Fairy Tale Tea Cozy House (Part 1) – Free crochet pattern

Pattern by Anna Kirdyasheva (translated).

Difficulty level: medium

Note: Teapots vary in shapes and sizes, requiring some trial and error to determine the optimal number of increases and rows for a perfect fit during the crafting process.

Another consideration is the intricate detailing of the tea cozy, which is best achieved using finer yarn. While crocheting these smaller components and attaching them to the cozy demands time and endurance, it’s these whimsical details that ultimately make your tea cozy exceptional and one-of-a-kind.

Materials:

• yarn in different weights and colors;
• black yarn for the windowpanes;
• brown yarn for the door;
• thin yarn/crochet thread for the flowers and leaves (cotton thread like «Iris», «Romashka», «Coco» and «Rose» will work best);
• beads, rocailles, sequins and similar materials for decoration;
• wire and two small beads as eyes for the snail;
• polyester stuffing for the body of the snail.
• all-purpose super glue, transparent;
• monofilament thread or thin sturdy thread matching the yarn color as a carry-along (embroidery floss in different colors works well).

More details about the yarns used throughout the pattern!

Optional:

• acrylic paint;
• small charms (little metal ornaments shaped like a lock, key, or tea kettle).

Tools:

• crochet hooks;
• tapestry needles;
• threading bodkin or long thick needle with large eye;
• paintbrushes for use with acrylic paint.

Techniques and abbreviations:

• sc – single crochet
• dc – double crochet
• tr – treble crochet
• st(s) – stitch(es)
• inc – increase— two stitches worked into the same stitch (with a common base);
• dec – decrease— two stitches worked off together (with a common top);
• RS – Right side
• WS – Wrong side
• MR – Magic Ring— wind yarn around your finger (twice), over the resulting ring, work single crochets (US term). Slip the ring off your finger and cinch it by pulling on the free end.

The cozy is worked in spiral rounds (unless otherwise stated), which means without turning chains or stepping-up chains.
For the base of the cozy, acrylic yarn, wool mix or wool of medium thickness (about DK) will work best.
The pictured cozy was crocheted using Alize ecolana (100% wool, 220 m/100g), Alize lanagold (wool mix, 240 m/100g), Alize fine (wool mix, 390 m/100g) held double.
The larger the teapot, and accordingly, the larger the cozy, the thicker the yarn has to be for the cozy to retain its shape.
This teapot was used for the pattern.

Roof

Please note! Work through the back loop only.

1) Into a Magic Ring, work 6 sc’s (US term) (counts as Round 1).

Crochet 5 rounds, increasing by 1 st in every other round, starting in Round 2.

Work a few rounds, increasing by 1 st in every round. How many rounds will depend on how tall you would like the top of the roof to be. The photo shows how tall the top in my cozy turned out after had worked 12 rounds (Photo А).

Continue, now increasing – first 2 sts throughout the round, then 3 etc, (Photo Б).

Try the roof on to your teapot as you go.
Now our roof resembles a magician’s hat and entirely covers the lid of the teapot (in my case, plus the whole rim, too).

Notes on the Photo Б from the top to the bottom of the roof:

• (blue) по 1-й прибавке (пр.) через ряд – inc 1 in every other round
• (yellow) по 1-й пр. в ряду – inc 1 in every round
• (turquoise) по 2 пр. в ряду – inc 2 in each round
• (green) по 3 пр. в ряду – inc 3 in each round
• (red) по 4 пр. в ряду – inc 4 in each round
• (mustard) по 5 пр. в ряду – inc 5 in each round

Continue, now making 6 increases in every round, to shape the brim of the hat (No photo, but subsequent photographs show the result).

Don’t go overboard here! The brim should neither cover the spout nor be in the way when holding the handle!

Finish with a slip stitch. Do not break the yarn.

The grooved roof texture is created on account of having worked through the back loops only.

