This pattern includes a second PDF version that is formatted for knitters with low vision. It has black text, size 22 or larger text in a sans serif font, no italics, no columns, and fully-written directions. Many thanks to Gemma Thompson (gemmabelle here on Rav) for her guidance in formatting patterns in a more accessible way.

I have this friend. Her name is Emily, and she’s a ridiculously talented dyer. You might know her as the charming color whiz behind Wool and Palette, a collection of yarn made in small batches with botanical dyes. Emily uses wool sourced from sheep that have been treated responsibly and raised with a progressive approach to land management.

Last fall, Emily sent me a skein of that yarn. It was a plump, multi-plied, non-superwash wool in the prettiest shade of dusty rose (Emily is much better at describing colors than I am). I treasured it and gazed at it and spent way too much time trying to figure out what to make.

Until one day, when suddenly things clicked. We had been talking about storytelling in our marketing, and I realized I needed a tea cozy. Emily’s yarn was perfect for my tea cozy. It was perfect for the story I wanted to tell about my tea cozy.

Emily’s Garden Tea Cozy is named for the garden where Emily grows her flowers for dyeing. It features delicate lacy leaves climbing up each side of the cozy and some coin lace flanking the leafy panels. A snug drawstring finishes things off at the top.

I like to imagine this cozy belongs to a beloved schoolteacher who lives in a little blue-gray cottage. She reads poetry to her students and packs lunches with fresh bread for herself and snuggles up under a cozy, multi-colored quilt in the evenings. Nobody knows her backstory. When students ask, she gives them a mysterious smile and redirects the conversation.

SIZES

One size. Finished tea cozy dimensions: 6.5” (16.5 cm) tall by 14.5” (37 cm) in circumference (unstretched). Base has a 7” (18 cm) diameter.

A note about fit: this cozy is designed to fit snugly with at least some negative ease. It stretches quite comfortably around my pot with a 21” (53.5 cm) circumference.

MATERIALS

Worsted weight yarn, 170 yds (156 m)

Sample shown knit in Wool and Palette Worsted, 3-ply Merino/Rambouillet blend of nonsuperwash wool, colorway Rose Gold, 240 yds (220 m) per 3.5 oz (100 g)

GAUGE

4” (10 cm) square = 25 stitches and 31 rows in stockinette knit flat, after blocking

NEEDLES

One set of needles for your preferred style of small-circumference knitting in a size to match gauge listed above

Suggested needle size: US 6 (4.0 mm)

TOOLS

One stitch marker for beginning of round; optional additional markers between pattern repeats
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends

SKILL LEVEL

Intermediate

Techniques: circular cast-on, increases, decreases, knitting in the round, tubular bind-off. For help with the circular cast-on, visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPtTiWL9AP4. For help with the tubular bind-off, visit this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c94VA0oxdo&t=227s