Justjen's Fester the Goat in the Well Tea Cosy

I have recently promised a couple of people I would post this pattern. I have to admit I don't enjoy writing out patterns. I would rather design, knit, have a laugh, & move on to the next idea I desperately want to start.

I have knitted & crocheted since I was young, doing all the laces, the colourwork, all the picture knits from the 80's,(gasp) & the endless garments for myself, & everyone else. But I find I'm happiest now knitting for charity, & designing my beloved Tea Cosies, so don't expect to find any "serious" knitting on my blog :). 
I've had a huge problem putting the pattern here on the blog, I do have Word 2010 so I thought it would be a breeze, but not so!!! If you can't copy & paste the pattern from here, I'm sure someone will let me know & I'll try to fix it. (edit - it works!)

There are some crochet bits in the pattern, only a couple of circles & 2 horns so if you don't crochet I hope you can con someone to do it for you. Let me know if I've made any mistakes, I probably have over explained things, but that's just me. I haven't asked anyone to test knit it, so it's kind of "the Goat to the Slaughter" (Fester would have liked that)  - Jenny.

 Fester the Goat in the Well

Tea Cosy

This Tea Cosy essentially started out as a joke. If you’re a member of Ravelry, there is a thread circulating by someone needing to get a dead goat out of her well. The 40 pages of solutions are hilarious,so this teapot was born in memory of poor Fester the Goat.
The pattern does require some crochet as well as knitting. Crochet terms are English/Australian terminology.
Ammendment to pattern - on rows 9,10,11 & 12 of the Well, instead of slipping the first & last sts of the row, k or p 6sts instead. (only at the beginning & end). It will stop a hole forming at the side of these 4 rows & won't affect the look of the pattern - Jen.
Size –
The cosy generously fits a 3-4 cup teapot measuring 40cm round, 15cm high.

Materials- 
100g Red 8ply/ DK yarn.
100g Black 8 ply/DK yarn
25g White 8ply/DK yarn for Goat
Small amount Grey 8ply/DK yarn for hooves & horns.
Small amount of Flesh or Pink yarn to embroider nose & mouth.
1 pair 4.00 mm knitting needles
1 pair 3.25 mm knitting needles
4mm Crochet Hook
2 black 7mm round beads for eyes.
Fibrefill.

WELL - make 2
The stitch for the Well is from an old Stitch Dictionary, it’s a common Mosaic stitch, I’ve adapted it to use in this pattern. I love mosaic knitting & this one is quite effective.
Using 4mm needles & Black cast on 43sts.
Garter stitch 3 rows
Making this the right side of work, start pattern-
Row 1 - K in Black
Row 2 - P in Black
Row 3 - Fasten on Red, leaving Black at side of work, with Red K3, *sl 1, K5, rep from * to last 4 sts, sl 1 K3.
Row 4 - With Red K3 *yfwd, sl slipped stitch of previous row, ybk, K5, rep from * to last 4 sts,yfwd, sl1,ybk, K3.
Row 5 - With Red P3 *ybk, sl slipped stitch of previous row, yfwd, P5, rep from * to last 4 sts, ybk, sl1,yfwd,P3.
Row 6 - Red work as Row 4.
Row 7 - Black K to end (leaving Red at side of work).
Row 8 - Black P to end
Row 9 - Red *sl1,K5, rep from * to last st, sl 1.
Row 10 - Red *sl slipped st from previous row,ybk, K5,yfwd, rep from *to last st, sl 1.
Row 11 - Red *sl 1, yfwd,P5,ybk, rep from * to last st, sl 1.
Row 12 – Red Work as for Row 10.

These 12 rows give you 2 rows of brick pattern, continue until you have 9 rows of bricks, which means ending at the end of Row 6 on the last repeat. If you need to make a taller cosy to fit your pot, continue in brick pattern until you’ve cleared the top of your pot.
Continue in Black.
K the next 4 rows – garter st.
Cast off loosely.
Sew in all ends, with right sides out, using a flat seam sew front & backs together, aprox 2.5cm up from base & down both sides, from top to suit your own teapot’s spout & handle.


Top of Well – crochet
Hint – use a stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round.
Using 4mm crochet hook & Black, make 4 ch, join with a sl st to form ring.
Rnd 1 - Ch1, always count the ch as the first dc, 7dc into ring, join with a sl st to first ch.- 8dc.
Rnd 2- Ch1, 1 dc in same place as ch, 2dc in each st to end of round, join with a
sl st to first ch.- 16 dc.
Rnd 3 – Ch 1, 2dc in next st, *1dc in next st, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with a sl st to first ch – 24dc.
Rnd 4 – Ch 1, 1dc in next st, 2dc in next st * dc in next 2sts, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 5 – Ch 1,dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st, * dc in next 3 sts, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 6 – Ch 1, dc in next 3sts, 2dc in next st * dc in next 4sts, 2d in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 7 – Ch 1, dc in next 4 sts, 2dc in next stitch* dc in next 5 sts, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 8 – Ch 1, dc in the next 5sts, 2dc in next st, *dc in next 6 sts, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.

Continue rounds, adding an extra dc, between the (2dc) increases every round, as you’ve been doing previously, remembering the beginning ch is counted as the first dc.