2) Turn work and work slip stitches into the unused front loops, working in the direction towards the beginning (Photos А–В).
After having finished, leave a long tail hanging.

Thread the long tail into a tapestry needle and thread it through all ridges towards the edge.

Cinch so the top turns crooked. Knot and secure on the inside of the roof (Photo А).

3) Work a contrasting color edging around the edge of the roof. I did this holding the yarn double, in single crochet (US term), using Alize softy yarn (100% microfiber) (Photo Б).

The roof is finished!

Base of the house

1) Put the roof on the teapot and mark the boundaries of the teapot with pins. (Outside of the pins is the roof overhang.)

2) Turn work inside out and around the perimeter (marked with pins) work a round of slip stitches (looks like embroidered chain stitch) using the same yarn as used for the roof (marked grey in photo).

If you, like I did, have worked the roof with the yarn held double, then work your slip stitch round with one strand of yarn now.

If the pins are in the way, you can remove them, instead marking the spots with fade-away marker or chalk.

3) Join working yarn in a different color and work into the newly created stitches in single crochet (US term).

When you have reached the top of the handle and spout, divide to work the two halves of the body separately, providing the top of the handle and spout are at the same height. On the teapot used for the pictured cozy, however, the top of the handle is higher than the top of the spout, so I continued to work back and forth in one piece for a few rows. As a handle opening, I left 3 stitches unworked.

After having reached the top of the spout, I continued working the two side parts of the body separately.

The teapot I used is almost straight at the top, so I did not need to make any increases. I began increases (1 in each round, on each one of the two side parts) when the teapot became wider.

While you work, try on the cozy frequently and correct the number of increases according to the shape of the teapot.

After having finished the first half, crochet a chain, it will be needed to connect the two halves.

I recommend writing down the number of increases made while working on the first half so you can make the second half symmetrical without problems.

4) When both halves are done, join them with crocheted chains under the spout (Photo А) and under the handle (Photo Б).

The shape of this teapot allows for a cozy without buttons. However, I made the opening under the handle large enough to be able to easily put on and remove the cozy.

5) From here on, work in spiral rounds again. Finish when you are just shy of having reached the bottom of the pot.

6) Edge around the bottom in cluster stitches.
For the pictured cozy, I used Alize softy.

Working cluster stitches. Into the first stitch of the round, sc1 (US term). Into the second stitch of the round, work a cluster from 3 to 5 dc’s (US term), then chain 1 and again sc1 (US
term) into the third stitch. Continue around the same way. A more pronounced three-dimensional effect can be achieved if between the clusters a slip stitch is worked instead of a sc.

7) Edge around the spout and handle openings with 2 to 3 rounds of sc (US term) and one round of slip stitches (or, work crab stitch if you prefer).

The base of the house is finished!

Before you continue, for shaping, moisten the body of the cozy from a spray bottle and leave it to dry on the teapot.

Windows

1) The windows are worked in single crochet (US term) from the circle chart. Place increases staggered to avoid creating a hexagonal effect.

I crocheted my windows using «Coco» yarn.

Determine how large to make the circles, depending on the size of your house base.

2) Using colorful yarn, crochet two chains.

While you work the second chain, when working the middle stitch of the chain, insert the hook through the middle stitch of the first chain to form the window sash (Photo А).

3) Attach the window sash to the window with the help of a crochet hook (Photo Б).

Ends should either be secured by knotting on the wrong side or hidden within the stitches of the current stitches while working the window frames.

4) Along the edges of the windows, work a row of slip stitches (Photo В).

5) Work a row of single crochets (US term), inserting the hook into the center of each chain (Photo Г). The window frame is finished.
If you are using thicker yarn for the window frames than you’ve used for the window itself, work without any increases. If the frame yarn has the same weight as the windowpane yarn, work 6 increases, as you would normally do when crocheting a flat circle.

The windows are done!

Door

I crocheted mine just “by eyesight”. You can calculate the stitch count needed for the door beforehand.

