Have you seen any good tea cozies lately?
Here’s why I’m asking…
This is a picture of my 15-year-old tea cozy.
Sure, it’s a cute-enough idea — a tea cozy in the shape of a little thatched-roof cottage, straight out of a fairytale — but it’s almost worn out. It was dead cheap to begin with, and now it really looks it. Plus, it never quite fit my favourite tea pot properly, and the padding could do with being a little bit thicker…
Besides, is it just me, or does it look a bit like an owl made of mushrooms?
(It’s just me, isn’t it?)
Anyway, it’s got to go.
That old tea cozy was a store-bought one, but this time I’ll be sewing my own. Since I’ll probably be seeing it here on my kitchen counter, and using it daily for, oh, another 15 years… I want to make it special, one of those household objects that makes a person happy just to look at it.
So I’m on the hunt for ideas to inspire a tea-cozy sewing frenzy…
Here are a few that caught my eye.
Elizabeth Cook felt tea cosies
[The Green Apple via Another Shade of Grey]
Quilted fabric tea cozy with handmade button
[QuiltTops on Etsy]
Elephant tea cozy
[Artist unknown via Lucky Beans]
Quilted cat tea cozy
[Craftown craft project]
Antique WWI patchwork tea cozy
[GoAntiques antique tea cozy via TheFind]
Pink polka-dot gathered tea cozy
[Thistledown Cozies]
Wool felt and recycled sweater tea cozy
[Bella Dia]
Other suggestions, anyone?
Comments are open and waiting, so post a link and let’s see what you’ve got!
Technorati Tags: kitchen decor, tea cozy, sewing, ideas
The cuteness of the Thistledown Cozies tea cosy is in the fabric, really, Jayne: otherwise, it’s a simple rectangle of fabric (double layer) with a drawstring casing to pull it tight around the neck of the pot. (My grandmother used to do the same thing, just with a tea towel and a piece of ribbon!!) But if you need a pattern, there’s a free pattern for a similar gathered fabric tea cosy at http://www.craftandfabriclinks.com/tea_cozy/tea_cozy_pattern.html – enjoy!
Jayne, why would you want to copy some elses design?
Somebody Please Help Me! I’m trying to make a tea cozy like the one pictured on your website made by Thistledown Cozies, the pink and black one. I really need a step by step, with photos tutorial. Can ANYONE tell me where to find one. I’ve been scouring the internet for days. Please, if anyone can help me find this, I’d appreciate it. Thank you so very much!
Hey, it’s only 3 years since the original post, but just in case . . . look at this adorable tea cozy (and sweet website):
http://acornpies.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-make-tea-cozy.html
I just finished the 5th one and I am making the plans for two more. One is a “50’s ish” yellow print with cherries and birds. I embroidered the one side of several of the branches to form the quilting required to hold the batting and ran islett completely along the center seam. I would copy it in but the system doesn’t want to let me do that. I just finished one that looks like a slice of watermelon with buttons as the seeds (this was using the decorative stitches on my maching and some “stitch wiichery”. I am woring on the plans for a cottage much like yours but I will be using applique and embroidery to give the detail that seems to be printed on your old faithful there. As well, I am planning to do on on a black and white checker board base and appliquing on a wee stylized chef. You can use McCall’s patten 2018 for the base and then get creative. Most of the ones that I am makeing take about 2 “fat quarters” for the simplest and then the more detail that you add, of course, you add more fabric. The basic is about 14.5 inches at the base and 10.5 top to bottom. Does that give you some ideas?
Linda Jo
The pink elephant you have is made by a women’s club in Zambia called the Malambo Women’s club – here’s a link to thier website – they do all sorts of tea cosy’s but only have 2 on the website. Very cute – I too have a passion for tea cosy’s….
Hello. I am happy to see that I am not alone on this idea. I have been taking old wool sweaters and shrinking them down…turned a dozen or so into tote bags, then went on to make purses, lining them with pockets. Hmm what else can I do? So I started making pillows. Now I thought perhaps I could make a tea cozy…but how to do it? I stumbled upon this and love the photos. It gives me some inspiration. Thanks!
Pinhole, again, not a bad idea… in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way…
At least it would be much easier to execute, design-wise, than Mac’s suggested owl-on-shrooms tea cozy — though one could say that’s equally Alice-esque!
looks lovely..
Or one that looks like an owl *on* mushrooms.
I think you should make one that looks like a mushroom made of little owls.