Holly Jolly Tea Cozy

A small, tan, scruffy dog sits under a Christmas tree. He is wearing a long Santa hat in maroon with white trim and a white pom pom at the tip.

Ah, Christmas. One of the most joyous times of the year, if only because of the implied vacation time and understanding that little actual work will be accomplished following Thanksgiving. Something I particularly enjoy is decorating my home to reflect the seasons - Christmas is an opportunity to do that over-the-top holiday effect free of judgement.

In this post, another long one because I don't know why I keep doing this to myself, we'll go through not one, not two, but FOUR Tutorials for the season!

All projects here are *beginner to advanced beginner level* with some optional suggested extensions for more advanced crafters.

*Update*: You can purchase formatted, printer-friendly versions of the Holly Jolly Tea Cozy and Fit Me Santa Hat on both my Ravelry and Etsy stores!

Off we go!

Important Note: This post was originally very long and came in the 4 parts described above. This makes it difficult to navigate, especially if you're looking for the project all the way at the bottom and extra especially if you're on a phone. Use the buttons below to go to the 4 posts, now separated for ease of reading.

Holiday Bunting (Sewn)

Festive Table Runner (Sewn)

Fit Me Santa Hat (Knit)

Holly Jolly Crochet Tea Cozy

A cream crocheted tea cozy with two green holly leaves and three bright red holly berries as decoration covers a cream colored ceramic teapot. To the side of the teapot are white china cups with blue and silver striped decorations and matching saucers. Each saucer includes a digestive. These all sit on a table runner made of a green fabric with red and gold plaid stripes in the background. A pattern of repeating bunches of pine cones, acorns, bells, and holly cover the fabric. In the background, a lit Christmas tree is beside a white column wrapped with a garland in a spiral pattern.

Teapots and tea cozies are somewhat underrated, in my opinion. If I had more people to share my tea with, I would probably have about a dozen themed cozies by now. I might do it anyway and start consuming absurd amounts of caffeine as an excuse to use them.

Anyway. This tea cozy is made to perfectly fit my Longaberger teapot gifted to me by my grandmother. It's a pretty decent size teapot and larger than most I've seen. The instructions below note in italics where to make adjustments to fit your own teapot. The project takes only a few hours to complete.

Important Note: If you will adjust the pattern to fit your own teapot, you'll need to start recording your stitch numbers when you make the "flaps" - that's beginning at row 14 in the pattern below.

Materials

Yarn - weight 4 is suggested. You can use any fiber. You'll want cream/white for the main color, a little red for the berries, and a little green for the holly. I've used DPY (Dead People Yarn) from my stash so don't ask me what it is because I don't know.
Size H crochet hook (5 mm)
Tapestry needle
stitch markers
Snips
3 buttons
Needle and matching thread (recommended: thimble)
Teapot - keep it on hand while you work so you can make size adjustments if that's part of your plan.

A side note - this can easily be adapted to other seasons and themes by simply changing the decoration. Get creative!

Purchase pdf pattern on Ravelry

Purchase pdf pattern on Etsy

Abbreviations (US Terms)

MR - magic ring

sc - single crochet

hdc - half double crochet

dc - double crochet

inc - increase (sc 2 in next st)

sc2tog - single crochet two together

sts - stitches

Ch - chain

slst - slip stitch

Gauge

13 sts = 4 inches

15 rows = 4 inches

Always measure your gauge!

To make the cozy, we'll start at the top, making a circle to cover the lid and marking where to leave space for the handle and spout. Then, we'll make a flap down one side and repeat to make the flap on the other side. Finally, we'll add buttons and finish the edges while also making button loops.

Pattern: Tea Cozy Body

R1: MR, sc 6 in ring (6) (*Always mark your first stitch*).

