Knitting no longer has to be worthy or wearable. One of the most popular knitting projects ever published in WI Home & Country was ‘Little Knittington’, a farm complete with farmer, farm animals and veg patch*. Readers said it was as much fun for the knitter to create as it was for the young recipient of the farm.

Perhaps you don’t have time to devote to a knitted garment, but just want to keep your hand in. What better than a novelty project you can use, give away or donate to raise funds for your WI? In Susan Penny’s book Knitted Cakes, there are luscious-looking iced doughnuts, a chocolate gateau, fruit tarts and Viennese whirls – as well as these egg cosies in the guise of cupcakes.

In Wild Tea Cosies by Loani Prior, you will find 23 other zany knitted and crocheted tea cosies as well as the ‘licorice allsorts’ creation we’ve reproduced here.

KNITTED TEA COSY

Balls of yellow, orange and clashing pink in Loani Prior’s wool cupboard yelled “Knit me!” “The inspiration was all about colour, quickly followed by the memory of childhood treats,” she reveals. She chose the blackest black she could find to be the licorice.

Size

To fit a six-cup teapot

Materials

• 1 x 50g ball of 8 ply yarn – black
• 1 x 50g ball of 8 ply yarn – hot pink
• 1 x 50g ball of 8 ply yarn – yellow
• 1 x 50g ball of 8 ply yarn – orange

Equipment

• Pair of 6mm (UK size 4) knitting needles (looser knit)
• Pair of 5mm (UK size 6) knitting needles (firmer knit)
• Scissors
• Darning needle

Instructions

Make two diagonal squares. Using 5mm or 6mm knitting needles and two strands of wool of the same colour, cast on two stitches. Row 1: Knit. Row 2: Increase in the first and last stitch of the row. Row 3: Knit. Row 4: Increase in the first stitch of the row, knit to the last stitch, then increase in the last stitch. Repeat rows 3 and 4 for at least 20 rows before making your first colour change. Then change colour after every sixth row. Continue increasing until you have 50 stitches on the needle or until the edge of the knitting measures well across the base of the teapot. Next row: Knit. Next and alternate rows: K2 tog, knit to the last two stitches, K2 tog. Decreasing at both ends of the row will create a square. To create a rectangle for a taller teapot you will decrease at the beginning of the row while continuing to increase at the end of the row. Keep measuring the height of the rectangle against the teapot. When you have reached the right height, begin decreasing at both ends. When you have only two stitches left on the needle, cast off.

To make up

Sew all the ends of the yarn into the wrong side of the work. Thread the darning needle with black yarn. Join the two squares together at the bottom corners with a single stitch under the spout and handle openings. Using blanket stitch, sew the side seams together above the spout and handle openings. Fold the top of the tea cosy so that the side seams are together in the middle of the cosy. Work blanket stitch across the top of the cosy.

CUPCAKE EGG COSIES

Why not make a set of these yummy egg cosies, taken from Knitted Cakes by Susan Penny, to match your own kitchen? The alternative design here has been made using blue and cream wool and has dark blue lazy daisy stitches embroidered on. If you enjoy an extra-large breakfast egg, knit the cosy using larger needles.

Materials

• 1 ball pure merino – chocolate
• 1 ball pure merino – pink
• 1 ball 100 per cent cotton 4 ply – white
• Short lengths of pure merino wool in lime green for the embroidery

Needles

• Pair of 2.75mm (UK size 12) knitting needles
• Pair of 2.25mm (UK size 13) knitting needles
  

Instructions Side of case

Cast on 36 sts in brown wool using 2.75mm needles. Rows 1–6: st st. Rows 7–18: change to pink and working st. Row 19: knit, decreasing 4 sts randomly across row [32 sts]. Row 20: knit. Row 21: knit, decreasing 4 sts randomly across row [28 sts]. Row 22: knit. Row 23: knit, decreasing 4 sts randomly across row [24 sts]. Row 24: knit. Row 25: knit, decreasing 4 sts randomly across row [20 sts]. Row 26: knit. Break yarn, leaving a long end.  read through stitches on needle and draw up tightly.

Side of case

Cast on 60 sts using white cotton 4 ply and 2.25mm needles. Rows 1–11: (K1, P1) to end of row. Row 12: inc every second P st across row. Cast off .

To make up

Join the two sides of the case and the cupcake top. Pull up the thread holding the stitches at the top of the cake, and darn the thread end in to hold it fi rmly in place. Stitch the case to the cake top. Using lime green wool, work sets of four lazy daisy stitches randomly over the top of the cake.

*For those readers who would like to try their hand at knitting a farm, Search Press also publish  The Knitted Farmyard by Hannelore Wernhard, £4.99, which is very similar to the WI H&C project all those years ago.

Special offer for Woman’s World readers

If you would like to make more Wild Tea Cosies and Knitted Cakes, Search Press are offering £1 off each title, or both titles for £13, all postage free in the UK.

Readers just need to call Search Press on 01892 510850 quoting ‘Woman’s World Spring 2010’ to get their special offer sent to them. Closing date is Monday 30 April 2010.