Tea Cosies
Tea time is a frequent afternoon activity at the Cornwall Yarn Shop and we love tea cosies to keep our tea warm!
The first documented use of tea cozies was in 1867, according to Richard Rutt in, “A History of Hand Knitting” and flourished during the Victorian era. Their use probably came about with the Duchess of Bedford who established the “afternoon tea” in 1840. Tea time became a time for socializing and networking and would be cut short if the tea became cold.
Today, the teapot and tea cozy (or cosy) have entered the artistic realm. For the fiber artist, a tea cozy is a great way to experiment with techniques, color and mediums. If you have never made your own pattern, a teapot is a great place to start. For some “wild” ideas check out http://www.grandpurlbaa.com/, website of Loani Prior, author of Wild Tea Cosies.
There are 2 styles of tea cozies – the dome, which is tent-like and keeps the tea very warm and the bachelor or sweater-like (also called a snuggler). Decide on your design and your fabric – if your base is knitted or crocheted do a gauge swatch to get your stitch & rows / inch then cast on accordingly.
Come to our tea party on August 24th at Jones Farm and take a look at some of the cosies done by staff members -