R2: Inc. around (12)

R3: *[sc, inc.], repeat from * around (18)

R4: *[sc next 2 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (24)

R5: *[sc next 3 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (30)

R6: *[sc next 4 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (36)

R7: *[sc next 5 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (42)

R8: *[sc next 6 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (48)

R9: *[sc next 7 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (54)

R10: *[sc next 8 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (60)

R11: *[sc next 9 sts, inc.]. Repeat from * around. (66)

R12: sc in each st around. Ch 1, turn. (66)

A cream teapot with the beginning of the tea cozy on top. The tea cozy so far is a circle that is about 2-3 rounds away from reaching the spout of the teapot. The location of the spout is marked on the cozy using two crochet stitch markers in red and green.

At this point, your top circle should be about 2 rounds away from touching the spot and handle.

To adjust - stop increasing the circle whenever you're 2-3 rounds away from the "edge" of the top of the teapot. Mark where the handle is- you will leave these stitches unworked moving forward.

R13: Sc in next 60 sts. Ch 1, turn. (this leaves the stitches that will be above the handle unworked). (60)

R14: Sc 25. Ch 1, turn. (25)

➡To adjust fit, work sc up to where the spout is, then ch 1 and turn. Begin recording your steps from this point forward - you will need to repeat them on the other side.

A cream teapot with the tea cozy thus far. The cozy now covers the entire top of the teapot with a circle. One side of the teapot is being covered by a "flap" in progress. The flap comes about halfway down the side of the teapot. One side of the flap is curving to increase the number of stitches so that the cozy fits around the teapot underneath its own handle.

The tea cozy thus far sits on a cream teapot. The cozy curves into the space underneath the teapots handle from both sides so the flaps can be stretched to meet. Where the flaps would meet the base of the handle, there are unworked stitches so that the flap doesn't touch the handle. Two pins hold the flaps together where buttons will be added: the space in the middle of the handle and the space below the handle.

R15: Sc 25. Ch 1, turn. (25)

R16: Inc, sc 24. Ch 1 turn. (26)

➡We begin to shape around the handle at this point. Adjust where the increases are as necessary. You want the flap to get to about the center of the space beneath the handle.

R17: Sc 25, inc. Ch 1, turn. (27)

R18: Inc, sc 26. Ch 1, turn. (28)

R19: Sc 27, inc. Ch 1, turn. (29)

R20: Inc., sc 27, inc. Ch 1, turn. (31)

➡We continue the increase to work around the spout. Adjust as needed.

R21: Sc 31, Ch 1, turn. (31)

R22: Sc 30, inc. Ch 1, turn. (32)

R23: Inc, sc 31. Ch 1, turn. (33)

R24: Sc 32, inc. Ch 1, turn. (34)

R25: Inc, sc 33. Ch 1, turn. (35)

R26: Sc 34, inc. Ch 1, turn. (36)

R27: Inc, sc 33. Ch 1, turn. Leave the last 2 sts UNWORKED. (35)

➡Here, we start to back off from the space beneath the handle and leave space for where the handle attaches again to the teapot. Adjust as needed for sts unworked.

R28: [sc 8, sc2tog] 3 times, sc 5. Ch 1, turn. (32)

➡We also begin to decrease, tapering to fit the curve of the teapot. Adjust as needed.

R29: Sc 32. Ch 1, turn. 32)

R30: [sc 7, sc2tog] 3 times, sc 5. Ch 1, turn. (29)

R31: Sc 29. Ch 1, turn. (29)

R32: [sc 6, sc2tog] 3 times, sc 5. Ch 1, turn. (26)

R33: Sc 26, Ch 1, turn. (26)

R34: [sc 5, sc2tog] 3 times, sc 5. Ch 1, turn. (23)

R35: Sc 23. Bind off and weave in end.

Now, we will make the "flap" to match on the other side of the circle.

Join yarn to top circle with *wrong side / underside facing you,* leaving 6 sts unworked where the handle sits. Ch 1.

➡Adjust the appropriate amount of unworked sts to fit the size of your handle.

Repeat R14 - *R34*. If you joined the yarn correctly, you should be working starting at the handle and moving towards the spout for R14.

