It’s planning time!
I’m working on my tea cozy, and as much as I would like to, I can’t just pick up my needles and start knitting. I’ve got to do some planning. And before I really get down to the nitty-gritty planning (math!), I’ve got to get some ideas.
I pulled out some of the yarn I’m thinking of using, my tea pot, and a steaming mug of peppermint tea.
Believe it or not, I do this for almost all my designs (sometimes ideas come to me fully formed, but those are sadly few and far between).
I sketch out a half-dozen or so general ideas, and make notes next to them (in case I come back to the designs later and go “what the heck was I thinking”). Some of the ideas I know aren’t going to go anywhere, but there are usually one or two that I end up liking.
So, let’s look at them. (As usual, there are some I like, and some… not so much.)
At the top of the page, I did a little practical sketch, laying out the parts of the tea cozy. I think I’ll knit it from the bottom up, with ribbing at the cast-on edge. I’ll work it flat, leaving an opening for the spout (maybe a gusset, like a mitten, or maybe just a big button hole). Then, I’ll knit in the round for the “crown” of the cozy, like a hat. I think that should work pretty well. Now I just have to decide how to decorate the cozy.
The first design I came up with is a plain stockinette cozy, decorated with flowers knit separately. You know, old-school tea cozy. I like this design in theory, but it’s so not me. Also, I don’t want to knit up that many flowers. Can you imagine all those ends?
I kind of like the next design, an alpine-sweater-inspired tea cozy. Complete with a fun, geometric colorwork pattern around the “belly” and a big ol’ pom pom at the top.
Or, I could just do simple stripes. I love stripes, and it would be a good way to use up all the little ends of yarn I’ve got laying around. But is it too simple?
After the maybe-too-simple stripes, I swung the other way, going over the top with a fully-charted Fair Isle design. Maybe little tea cakes? Or trees? Or a Great British Bake Off theme? I This one is still pretty vague in the back of my head… but I bet I could come up with something good.
Or, I could make some sort of “fancy stripes.” Maybe alternate solid stripes with stripes polka-dotted down the middle? It would be a fun way to use a mix of colors, but be fancier than the simple stripes.
Another idea was to go full-on Aran Sweater. Big, fat cables. Texture out the wazoo. Thick, lovely yarn to keep your tea piping hot. But Aran Sweaters are usually undyed, and tea is brown. I’d hate to stain my tea cozy. I suppose I could work it in a different color, though.
And, honestly, the last idea was just to fill up the page. Big old intarsia polka dots on a white/light background. Not a fan.
I’m probably leaning toward the Fancy Stripes, the Alpine, or the Aran designs, but I’ll need to think about it before I do any swatching.
What do you think?
I love this sweater, too. The narrow/wide stripe pattern is great! It reminds me of an old-fashioned French sweater, but slightly more modern. (I’d probably wear it with jeans, though. It’s too cold for shorts.)
This sweater is high up on my list of Favorite Sweaters I’ve Never Made. It just looks so stinking cozy. I love the huge stripes, and the band of color across the belly. Too cute. Someday, sweater, you will be mine.
I’m off to make a pot of tea and put on a second pair of wool socks. Yay fall!
On the Needles 