More Knitting...this time a strawberry tea cosy

 Strawberry Tea Cosy

I've always loved the tea cosy. I've just never had one. So after a Google search of free tea cosy patterns I came across this one which is a strawberry. I just loved it, and got busy knitting away like mad!

Okay, so I think it’s safe to say that I’ve also caught the knitting bug. It’s just too hard not to fall in love with knitting. Spending nights relaxing on the lounge after a crazy day while watching various seasons of a favourite TV series and still creating something is addictive.

This free strawberry tea cosy pattern comes from Katya Frankel. The pattern was excellent, as I’ve never knitted anything in the round before and had no trouble completing this project.

First I knitted the first side of the berry, in a red which I used 100% Australian wool from a ball that was 50 grams, with size 4 knitting needles. For the seeds of the berry, I used a beige acrylic wool 25 gram ball that I already had about the house.

For the stalk I used a small amount of 100 gram acrylic green wool. (This was as I couldn’t find the colour of green that I wanted in pure wool).

                                                                                                                                     

Once I had completed both sides of the berry, the fun really began with my first attempt at knitting in the round. I was nervous about how it would turn out, however I’m very happy with the result. I used size 4 Bamboo double ended knitting needles to complete the ‘in the round’ process of the project.

 

Apparently Bamboo knitting needles are better for working the wool. I just like the fact that they are made from a renewable resource and are not wildly expensive.

I searched around at my favourite crafty supply store for a packet of 4 double ended knitting needles and ended up getting a set of 5. (So I can only deduct that the 5^th is to use as the working needle).

 

 

 

I ended up making the stalk a little longer that what was stated in the pattern, as I thought that it would look better. If I made the same tea cosy again I’d be more careful with the seed stitches, as in some sections I think that I may have made them too tight.

While knitting for a couple of hours a day I was able to complete the tea cosy in just over a week. The tea cosy is the perfect size for my 4-6 cup teapot. I highly recommend Katya Frankel               knitting patterns. Hmm... I think that I’ll make another tea cosy for when this one is in the wash!