F.O. Log Cabin Tea Cozy by Woolercoaster!

Karen Templer''s Fringe and Friends Log Cabin Make-along introduced me to the log cabin technique of knitting.  Karen took this technique and created her own design called Log Cabin Mitts.  This inspired me to create something that I have wanted to knit for a long time.

One of the simple pleasures I enjoy is drinking a pot of tea and knitting.  I slowly drink my way through the pot, however, I find my tea gets cold too quickly.  I have been looking for a tea cozy pattern to fit my teapot, and keep my tea warm longer.  When I learned how to knit a log cabin square I thought it would be the perfect technique to create my own tea cozy.

After playing around with different yarn, needle sizes, and combinations I came up with my own version.  Let me introduce you to my Log Cabin Tea Cozy:

I have never created my own pattern before, and I have to admit that I am very happy with the way it turned out.

Here is my first attempt on 5.0mm needles:  

First Attempt

I knew that I wanted to use a 100% wool to keep the heat in.  I chose two colourways of Cestari Traditional Yarn (colourways:  Natural White and Light Gray/Medium Gray Tweed) and Quince & Co. Osprey yarn (colourway:  Shell).  Both yarns are aran weight and create a nice thick fabric.  I used three colours for each square.  However, the tea cozy was too big as it was knit on too loose a gauge.  To keep the heat in a much tighter gauge was essential.

When creating my second version I played around with different needle sizes and colour combinations, until I came up with a much tighter knit fabric.  Here are the details:


Pattern:  Log Cabin Tea Pot Cozy

Designer:  Me! Plus I used Karen Templer's directions on how to make a Log Cabin square found in her Log Cabin Mitts pattern.

Yarn:  Cestari Traditional Collection (100 % wool)
Colourway: Light Gray/Medium Gray Tweed & Natural Medium Gray (for the top)

Cestari Traditional Yarn

Yarn:  Quince & Co. Osprey (100% wool)  
Colourway:  Pomegranate

Quince & Co. Osprey

Needles: 4.0mm

Ravelry: see my notes

Added Notes:

1.  In my second attempt I tried to achieve a more modern look by keeping the center square as the pop of colour.  Then I used the same tweedy colour for the remaining portions of the log cabin square.  The choice of a tweedy yarn was helpful as it hid any imperfections when I seamed the squares together.  I used Very Pink knits tutorial on Learn How to Knit a Log Cabin Blanket to learn how to seam the squares together neatly. Go to 28:07 for the part of the video on seaming. 

Seaming the squares together

2.  After joining the squares I picked up stitches and created a top for the tea cozy by knitting in the round.  I finished off with an i-cord.  The result is a tea cozy that slips on my tea pot easily.

Knitting in the round

Decreasing stitches

Finished with an i-cord

Next Steps:  I would like to reknit this tea cozy again playing with the colours in the squares.  There are so many fun variations that could be created.

So thank you Karen Templer for introducing me to the Log Cabin technique and inspiring me to create my first design.

I am off to make a pot of tea and get out my knitting.  Hope you're having a good weekend.

p.s. I have a large La Creuset teapot