Anyone who knows me knows that I simply cannot craft without a pot of tea within reach – it must be hot, it must be Yorkshire and, yes, the milk always goes in first! As soon as I saw issue 98’s free Posy kit I knew it was ideal for making a garden-inspired tea cosy. That gorgeous shade of Leafy Green is perfect for casting on the bottom edge. After a few k rows change to stocking
stitch – enough to comfortably go around your tea pot with a bit of extra wiggle room. Just knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side for approximately half the depth you want your tea cosy to be. You’ll want to leave a gap for the handle to go through and the easiest way to do this is with short rows: knit half your stitches then turn and purl back to the start, keep doing this for approximately ten rows. Break the yarn, rejoin it, then repeat on the other side – after ten rows you can knit right across all of the stitches. Change to Periwinkle Blue – we don’t get many skies that colour in Britain but at least we can have a clear blue sky at teatime! Continue in stocking stitch until the sky is the same depth as the Leafy Green grass. Knit some eyelets into the next k row by working yon, k2tog, space these holes evenly through this row, purl the next row then work four more rows of st st and cast off. Use Peony Pink and Poppy Red to knit some flowers, you’ll find lots of easy patterns at letsknit.co.uk that you can sew onto the cosy. Using a tapestry needle and simple embroidery stitches, add stems and leaves with Tulip Teal. Finally, sew the side seam leaving a gap for the spout and make an i-cord (or crochet a long chain) using Sunflower Yellow yarn. Thread this through the eyelets to allow you to gather the top of the tea cosy. Right, job done… now where’s my cuppa?!

Make sure to pick up your copy of issue 98, and get more Posy yarn kits here.