How to Keep your Teapot Snug - Part 2

This post follows on from Part 1 which covered the outer design part of the tea cosy.
With the decorative sewing finished it’s time for the construction sewing to begin.

I started by sewing the notch at the top of each side together by pinning the right sides together and sewing along the edge.

Next I pinned the two sides of the cosy together, again with right sides facing, and sewed from the bottom of one side all the way round to the bottom of the opposite side.

I also popped in a loop of decorative ribbon with the hoop facing down and the edges sticking out of the top at the centre point (where the seams for the sewn-up notches meet). This was to create a handy little pull to remove the cosy from the pot when more tea is required, an important little touch.

Once the seam is done it can be turned the right way out with the seams on the inside.

For the lining I pinned one of the layers of lining to the black felt insulating layer. My lining fabric doesn't have a right or wrong side but if it did the wrong side should be facing the insulation. I randomly sewed starting from one edge using a straight stitch to a different edge, once the next edge was reached I turned it and sewed to another one. I repeated this step a few times giving the lining a quilted texture.

I did exactly the same for the second piece of lining and insulation.Once both sides were completed the construction of the lining sewing could begin in a very similar manner to the outer part. Again the first step was to sew the notches closed, this time the edges were joined with the lining fabric on the inside and the black felt on the outside. Once both of these were sewn closed the two sides of the lining were sewn together by pinning them together, as with the outer layer, but with the lining sides facing each other. I made the seam allowances twice as big as those for the outer section to make it a little smaller to fit inside, i.e. I used a 5mm seam allowance on the outer section and a 10mm allowance on the inner lining section. I trimmed the seam down for the lining to about 5mm after it had been sewn so there wasn't an excess of fabric creating bulk.

Now it was time to insert the lining into the outer shell. I matched up the seams and gently tugged it into place, smoothing the outer section over the inner section.

I had to trim down the inner section at the bottom to make the lining and the outer parts the same length. 
I used shop-bought, navy blue bias binding to finish off this last raw seam, pinning it all around the edge making sure that both sections are securely within the binding. I sewed it approximately 2mm in from the edge of the binding.

Once the threads have been neatly trimmed it’s good to go - a completed cosy just right to keep the pot snug and the tea hot!

Thanks so much for reading the post, I'd love to know what you think!
Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

How to Keep your Teapot Snug- Part 1

A friend of mine has introduced me to the pleasures of a cup of green tea and having previously never drunk hot drinks (hot chocolate not included of course) I’m now addicted and drink umpteen cups a day. I've even got my sister drinking it as well though she was very skeptical to start with, not liking hot drinks even more than I did.

We now have our TV catch-up evenings, watching the likes of “Downton Abbey” and “Call The Midwife” with our pot of green tea made using teabags.

Last month I went on my annual February trip to Ireland (see previous trips here & here) and picked myself up a wonderful, retro-feel, stainless steel teapot with diffuser for loose leaf tea. It was in a Charity shop and was only 5 Euro, splendid stuff!

On a side note, I've got a thing about small teaspoons and also bought 4 of them whilst I was over there. Having only hand luggage booked on the flight I had to pack the teapot and spoons in my teeny wheely case, the airport security must have thought I take tea drinking very seriously as they were x-raying my case.

I decided this new teapot called for its own special tea cosy- so to the sewing machine.

I used a large piece of paper to make a pattern by folding it around the teapot and drawing the rough shape I thought would work, I removed a notch from the top to create a rounded shape top once sewn.

I cut the template out and made adjustments as needed, for example, I had to shorten it.

Using the template I needed to cut out a total of 6 pieces-
2 pieces of outer fabric (patterned fabric in photo)
2 of the insulating layer (the black fabric in photo)
2 for the lining (deep pink fabric)
I actually used an extra insulating layer as I was “making do” with what I had to hand, the black fabric- a 100% wool felt and had it been a little thicker I would not have needed anther layer. I used a blue fleece, for a little extra warmth, on the back of the outer layer treating them as one layer i.e. I sewed the decorative pattern to both these layers as one.

For the main body of the cosy I picked a remnant of stone coloured fabric with a dark blue printed design of a plants and birds, I thought the folks at Downton would approve.

I used a zigzag stitch to machine sew a length of lace ribbon to each side of the outer layer approximately 5cm from the bottom.
I decided upon a teacup design, cut a template out of scrap cardboard, and picked a bright, fuchsia pink fabric which technically is actually a napkin- I bought these a few years ago in Primark for the ridiculous price of £2 for 4 large napkins, they were always destined for a sewing project in my house not their intended purpose. I used another napkin for the lining to match the teacup.
I used “Heat n Bond” to attach the teacup. “Heat n Bond” is amazing stuff and well worth having in your sewing arsenal. It has paper on one side and the mesh of bonding fabric on the other. First you iron it onto the fabric of you design, in this case my pink fabric, with the paper facing up. You draw your design on the paper; this can be done free hand or using a template as I have done. You can then cut it out. 

Once you have your shape, the paper is removed and the design is attached in place with an iron. I've always had nice strong bonds using “Heat n Bond” but I like to sew around the edge for extra strength but more importantly because it looks so much nicer.

As every project can be improved with a few buttons, I hand sewed some teeny ones onto the cup as polka dots. It occurred to me afterwards that I hadn't sewn on a saucer, Lady Violet would have been appalled! 

I repeated the same for the other side and that's the decorative part done. 

In part 2, to follow in a few days, the cosy comes together and the tea in the pot is kept nice and toasty, until then craft in earnest! Craftin' Ernest x