Teapots and Knitting
Greetings!
With the coming of spring comes. . . . spring cleaning. It's that time of the year when I go through my yarn and fabric stashes and think, "Why didn't I get around to making that afghan/blouse/hat/skirt/etc?". This year, I also want to try to bring some order to my stash of tea, because there's nothing better than an exciting project except a great cup of tea to go with it.
But why have one cup when you can have a whole pot? At least, that was my thought near the end of last year when I got myself a glass teapot. Now, several months later, I've started to encounter some of the challenges that come from having a teapot. Those classic ones with the graceful, curvy spouts? They're hard to wash, and after a while the glass starts to get cloudy. Teapots in general are also very slippery when wet, and I'm always afraid I'm going to drop it while trying to stick my hand in to wash the inside (but that's not something that can be fixed). It also needs some type of hot pad to insulate whatever surface it's sitting on from the heat of the freshly boiled water.
I decided to tackle the spout-cleaning issue first. When I first searched for tips online, I saw suggestions to use a tiny brush with a small handle. But there was nothing like that available in the local stores, and buying one online included shipping costs that were two to three times more than the cost of the brush.
Then I realized that the whole problem could be solved by knitting! I admit, I debated for a while whether to try it (as well as whether to write this post about it) because. . . well. . . it's a little unusual. But I got the idea after reading about knit dishcloths and dishcloth exchanges, so we can say that really it's just a highly specialized type of dishcloth. So here it is! I call it 'The Teapot Spout Cleaner'.
It looks a bit like a cat toy, but it works well.
You just stick it inside the teapot, and use the cord at the top to thread it up through the spout.
Then you can grab both ends and pull it back and forth in the spout, twist it around, and use it to clean out the inside of the spout. (Normally you would use soap and water, but I haven't in these shots to make the demonstration photos less messy.)
How to make it:
The nice thing about this pattern is that it's more of a general guide, so it can be adjusted to fit many different teapot spouts. I used cotton yarn, just to make sure it wouldn't scratch the teapot and would hold water/soap well. It starts with a magic circle cast on. (See the video here for a refresher on it.) Make sure you leave a very long tail so that you can chain it into a cord.
Knit the first round plain, then knit into the front and back of each stitch on the 2nd round. Knit the next round, and knit into the front and back of every other stitch on the 4th round. Knit the 5th round plain.
I only went up to about 12 stitches for my teapot, because the base of the spout isn't very big, but you could increase it to more stitches using this method: knit front and back, knit 2; repeat around the circle, knit the 6th round plain, etc. Increase the number of plain knits between increases by 1 for each even round.
After the circle is the size you want it (make it a bit bigger than the base of the spout, since it will seem smaller when it gets wet), knit one purl round. It helps to get a general measurement of how long the spout is, so you have an idea of how long the cleaner needs to be.
The rest of the cleaner is knit using a two-rounds-knit, one-round-purled pattern. This creates more texture and makes the cleaner a little scrubby. You can continue the bulb section for as long as you need to fit the wider section at the base of your teapot's spout. You could also make the whole thing thin if you have a curved spout with a uniform width, but the bulb at the end enables you to get a good grip on the cleaner. I found it best to start the decreases on the 2nd knit round, right before the purl round.
You can adjust the number of decreases based on how many stitches you have, and the shape of your teapot's spout. I used K2tog for the decreases, and decreased by 2 stitches at a time. Make sure you have enough rows of the thinnest section for the cleaner to extend at least an inch beyond the tip of the spout, so it's easier to grab it and twist it around. You want to eventually decrease it down to one stitch, and then start chaining the cord. The cord should be about as long as the spout to make it easier to thread it through. Break the yarn, pull it through the last stitch, and weave the end through the back of the chain.
Finally, make sure the circle cast on is tight and knot it off. Then make a slip knot as close to the base as you can. Use this to chain the tail into a cord, just like the top of the cleaner. Pull the yarn through the last stitch, weave the end through the back of the chain, and tah-dah! The teapot spout cleaner is done and ready to use!
