, work on it’s shaping. Pull the hexagons so that they
look straight sided and even. When the cozy is almost dry, put an inside fold through the top hexagon and turn the cozy 90ยบ so that the sides are now the front and back. Work the new creases. You now have a point at the top of the cozy. This shaping will change the interior space.
Your tea cozy is done and ready to keep a pot warm on cool nights.
If you made this in greens and browns it would look just like a cozy tea turtle. You might want to add head, tail & 4 feet to complete the look. Enjoy.