Continue until you've done 12 rounds, circle should fit around the top rim of the Well. To measure, don’t fasten off your crochet, pin the circle around the top of Well to check (yes you should pin, it’s easier) before you fasten off. Everyone crochets differently so you may have to add a row or decrease a row to fit.
When you’re happy with the fit, pin & sew top to Well. I stitched around the top with an overcast stitch, then also did another row of running st 1cm down to form a rim around top of Well.

Lining (optional)
This thing has a lining Eeek!
You don’t have to do the lining, the Well will sit on your Teapot without it, & look fine, but if you want to add a little stuffing around the top of the Well to give it more body & shape, the instructions are here. It's not a full lining, more like a gusset to hold in the stuffing.The cosy in the photo is lined.
More crocheting I’m afraid.

With Black & 4mm hook make 4ch & join with sl st to form ring.
Rnd 1 – Ch 1,count as 1st dc, 7dc into ring, join with sl st to 1st ch.- 8dc.
Rnd 2 – Ch 1,1dc in same place as ch,2dc in each st around – 16dc.
Rnd 3 – Ch 1,2dc in next st,*dc in next st, 2dc in next, repeat from * to end of rnd – 24sts.
Rnd 4 – Ch1, 1dc in each st around, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 5 – Ch1, 1dc in each st around, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 6 – Ch1, 1dc in each st around, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 7 – Ch1, 1dc in next st, 2dc in next *dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of round, join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 8 – Ch 1, dc in next 2 sts, 2dc in next st,*dc in next 3sts,2dc in next st, repeat from * to end of rnd – join with sl st to first ch.
Rnd 9 – Ch1,dc in next 3 sts, 2dc in next *dc in next 4 sts, 2dc in next, repeat from * to end of rnd, join with sl st to first ch.

Continue rounds, adding an extra dc between increases every row, until the lining is the same size as the Well top. It will look like a little sombrero! It looks a little odd, but it will give a good fit over your teapot lid & knob, & still allow you to fill around the outer edge of the Well.
To attach, place lining inside cosy. Sew centre of lining to centre top of cosy, just do a running stitch around centre in a circle about the size of a 20c piece. At this stage, put in your filling. A sausage shape of stuffing placed around the top outer edge of the well is all that’s needed. Try not to overfill, or the top will sit above the well.
Now more pinning, pin the edge of the lining around the inside of the Well, down 2 bricks from the top,along the black rows dividing the bricks. Sew a running stitch to secure the lining around the inside of the wall.

Lining here is in yellow.                              

Fester’s Head make 1
Using 3.25mm & white cast on 11 sts.
Row 1 – P
Row 2 – K, increasing in every st – 22sts
St st 9 rows starting with a P row.
Next row – (K2, K2 tog) to last 2 sts, K2 – 17sts.
St st 3 rows starting with a P row.
Next row – ( K2, K2 tog) to last st, K1 – 13 sts.
St st 5 rows starting with a P row.
Next row – K2tog to last st, K1 – 7sts.
P 1 row.
Thread yarn through remaining sts & fasten off tightly, leave a long thread to sew up.
With right sides out, sew up seam from tip of nose, leaving the cast on edge open to stuff. Stuff firmly, then sew a gathering stitch along cast on edge, pull tight & fasten off.

Ears make 2
With 3.25mm needles & white, cast on 10sts,
St st 4 rows.
Next row – Working in St st, decrease both ends of this row, & following K rows until 2 sts remain. K 2 tog, fasten off.
Fold ear in half, oversew the edge, then sew this edge to the head, use main photo as a guide.

Legs make 2
With grey, & 3.25mm needles cast on 10 sts.
St st 6 rows.
Change to white, St st 24 rows. Cast off.
With right sides out, fold each leg in half & sew up leaving top open to fill. Using a chopstick, or end of knitting needle, stuff hoof, leave a section of leg unstuffed so it will bend, then very lightly stuff rest of leg so you can bend them into position later. Oversew opening closed.

Horns - crochet 2
With 4mm crochet hook & grey, ch7, turn miss first ch, 1dc in next 6 ch, turn,1ch,dc in next 5 dc,turn, dc in 5dc fasten off. Fold horns in half & sew up side to form shape, stop stitching as you get near the tip & fasten off.

Make Up.
To embroider face:
If you prefer not to use beads for eyes, using black yarn, knot & sew from underside of head up to where the eye will be, pull tightly to bury knot, make a French knot, carry yarn through head to other eye position & make another French knot. Take needle back down to underside of head, fasten off & bury yarn back in head to finish.
If using beads use 2 strands of cotton., & sew a few stitches on the underside to start.
Using flesh or pink yarn, satin stitch nose & backstitch mouth from side to side of head.Sew horns on top of head between ears.
Sew legs together end to end, then sew head on top of legs ¾ down the head, see photo for placement, of legs, ears etc.

Attach to top of cosy, by sewing centre of legs to top of cosy just forward of centre. You can add some stitches to hold Festers head to cosy if you wish.
You can also sew the hooves in place hanging over the rim of the Well, it’s up to you.

All Done ! Hope you enjoy the pattern :).

 © Jennifer Stacey 2011

For personal use, not to be sold for profit