Kitty Tea Cosy

Kitty Tea Cosy by Nicky Barfoot

What is Being Made

The Kitty Tea Cosy is a charming knitted tea cosy designed to fit a medium-sized teapot. This decorative accessory features a cat face motif and measures approximately 46cm in circumference with a height of 18cm to the top of the head, excluding the ears. The design combines two contrasting yarn colors to create a striking feline face detail against a solid background.

Craft and Technique

This project is created using the knitting craft with the double knitting technique, which allows for the creation of reversible fabric with color work on both sides. The pattern notes that intarsia may be used as an alternative method for working the color design. Double knitting is an intermediate-level technique that produces a thicker, more durable fabric ideal for functional items like tea cosies.

Stitches Used

The pattern employs fundamental knitting stitches worked from a chart:

• Slip stitch knitwise (ssk) – slip 1 stitch knitwise twice, then place left needle into fronts of these two stitches and knit them together
• Knit 2 together through back of loops (K2tog tbl) – a decrease stitch worked through the back loops
• Standard knit and purl stitches as indicated by the chart pattern

Materials

The Kitty Tea Cosy requires double knitting (DK) weight yarn in two contrasting shades. The original design uses approximately 101 meters (110 yards) each of two colors: West Yorkshire Spinners Colour Lab DK in Summer Pinks/893 (A) as the dark background yarn and Natural Cream/10 (B) for the cat face detail. One 100g ball of each shade provides sufficient yardage for completion.

Needles required are 3½mm (US size 4) needles in a pair format. The pattern is worked to a tension of 22 stitches and 28 rows over a 10cm square when measured on 3½mm needles.

Pattern Structure

The tea cosy is constructed by casting on 49 stitches and working from a chart beginning in the bottom right-hand corner. The design uses yarn A (dark shade) as the background color and yarn B (light shade) to create the cat face motif. The chart guides the placement of color changes throughout the knitting process, with the pattern worked in double knitting technique to build the finished piece.