Date: Sat, 8 Apr 1995 01:27:37 -0500
From: Jenny Kosarew <jkos@escher.demon.co.uk>
To: Multiple recipients of list <knit@geom.umn.edu>
Subject: KNIT: Ketchup/catsup/catch up

[...]
TEA COSIES

I just typed this in once, then accidentally deleted it  ... SCREAM!!!

Lisa asked about these.  I haven't knit any in a very long time (I don't 
brew my tea long, as I like it without milk or sugar), but we always used 
them when I was a child.

If I was making one now, I'd measure round the 'belly' of the teapot, 
ignoring the spout and handle, then cast on enough stitches to go round 
it LOOSELY.  Knit a tube (or to-and-fro and seam later) about 2/3 of the 
height of the pot (I'm visualising a round pot here, adjust as wanted), 
dividing the stitches when necessary to produce vertical slits for the 
spout and handle.  They'll probably be different lengths ... make them 
long enough to slip over easily (if you're knitting to-and-fro, one slit 
will be formed from the seam).

Knit up both sides and then knit across at the top of each slit.  From 
the 2/3 point, decrease as for the top of a bobble hat, or just continue 
straight and gather it in at the top (ours used to have eyelets, with a 
crochet chain slotted through, and little knitted tags on the ends of the 
chain.  Remember to allow enough height for the knob on the lid.

Stitches ... a nice puffy stitch would insulate well, or how about using 
double knitting, or just knit a lining from the top down, increase a bit 
and continue for the outside, then push the lining in as you do for a 
double cap (you'd need to sew the 2 thicknesses together at the slits, I 
think).  You need it to be stretchy enough to get over the spout and 
handle (usually easiest spout first), but you don't want it to pull in 
and cling.  It needn't even touch the belly of the pot if it's stiff 
enough to stand on the table.

Our ones were almost always done in a stitch that's a bit like the 
Embossed Bell Motif from Barbara Walker's 1st Treasury.  After a few 
plain rounds, do a round (row) of (knit 4, cast on 8) repeated.  On 
alternate rows, decrease on each side of the 'bell' (ssk, knit 6/4/2/0, 
k2tog) until back to the original number of stitches.  Knit a couple of 
plain rounds, then do another row of 'bells', either over the others or 
between them.  We usually had the plain rows and the first couple of 
'bell' rows in a dark colour (brown matches the tea stains - grin), and 
the rest of each row of bells in a different pastel or bright colour ... 
great for using up left-overs.  Anyone else from the UK remember these?

All that description (sorry for the length ... I got carried away!) is 
for a small cosy that you can leave on while you pour the tea.  The 
other kind (usually made from fabric) is big enough to stand over the 
whole pot. and is lifted off before pouring.  For that, just look at the 
pot in profile and imagine an inverted U big enough to cover the pot 
(spout, handle and all) and tall enough.  That's your template for one 
side, and you can do it any way you like (stiff enough to stand up by 
itself ... probably a double thickness). 

[...]
Back to knitting!

-- 
        Jenny Kosarew                     jkos@escher.demon.co.uk
    from Reading, England
---
This pattern downloaded from Wool Works: the online knitting compendium
http://www.woolworks.org/