1) Crochet the door as a half oval (see chart below). The number of rows in the chart is approximate — work as many rows as needed for your desired door size.

I crocheted my door from medium-weight wool yarn (brand and yardage unknown since those were remnants). You can use any other yarn as well, as long as it is not too thick and the color matches.

The door is finished (Photo А).

2) Embroider door hinges (Photo Б). I used Tulip YarnArt yarn for this.

3) Make a door handle. Attach new working yarn from the WS and thread it through to the RS.

Use a little stick of suitable thickness (I used a crochet hook) and do a few stitches, as if sewing the stick to the crocheted fabric.

I made a door with a lock, so with every stitch, I threaded the working yarn through the shackle of the lock.

Fasten the yarn on the WS and again thread it through to the RS.

Remove the stick and wrap the yarn around the resulting loop. Gather the loops tightly without them crossing each other.

After having finished the wrapping, thread the yarn through to the WS and fasten it there.

Finishing

1) Sew on the windows and door.

2) Crochet window and door frames.

Embroider in chain stitch around the window (in Photo А shown colored in).

Work one round of single crochet (US term). While you work, make 4–5 increases, to prevent the frame from curling up onto the window.

Work one round of slip stitches (Photo Б).

3) Do the same around the door. Use stitches of different height for the door jamb as shown in the picture. Over the round section, work 1-2 symmetrically placed increases.

Notes on the photo:

• (green) столбики с накидом – double crochets (US term)
• (lilac) полустолбики с накидом – half double crochets (US term)
• (red) столбики без накида – single crochets (US term)

This is how it should turn out.

4) Finish the window on the opposite side of the tea cozy the same way.

Large mushroom

Cap

Rnd 1: 6 sc into MR
Rnds 2–11: increase twice in each round = 26 sc
Rnds 12 –14: inc four times in each round = 38 sc

Stem

Rnd 1: 6 sc into MR
Rnd 2: 3 increases = 9 sc
Rnds 3–4: 9 sc in each round
Rnd 5: 1 decrease = 8 sc
Rnds 6–7: 8 sc in each round
Rnd 8: only into the front loops (the ones nearer to you), work 2 rounds of sc, each time working 2 sc with a common base into the front loop of one stitch. This creates the ring on the stem (annulus).

Finish with a slip stitch, cut the yarn.

Attach new working yarn and work 8 sc into the back loops (the ones farther away from you) of the same stitches.

Continue to crochet the regular way — through both loops.

Rnds 9–11: 8 sc in each round
Rnds 12–16: 6 increases in each round = 38 sc

Small mushroom

Cap

Rnd 1: 6 sc into MR
Rnd 2: 6 increases = 12 sc
Rnds 3–6: increase once in each round = 16 sc
Rnds 7–8: increase twice in each round = 20 sc
Rnd 9: 4 increases = 24 sc

Stem

Rnd 1: 6 sc into MR
Rnd 2: 2 increases = 8 sc
Rnds 3–6: 8 sc in each round
Rnds 7–8: 6 increases in each round = 20 sc
Rnd 9: 4 increases = 24 sc

Stuff the stem with fiberfill (or other stuffing). Put one small lump of stuffing into the top of the cap. Join the cap of each mushroom to its stem by working a round of sc’s.

Embroider scales onto the caps and sew the mushrooms onto the house. Attach the stem first and the edge of the cap afterward.

Decorating the house
Decorate the house as you please with flowers, sprigs, and leaves (instructions not included in this pattern, find them on the internet or in books).

I will show you how I like to decorate mine.

Leaves

Work the leaves from the chart. If long leaves are needed, increase the length of the beginning chain, and, accordingly, the number of treble crochets (US).

Gradient yarn will yield beautiful leaves.

Or, you can dye solid-colored leaves yourself. For this, moisten the leaves. Using dark green acrylic paint diluted to ink-like consistency, paint the base of the leaves.

