Animal tea cosies

Oliver Cat Cosy

Oliver Cat cosy is knitted from 2 strands of 8ply yarn, knitted together. I've used some mohair knitted together with a slightly fluffy 8 ply. For a small project like this, using the exact yarn and tension is not a high priority; use what you have; if it's roughly like the thickness of 8 ply, it will be ok.
The back and front are knitted from the same pattern as for Alfie and Buster, same number of stitches, same size needles,(6mm needles), same decreases.
Use 4 mm needles for the ears, tail, and paws.
You'll need 2 eyes and a nose.
The cosy, laid flat, is 20 cm wide and 15 cm high, It will fit a 1 litre teapot.



Cosy body, make 2 pieces, and stitch together, leaving gaps for the handle and spout.
For the back:
Using two strands of 8 ply together, and 6mm needles, cast on 26 stitches,
Knit every row using 2 strands of 8 ply.
Work for 10 cm.
Start decreasing: K2, K2tog, K to last 4 sts, K2tog, K2.
Next row, knit.
Repeat these 2 rows till 14 sts remain.
Next row; K2, K2tog, rep all along row to the last sts, K2.  (11 sts)
Next row; K2, K2 tog, K3, K2 tog, K2  (9sts)
Cast off.
For the front, cast on with grey, 8 stitches, white, 10 stitches, grey, 8 stitches.
You'll need to knit from 2 separate balls of grey (each made up of 2 strands of yarn).
When you change colour, cross one colour over the other, so the fabric holds together.
Work for 10 cm; break off the white yarn, and continue with the decreasing as above with the grey only.

Cat Head
With 2 strands of grey yarn, and 6mm needles, cast on 30 stitches. Knit for 6 cm in garter stitch (knit every row).
Decrease; K4, K2 tog, K to last 4 sts, K2 tog, K4.
Repeat this every row till 22 stitches remain.
Break off grey yarn, and change to 2 strands of white yarn.
Continue to decrease as above until 14 stitches remain.
K2 tog all along row,
Cast off.
Fold the fabric in half with the side edges together; sew along side edges and the cast off edge.
Sew a gathering thread all around the cast on edge.
Stuff the head with some fibre-fill, pull the gathered edge tight, and try out positions for the eyes and nose. When you're happy about the placement, pull out the filling and attach the eyes and nose in their permanent positions. Refill the head, pull the gathering edge together to completely close it, and secure with a few stitches.
Embroider the mouth, and use a long sewing needle to sculpt the face a little.
Attach to the front of the cosy; the centre back of the head should be about 3cim down from the top seam of the cosy. Attach the head to the cosy from the centre back of the head, down for a about 4 cm. Adjust for cuteness.

Ears
Using 2 strands of grey yarn, and 4mm needles, cast on 8 stitches.
K4, P4.
2nd row, P4, K4
3rd row, K2, K2 tog, P2 tog, P2.
4th row, P3, K3P
5th row, K1, K2 tog, P2 tog, P1
6th row, P2, K2
7th row,  K2 tog, P2 tog
8th row  K2 tog.
Neaten the ends, and stitch onto the head .

Paws
Using 2 strands of white and 4 mm needles, cast on 10 stitches.
Knit 6 rows.
Cast off.
Sew up the side seams, gather around the top and the bottom. Push the thread ends inside; this is enough to stuff the paws....you could add some of the fibre-fill if you think it needs it. Pull the gathering tight to seal the paws. Stitch on to the front of the body.


Tail-this is an I-cord.
Using a pair of 4mm double pointed needles, cast on 3 stitches in white and knit one row.
Without turning the work, continue knitting in grey, till the cord is 8-10cm in length.
Cast off, neaten the threads, and sew onto the back of the cosy, about 3 cm down from the top seam.


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‘Alfie the Spoodle Puppy’

 Tea Cosy

You’ll need 4x50g balls of Passioknit Cassowary, in White.

One pair of 6 mm knitting needles.

(For a less fluffy effect, use 2x50g balls of Cassowary, or other fluffy yarn; plus 2x50g balls of white 8ply wool or acrylic.)

2x double pointed 6mm needles, used for knitting the I-cord for the tail.
2 safety eyes.
A black flock nose.

A small amount of polyester fibre-fill.
The tea cosy measures 20 cm wide and 16 cm high when laid flat.

Cosy body

Use two strands of Cassowary (or one strand of cassowary plus one strand of 8ply yarn) worked together throughout the project. This will produce a firm thick fabric; perfect for keeping the tea in your pot nice and warm.

Back

With 6mm needles and two strands of yarn, cast on 26 stitches,
Work for 10 cm in garter stitch (knit every row).
 

Start decreasing: Row 1. K2, K2tog, K to the last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2.
                            Row 2.  Knit.
Repeat these 2 rows till 22 sts remain.

Tie a length of coloured yarn around the thread that lies between the 11^th and 12^th stitches. This marks the position where the tail will be attached later.

