Justjen's Easy Ripple Tea Cosy

 I'm still fiddling around with ripple stitch, remembering how much I love doing it after making the last cushion. I was so tempted to start another ripple blankie, but I need to finish the one I'm doing with squares first,
(I have done 3 squares so far, I'm definitely a bludger).
Of course I had to make a cosy instead. I wanted to make an easy tea cosy with a simple modern look.                                                       

I've made ripple stitch cosies before, like this one in the 2nd photo (the pattern for this cosy is not included on this page)
but it was huge & it took an obscene amount of yarn to crochet it.

I 've used the same ripple stitch as the cushion, but I've adapted it to fit a couple of different sized cosies, by changing the amount of dcs between the v's.

Helpful Advice 
I've edited this pattern advice several times, as the success of this pattern lies with using the correct yarn & the correct tension. Please read - thanks.

*The pattern states to use, & is designed for 8ply/DK yarn & 4mm hook to give the correct size.
If you use a thicker yarn like 10/12 ply in the size patterns I've included, the cosy will end up too LARGE for the specified Teapot. Of course you can experiment with other yarns but I can't guarantee success.   
*Please check your tension before you start, especially if you are a loose crocheter (I am an average tension crocheter) you may have to use a smaller hook, or use the smaller pattern for best results.
*The largest size cosy is made to generously fit a large 6 cup teapot. As all teapots are different I've included the width & height of both teapots I used to help with sizing.
If you have a 6 cup pot which is smaller in circumference yet taller, you will have to adjust the pattern by perhaps using the smaller size, & doing more rounds which is suggested in the pattern.
Funnily enough if you decide not to crochet into the back of every stitch as is in the pattern, the cosy will make up a little wider in size as well (I experimented with this lol).
*When you first start crocheting, the width of the cosy will seem too wide for the given pot. As you continue, the ripples will start to form & draw in the width of the cosy.
Hope this is helpful - Jen.

                                                                  Easy Ripple Tea Cosy

Cosy on left will fit a 6 cup teapot, cosy measures 44cm circumference, 19cm tall. Cosy on right fits a 3-4 cup teapot, cosy measures 40cm circumference, 15cm tall.

© Jennifer Stacey 2011

                                                   For personal use, not to be sold for profit

You'll need 8ply/DK yarn, oddments of each colour, 4mm (G) crochet hook & some cute buttons.

The buttons I used were from a large novelty bag of buttons from Spotlight.

Pattern uses English crochet terminology.

Tension - 17 dc over 10cm using 4mm (g) hook - tension checked over a straight piece of crochet, not over the ripple stitch pattern. Please check your tension, the wrong tension /yarn will affect the finished size.

Terms -

dec over next 3 sts - insert hook in next st, yo & draw up a loop, miss next st, insert hook in next st, yo & draw up a loop, yo & draw through all 3 loops on hook.

dec over next 2 sts - Insert hook in next st, yo & draw up a loop, insert hook in next st, yo & draw up a  loop, yo & draw through all 3 loops on hook.

6 CUP COSY
MAKE 2 -FRONT & BACK 
Foundation Row - Make 64 ch, miss first ch, 1dc in next 9 ch * 3dc in next ch, 1dc in next 9 ch, dec over next 3 ch, 1 dc in next 9 ch. Repeat from * to last 10 ch, 3dc in next ch, 1 dc in next 9 ch.

1st row - Work in back loop of every dc to give a ridged effect.

1ch, dec over next 2 sts, 1dc in next 8dc * 3dc in next dc (which should be the middle dc of the 3dc in last row), 1dc in next 9 dc, dec over next 3sts, 1 dc in next 9 dc. Repeat from * to last 11 sts, 3dc in next dc, 1dc in next 8dc, dec over last 2 sts.

Repeat 1st row, working in stripes of 6 rows, or as you like. Keep working until the top point of the ripples when brought in to the middle, just clear the top of your pot, adding a little height for a seam allowance.

Remembering, the bottom flaps of the cosy will be turned up to produce a flat edge on the bottom, so make your measurement from that folded edge.

My cosy had 30 rows all up, but measure yours for a good fit, as all pots are different.
Just a hint, if you come to the correct height & you're only a couple of rows into a new colour, you're better off going back & continuing with the last stripe colour instead. You'll find otherwise when you join up the top you'll loose your new colour in the seam.

 Assembly

Use what threads you have at the sides to do your seams, sew in all others you won't use.

Sew the side seams. From the bottom, sew the seam in reverse (to the outside of the cosy) only for this section under the spout & handle. When you turn the flap up you will then have a neat finish on the outside.

Hope you can see from the photo what I mean.

Now sew the sides together down from the top using a normal seam (you don't do this in reverse), to fit above your handle & spout.

Turn the cosy inside out to sew the top. You'll be sewing the edges of the triangles together, so that all the points are brought into the centre. You'll get a better finish if you do a backstitch seam about 1 row in, instead of a flat seam. The pieces really need to be taken in a bit to get a good fit. Pin first if you want to check for fit (I love to pin).

If you find you have a little hole in the centre just gather it in & fasten off.

Hopefully it will look like this if you can follow my primitive directions lol. I'm really loving that green & purple, what would the world be like without colour!

Almost done, now you get to play with buttons.

You'll have a cosy which looks like this (left) unless I've totally led you astray. As you can see from the previous photo I didn't put a button under the spout & handle but just folded the flap up & stitched it in place. Fold the other flaps up to create your flat bottom edge, & sew on your buttons.

Don't forget your button, flower, big flashy jewel, anything you like to go on the top.

 All done.

Now to make the smaller one, here are the 2 rows you'll need.

4 CUP COSY

MAKE 2 - FRONT & BACK

Foundation Row

Make 58ch, miss first ch, dc in next 8ch *3dc in next ch, 1dc in next 8ch, dec over next 3ch, 1dc in next 8ch. Repeat from * to last 9ch, 3dc in next ch, 1 dc in next 8ch.

,

1st Row - Work in the back of each dc,

1ch, dec over next 2 dc, 1dc in next 7dc, *3dc in next dc (which should be the centre dc of the 3dc from the previous row) 1dc in next 8dc, dec over next 3 sts, 8dc. Repeat from * to last 10 sts, 3dc in next dc, 1dc in next 7dc, dec over last 2 sts.

Continue 1st row as with the first cosy. This one has stripes of 4 rows each, 24 rows all up, but again you can do your own thing depending on your pot.

If you want to make a smaller cosy again, use 7 dc between ripples. Calculate how many ch you need to start with, by marking the pattern out on paper first - easy.

I hope you like this one, I love the buttons & the colours, so it ended up being a successful experiment.

Not all of my experiments are successful, but you don't get to see those lol.

Please let me know if there are any bungles in the pattern, or if there is anything you don't understand,

love Jenny.

ETA 1/9/2011

Added instructions to make a 6 cup cosy in Noro Kureyon,

Just thought I'd add this one I've made in Noro Kureyon.

This one fits my 6cup teapot snugly, I used a 4.5mm hook (there is no recommended hook size on the Kureyon label, only needle size) which gave me a nice warm cosy. I started with 52ch to make 7 dc between ripples. I did 24 rows but I reckon 23rows may have just been enough for my teapot, but measure as you go for your own pot.

© Jennifer Stacey 2011

For personal use, not to be sold for profit