Crocheted Tea Cozy from Finland

Presented with many wonderful textile objects on display at the Brinkens Museum in Malex, Finland, my eyes were drawn almost immediately to two tea cozies in one corner. The blue-green cozy was worked in hairpin crochet and the yellow one in single crochet through both loops. The yellow cozy was edged with spike stitches, a few rounds in white, then joined and finished with a picot edging. The flower motifs were sewn on, and the simple leaves were embroidered. The upturned bottom edge is not only decorative but functional with two layers on each side of the teapot. For your next tea party, why not serve petit fours topped with candied flowers to match your flower-decorated cozy?

Materials Needed

• Geilsk Cotton/Wool, 55% lamb’s wool/45% cotton yarn, fingering weight, 250 yards (228.6 m)/50 gram (1.8 oz) ball, 2 balls of #C29 Curry Yellow (MC) and 1 ball each of #C8 Ecru (CC1), #C21 Raspberry (CC2), and #C3 Green (CC3); www.knit-geilsk.com
• Clover Soft Touch crochet hook, size B (2.25 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge; www.clover-usa.com
• Tapestry needle
• Locking ring markers, 2
• Pins

Finished size: 8 inches (20.3 cm) high and 12 inches (30.5 cm) wide, to fit 4-cup teapot
Gauge: 32 sc and 28 rnds = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in sc through both lps