Second flap R35: Sc 22, 3 sc in last st. *Do not bind off.*

Put the loop on hold either by making it very loose or using a chain marker to prevent it from undoing itself.

The second flap of the tea cozy is begun. The top of the cozy fully covers the top of the teapot in a circle. The location of the teapot's handle is marked with red, green, and yellow stitch markers. The second flap is started one stitch immediately next to the red marker, leaving 6 stitches unworked between the two flaps which leaves space for the handle.

A button shaped like a gingerbread person in a dress with a smiley face is stitched on to one of the tea cozy flaps using white thread.

Now, we will add the buttons. You'll need one button in each location:

In the space beneath the handle
Below the handle
Below the spout

Strictly speaking, you could also just use some scrap yarn to stitch the flaps together under the spout. Personally, I prefer the buttons.

Mark where the buttons will be (see photo above where I used pins to do this), then secure your buttons with needle and thread.

One side of one flap of the tea cozy is shown - the side where the handle will go. Two buttons shaped like gingerbread people have been added - one in the space that will wrap around the space underneath the handle and another to the space that will go immediately under the handle. Text "slip stitch 3 here" has arrows pointing to the outer corners along the sides of the flaps.

Mark where the button loops need to be using stitch markers, pins, or clips.

Pick up your yarn once more. We will now finish off the edges and create the button loops by working slsts around the whole outside.

Finish: Slst around the edge of the entire cozy, chaining 3 and skipping the sides of two rows where the button loops need to be (adjust ch length for your buttons). Work 3 slst to go around corners. Slst into the first st to complete the edge. Bind off and weave in end.

Hard part is done! Time to make the decorations.

Berries (Make 3)

R1: MR. Sc 3 in MR.

R2: Inc. around (6)

R3: Sc around (6)

Cut yarn, leaving about an 8 inch tail. Use a tapestry needle to weave the tail through the scs and pull tight to form a ball. Leave the remaining tail for attaching to the cozy.

In the foreground: A red berry has been made . A tapestry needle is woven in and out of the final 6 single crochets before being pulled tight. In the background: a cream teapot covered in a white tea cozy.

Holly Leaves (Make 2)

I'll be referencing the Jolly Holly pattern by Attic 24 for these leaves. The original pattern uses UK crochet terms so I've re-written it here in US terms. Definitely check out the original pattern if you're unclear on something - she has a lot of pictures to help you!

Special Stitch - Picot: [sc, ch 2, slst into 2nd chain from hook, sc] into next st. (forms a bump)

A green holly leaf is being sewn onto a cream tea cozy. The tapestry needle is shown stitching the leaf down its center line for points of attachment to the tea cozy.

Ch 10. Begin working into 2nd ch from hook.

R1: *[sc, sc, hdc, dc, 2 dc in next st, hdc, sc, sc]**, ch 1. Working into other side of the original ch 10, repeat from * to **. Slst into base chain to form the bottom of the leaf.

R2: Slst into next st. Picot (see above). [Slst next 2 sts, picot] twice. Slst into next st, picot. [Slst next 2 sts, picot] twice. Slst into bottom.

Stem: Slst "through" the center of the leaf to form the stem on top. Cut a long tail and pull through to the back for sewing.

Assembly

Attach the pieces to your tea cozy in whatever arrangement makes you happy. I like the two leaves to sit opposite one another at a slight angle with the three berries grouped in the center as a triad.

Happy stitching!

A cream crocheted tea cozy with two green holly leaves and three bright red holly berries as decoration covers a cream colored ceramic teapot. The teapot sits on a cutting mat. In the background are red and green yarns.

There you have it, friends! Four beginner projects to kick start your Christmas season.

This post and the last were pretty long, you can expect the next few to be a tad shorter.

Posts come every other Friday - You can follow me here on the blog by filling out the form at the bottom of the page and get lots of extra content between posts by following me on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook!

Now, go forth and bring some Christmas spirit to the world!

Originally published December 4, 2020.

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