Sew on the leaves along the midrib over 2/3 of its length. Leave the edges and tip of the leaf unattached for a livelier look.

Flowers
Into an Adjustable Magic Ring, work 5 sc.

Join the first and last stitch with a slip stitch and chain 2.

Into the base of the same stitch, work 3 dc and again, chain 2.

Work a slip stitch into the second stitch of the base — this was the first petal.

Again, chain 2 and repeat the whole process — this was the second petal.

Work all five petals the same way. Hide the end on the wrong side and secure with a knot.

The first row may be made from 6 sc — this will yield 6 petals.

The photo shows a similar flower, but slightly larger. Chain not 2, but 3, and, accordingly, not 3 dc, but 3 tr.

The centers of the flowers can be decorated with rocailles, beads or sequins.

Beads are also good to make berries.

Give free rein to your imagination!

Snail

I crocheted this snail for a pincushion. A snail for the tea cozy can be made the same way but from thicker yarn.

The shell is made from Alize fine, the body from «Kids’ novelty» (acrylic, 200 m/50 g). Beads for the eyes should be accordingly larger, too.

The snail’s shell is crocheted similarly to how we did the roof of the house.

Work into the back loops only!

Rnd 1: 5 sc into MR
Rnds 2–4: increase once in each round =8 sc
Rnd 5: 8 sc
Rnd 6: 1 increase=9 sc
Rnd 7: 9 sc
Rnd 8: 1 increase =10 sc
Rnd 9: 10 sc
Rnd 10: 1 increase =11 sc
Rnd 11: 11 sc
Rnds 12–26: increase once in each round =25 sc
Rnd 27: 3 increases = 28 sc

This will make a ridged cone because of the unworked halves of the loops (Photo а). Finish with a slip stitch.

Turn work and work slip stitches into the unworked halves of the loops (Photo б).

After all second loops of the stitches have been slip-stitched over, break the yarn, leaving a long tail (Photo в).

Thread the tail through a tapestry needle and thread the needle through the whole length of the shell, from the top to the base (Photo г).

Stuff the shell, but not all the way through, only two-thirds.

Cinch the yarn to crook the horn, then secure the end (Photo д).

Stuff the shell all the way through.
Now, bend the shell as you like and fixate it in shape using the same tail. This step is not shown in the photos but should be clear from looking at the photos of the finished snail.

Snail’s body

Crochet the two parts of the body according to the charts.

Place the parts on top of each other with wrong sides facing each other and connect them by sc through both layers around. Don’t forget to leave a small opening for inserting the stuffing. Stuff the body, then finish joining all the way around.

Snail’s eyes

For the eyes, I used beads that look like imitation pearls.

From thin wire, make tentacles (Photo а). I used jewelry wire.

Crochet the back half sphere of the eye. The following instructions are for the size of beads I used in the sample. Your size might be different – if needed, you might need to adapt the number of increases per round and the number of rounds worked. Try your crocheted piece on to the eye of the snail.

Rnd 1: 6 sc into MR
Rnd 2: 2 inc = 8 sc
Rnds 3–4: 8 sc in each round.
Finish with a slip stitch and leave a long tail.

Using a tapestry needle, thread the tail from the wrong side to the right side of the work.

In the same spot, ease your wire tentacles into the crocheted fabric and pull the half sphere over the bead eyeball (Photo б).

With black acrylic paint, draw pupils.
Bend the ends of the wire tentacles into an L shape and glue them into place in the front part of the body of the snail.

Apply glue all along the wire tentacles and wind the yarn tails around them. I wound three layers in all. Thread the yarn ends to the bottom part of the body with a tapestry needle and secure.

Attach the snail to the roof by sewing around the whole perimeter of the snail’s body. Additionally, with a few stitches, sew the side of the shell to the side part of the roof to prevent the snail from flipping over sideways.

This is how the cozy looks from front and back.