When it's cold outside, it is lovely to curl up with a warm cup of tea.

Unfortunately, in my very cold house, my tea quickly gets cold. For years I have enjoyed making tea pot cozies out of wool sweaters from thrift stores.

The cozies I like to make stay on the tea pot when you pour to help keep the tea as warm as possible. These lovely cozies can be decorated with flowers, patterns, hearts, or anything you can imagine!

So, grab an old wool sweater and a cup of tea and let's get started making the red Valentine's Day inspired tea cozy!

Supplies

Wool Sweater (Best from a thrift store or something you have out grown)
Thread
String
Snap or Button
Sewing Needle
Pins
Fabric Scissors
Tape Measure
Chalk (optional)
Paper
Most importantly, a tea pot!

Step 1: Get Your Measurements

The first step to having a nicely fitted, custom tea pot cozy, is to measure 3 important dimensions.

Over the top (make sure you do this with the lid on)
Around the base
Around the spout

It can also help to measure the size of the handle and around the top if it is drastically different than the bottom.

Step 2: Make Your Pattern

Next step is making a paper pattern to ensure that you get the fit correct.

Using scrap paper, your measuring tape and a pencil, mark out the approximate shape and dimensions of your pattern.

To get the paper to fit snugly, cut out the spout shape once you are sure that it fits nicely.

This paper pattern will help make sure that your cozy fits correctly the first time, and you don't need to waste the wool.

Step 3: Shrink Your Wool

Once you have found the perfect, completely wool sweater for your cozy, you will want to shrink it to make sure it is a tight, thick fabric to trap the heat of your tea inside.

To do this step, wash your sweater in a washing machine with hot water followed by a cold rinse. In this process you want to agitate the sweater. One way to make sure it gets very well beaten is to add an old sneaker to the wash.

It is best to do this without other clothes in the wash, that is, if you don't want fuzz all over your other clothes.

I don't have a dryer, but I imagine running it through a dryer will additionally help shrink the wool.

Step 4: Cut Your Wool

Using your chalk (if you have some) and a straight edge, mark out a straight line parallel to the hem of the sweater and cut along the line. You will begin by cutting a rectangle out of the wool. The circumference of the pot is the dimension of one side and the height of the pot plus the length of the fringe is the other length of the rectangle.

Always make sure you leave the fabric long enough to easily sew it together, this is known as seam allowance.

To get around the tea pot handle, the wool will be left a bit longer to help it wrap around. For this, I essentially cut off the ribbed hem of the sweater leaving behind enough ribbing to cover the height of the handle.

Using your spout pattern, carefully mark out the hole in your wool. Be sure that the hole is placed where it is needed, near the bottom and opposite from the handle space. When cutting the spout hole be certain to cut a smaller hole than your paper pattern. It should be snug and you can always cut off more if it is too small to fit the spout.

Now, check the fit!

Step 5: Pin Your Pot

Now that you have the basic shape cut out, pin it together along the seam at the handle of the pot. Do this inside out so that the seam is hidden.

Make sure to leave the area around the handle open, as it needs to slip over the handle.

If there are any points that don't work so well in the pinned version, be sure to find them and fix them before you start sewing.

Step 6: Sew It Up

Sew it inside out, along the pinned line, either by hand or on a machine. Now turn it right side out, as I have done in this photo.

Test the fit once more on the tea pot.

Step 7: Add Your Button or Snap

Sew on your button and cut a buttonhole. Or sew a snap at the bottom of the handle to help hold the cozy in place when you pour your tea.

Step 8: Scrunch the Top

With your cozy on the tea pot measure the height of your fringe. This will depend on how long you cut the top.

Test what it will look like scrunched by wrapping a piece of string around and check that it will fit.

Step 9: Cut Your Fringe

Now that you know how long your fringe can be, it is time to cut it out.

Carefully cut thin strips of your wool, making sure to cut them evenly. They should be wide enough that they won't break off, but thin enough to make a fun crazy hair top!

Step 10: Finish Your Fringe

Scrunch in your fringe with a loose stitch and pull it in tight. Tie off the string and trim the ends.

Now, to finish your fringe, add a little cuff around the top to give it a finished look.

Step 11: Add Your Embellishment

In honor of Valentine's Day which is coming up, I added hearts to this cozy. I cut out little wool hearts and pinned them onto the ends of the fringe, once it looked nice, I sewed the hearts onto the fringe ends.

Thankfully, with shrunken wool, you won't need to worry about hemming the hearts as they will not fray if the wool is sufficiently shrunken.

The only limits on your embellishment are your available fabrics and your imagination (and patience!).

Step 12: Make Some Tea!

When you have finished adding embellishments, carefully pull your cozy off the tea pot, put in your tea, pour in your hot water. Now, put your top back on, and replace the cozy.

When your steeping is done, don't remove your cozy, but pour straight from the spout and enjoy hot tea for a few more cups.

Thanks for reading, stay warm, and enjoy your tea!

Introduction: Recycled Sweater Tea Pot Cozy