Continue decreasing as before, until 14 stitches remain.
Next row; (K2, K2tog) x3, K2.  (11 sts)
Next row; K2, K2 tog, K3, K2 tog, K2 (9 sts)
Cast off.

Front

With 6mm needles, and two strands of yarn, cast on 26 stitches.

Knit 2 rows. Mark the positions for paws by tying a length of coloured yarn on the thread between the 9^th and 10^th stitches, and between the 17^th and 18^th stitches.
Continue knitting until the work measures 10 cm.
Start decreasing: Row 1. K2, K2tog, K to the last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2.
                            Row 2.  knit.
Repeat these 2 rows till 22 sts remain.

Tie a length of coloured yarn on to the thread that lies between the 10^th and 11^th stitches. This marks the position where the centre back of the head will be attached later.

Continue decreasing until 14 stitches remain.
Next row; (K2, K2tog) x3, K2.  (11 sts)
Next row; K2, K2 tog, K3, K2 tog, K2 (9 sts)
Cast off.

Stitch the front and back together by joining 2½cm at the base. Leave a 10cm gap each side for the handle and spout, then join across the top.


Head

Using 2strands of yarn together, cast on 20 sts.

Knit 4 rows

Next row, (Increase in next st, K1), repeat to the end of the row. (30 stitches).

Continue, knitting every row without shaping until the work measures 6 cm.

Decrease on each row as follows:

Row 1. K8, K2 tog, K10, K2 tog, K8

Row 2. K8, K2 tog, K8, K2 tog, K8

Row 3. K8, K2 tog, K6, K2 tog, K8

Row 4. K8, K2 together, tie a coloured yarn onto the thread between the 9^th and 10^th stitches. K4,  tie a coloured yarn onto the thread between the 13^th and 14^th stitches, K2 together, K8. These two pieces of yarn mark the position of the eyes.

Row 5. K8, K2 tog, K2, K2 tog, K8

Row 6. K2, K2 tog, knit to the last 4 stitches, K2 tog, K2. (18 stitches)
Repeat this row till 10 sts remain.
K2 tog all along next row, (5 sts)
Cast off. Tie a coloured thread on the middle stitch of the cast off row. This marks the position where the nose is attached.

Fold the head in half, so that the two side edges are together.

With a length of yarn, sew along the outer edges of the work from the nose marker on the cast-off edge, all the way along the side edge. Leave the cast-on edge open. With a 60cm length of plain yarn in a matching colour, sew a running stitch around the cast on edge, leaving it open.

The marker on the cast off edge is the spot to place the nose. The side seam of the work is the lower edge of the head. On the upper side, the eyes and the nose are positioned to form a 4cm equilateral triangle. The markers will help find the approximate spots, but it’s a good idea to make some small adjustments to the positions to give a cute appearance. Attach the nose and eyes.

Using some polyester fibre, stuff the head quite firmly, and close by pulling the ends of the running stitch. Fasten, but don’t cut off the excess yarn. To give the face a bit more shape, with a darning needle, and one piece of yarn at a time, take a small stitch, entering from the back of the head through to the front, next to an eye, on the nose side, and return the needle to the back of the head. Repeat for the other eye. Pull the threads just enough to give the face a friendly expression. Fasten off. The remaining ends of the yarn can then be used to attach the head to the body.

Position the centre back of the head on to the marker on the front side of the body. Squash the head a little with your fingers, and sew onto the body, leaving the top half of the head free.

Tail

Using a pair of double pointed needles, and 2 strands of yarn, cast on 3 sts, and work an I-cord for 8 cm.
In case you need reminding of how to do an I-cord, it goes like this......
knit 3, don't turn your work, just push it across to the other end of the needle, and K3 again. Just repeat this for the length required, and cast off.
Attach to the back of the cosy in the marked spot, or where it looks right to you. The tail will curl a little by itself.

Ears

Using two strands of yarn, cast on 6 sts. Knit one row. Second row, increase one stitch at each end; 8 sts.
Knit 4 rows.
Start decreasing.
In the middle of each row; decrease one stitch per row until 3 sts remain.
Knit 3 rows. Cast off.
To place the ears, first measure 3cm vertically up from the top of the eye. Pin each ear in position, 3-4 cm above the eye; adjust slightly to give a pleasing appearance. The ears are sewn on with the cast-off edge pointing to the outside of the face; when sewn; flip over.

Paws

Cast on 10sts with 2 strands of yarn together, on 6mm needles.
Knit 6 rows.
Cast off.
Join side seams, run a gathering stitch around the top, pull tight; stuff with the tails of the yarns...the paws are little and this is probably enough stuffing. You can add a bit of polyester fibre fill if you think it needs it. Run another gathering stitch around the open end, pull tight to form a ball.
Attach the paws to the front of the cosy at the marked spots.

Copyright © Lorraine Dunbar