Tea and knitting go hand in hand, so when I needed to come up with a design for our Nordic themed knitting retreat, a cosy seemed the obvious choice! My current cosy is also looking very much the worse for wear, so I’ll admit to a little personal motivation as well…

Quick and simple to knit up, this is a perfect introduction to stranded colourwork and steeking for beginners, and should be an easy make for more experienced colourwork enthusiasts. I will be re-working this design into a hat pattern soon, should you not be in need of a tea cosy.

This pattern uses Cartref DK in Saffir, Naturiol and Draig. It is knitted in the round and uses steeks to create the openings for the spout and handle. This cosy is designed to fit a 19 inch / 48cm pot, but you can use a smaller needle and remove pattern repeats to fit a smaller pot. You can also adjust where you start and finish the steeks to accommodate your particular pot, if you like. Cosys aren’t supposed to be fitted, so don’t worry too much!

I would love to see your finished Nordic Tea Cosy, so if you post a picture of it on social media, please use #nordicteacosy

Skills Required
Casting on and off, knitting and purling in the round, increasing and decreasing.
Simple colourwork from a chart and steeking.

Yarn & Notions
Main Colour: 38g (approx. 78m/85yds) of DK weight yarn, Cartref Yarn DK in Saffir.
Contrast Colour 1: 8g (approx. 16.4m/18yds) of DK weight yarn, Cartref Yarn DK in Draig.
Contrast Colour 2: 17g (approx. 35m/38yds) of DK weight yarn, Cartref Yarn DK in Naturiol.
4mm (US6) needles, OR the size required to meet gauge, suitable for knitting in the round. I used a 16” / 40cm fixed circular, changing to double pointed needles for the decreases.
Stitch markers, embroidery needle, sharp scissors.

Gauge
5.5 stitches and 6 rounds to 1 inch / 2.5cm in colourwork pattern in the round after blocking.

Size
Approx. 18 inches / 46cm circumference and 8 inches / 20.5cm long after blocking. With the steek opening the cosy will fit a larger circumference tea pot.