Two Minute Tutorial: Beanie Hat Tea Cosy

I love the Britishness of a cup of tea, and the ceremony of making it (as long as it's for myself- I am terrible at making cups of tea in accordance with other peoples' tea preferences). My favourite Tea Time of all is when I have time to sit down and drink a whole pot, all to myself. I think this is because the opportunity to commit myself to that much liquid only really happens at the weekends or when I'm on holiday, so I'm in a pretty happy place anyway. The problem with these solo pots of tea is that they get cold before I can drink it all.

I've been intending to make a tea cosy to solve this problem for quite a while now, but it was so far down my To Craft List that by the time I got round to it, tea would probably have become obsolete. And then, this morning, I stumbled upon a beanie hat that Tom had been given for a previous birthday; that had been sitting unworn and unloved because it was too small for his man-sized head. The old creaky brain cogs started turning round, and- ta-da!- two birds + one stone = a new use for the hat AND piping hot tea, even by cup number three!

So, without further ado, introducing my Two Minute Tutorial for a Beanie Hat Tea Cosy!

What you will need:

- A teapot

- A beanie hat

- Scissors

- A tape measure*

- An appetite for destruction

What you need to do:

1. Decide which way round you want the hat to face when it's on your teapot. Does one side have a different pattern? Does it have a seam down the back? 

2. Measure the distance between the bottom of the spout of your teapot and the base, then measure the same distance from the bottom edge of your hat - wherever you want the spout to show through - and make a 2-3cm cut. I know it's scary, and feels "wrong", but bite the bullet and go for it! 

3. Most beanies are made from fibres with high elasticity, so the cut should stretch to fit your teapot spout. If it doesn't fit, make the cut a bit bigger. 

4. Put your "tea cosy" over the spout of your teapot, and pull it over the rest. Carefully cut along where the hat is covering the handle of your teapot, until the cut is large enough that you can pull the handle through. 

5. Remove the tea cosy, make a pot of your favourite tea, and put the tea cosy back on. Et voila - piping hot tea in a woolly vest.

I think it would be awesome to use a bobble hat for this tutorial- because you'd end up with a pompom on top of your teapot :)

* I didn't actually use a tape-measure to make mine, but that's because I refuse to play by anybody's rules, not even my own.