P.S. I used size 7 circular needles and a crochet hook that I grabbed from my bag. It was either 3.25mm or 4.25mm.
With the coming of spring comes. . . . spring cleaning. It's that time of the year when I go through my yarn and fabric stashes and think, "Why didn't I get around to making that afghan/blouse/hat/skirt/etc?". This year, I also want to try to bring some order to my stash of tea, because there's nothing better than an exciting project except a great cup of tea to go with it.
But why have one cup when you can have a whole pot? At least, that was my thought near the end of last year when I got myself a glass teapot. Now, several months later, I've started to encounter some of the challenges that come from having a teapot. Those classic ones with the graceful, curvy spouts? They're hard to wash, and after a while the glass starts to get cloudy. Teapots in general are also very slippery when wet, and I'm always afraid I'm going to drop it while trying to stick my hand in to wash the inside (but that's not something that can be fixed). It also needs some type of hot pad to insulate whatever surface it's sitting on from the heat of the freshly boiled water.
I decided to tackle the spout-cleaning issue first. When I first searched for tips online, I saw suggestions to use a tiny brush with a small handle. But there was nothing like that available in the local stores, and buying one online included shipping costs that were two to three times more than the cost of the brush.
Then I realized that the whole problem could be solved by knitting! I admit, I debated for a while whether to try it (as well as whether to write this post about it) because. . . well. . . it's a little unusual. But I got the idea after reading about knit dishcloths and dishcloth exchanges, so we can say that really it's just a highly specialized type of dishcloth. So here it is! I call it 'The Teapot Spout Cleaner'.
How to make it:
The nice thing about this pattern is that it's more of a general guide, so it can be adjusted to fit many different teapot spouts. I used cotton yarn, just to make sure it wouldn't scratch the teapot and would hold water/soap well. It starts with a magic circle cast on. (See the video here for a refresher on it.) Make sure you leave a very long tail so that you can chain it into a cord.
Knit the first round plain, then knit into the front and back of each stitch on the 2nd round. Knit the next round, and knit into the front and back of every other stitch on the 4th round. Knit the 5th round plain.
I only went up to about 12 stitches for my teapot, because the base of the spout isn't very big, but you could increase it to more stitches using this method: knit front and back, knit 2; repeat around the circle, knit the 6th round plain, etc. Increase the number of plain knits between increases by 1 for each even round.
After the circle is the size you want it (make it a bit bigger than the base of the spout, since it will seem smaller when it gets wet), knit one purl round. It helps to get a general measurement of how long the spout is, so you have an idea of how long the cleaner needs to be.
The rest of the cleaner is knit using a two-rounds-knit, one-round-purled pattern. This creates more texture and makes the cleaner a little scrubby. You can continue the bulb section for as long as you need to fit the wider section at the base of your teapot's spout. You could also make the whole thing thin if you have a curved spout with a uniform width, but the bulb at the end enables you to get a good grip on the cleaner. I found it best to start the decreases on the 2nd knit round, right before the purl round.
You can adjust the number of decreases based on how many stitches you have, and the shape of your teapot's spout. I used K2tog for the decreases, and decreased by 2 stitches at a time. Make sure you have enough rows of the thinnest section for the cleaner to extend at least an inch beyond the tip of the spout, so it's easier to grab it and twist it around. You want to eventually decrease it down to one stitch, and then start chaining the cord. The cord should be about as long as the spout to make it easier to thread it through. Break the yarn, pull it through the last stitch, and weave the end through the back of the chain.
Finally, make sure the circle cast on is tight and knot it off. Then make a slip knot as close to the base as you can. Use this to chain the tail into a cord, just like the top of the cleaner. Pull the yarn through the last stitch, weave the end through the back of the chain, and tah-dah! The teapot spout cleaner is done and ready to use!
P.S. I used size 7 circular needles and a crochet hook that I grabbed from my bag. It was either 3.25mm or 4.25mm.
Brilliant
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