Interweave SKU: EP11493

Finished Size: 20 inches (50.8 cm) circumference and 9 inches (22.9 cm) tall

Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool Worsted, 100% wool, worsted weight, 209 yards (191.1 m)/100 gram (3.5 oz) ball, 1 ball each of #129 Apple (A) and #130 Grasshopper (B)

Yarn Weight: #4 - Medium

Needles: Straight or circular, size 7 (4.5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge

Notions: Stitch holders (2); tapestry needle; porcelain half-doll; sewing thread; embroideryneedle with large eye for adding flowers as shown

Gauge: 33 sts and 40 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in Ruffle Rib patt

Originally Published: Unofficial Downton Abbey Knits 2014

Technology! The joy and bane of contemporary society, technology and its impact on labor were nothing new to Downton Abbey’s Mrs. Patmore. A village girl who worked hard to become the estate’s exceptionally accomplished though bossy cook, Mrs. Patmore felt threatened by the new labor-saving electrical appliances introduced by the Countess of Grantham.

When electricity first came to Downton, rumors flew that the kitchen would be next to be “electrified.” The kitchen maid Daisy asked, “Why?” First, the electric mixer arrived, next the toaster. The kitchen maids recognized promising alternatives to days spent beating batter by hand, but for Mrs. Patmore electrical appliances threatened job security and added to the everyday stress of filling the larder, preparing meals, and planning elaborate banquets. Thank goodness for tea! Mrs. Patmore could retreat to a private corner of the kitchen, retrieve her special tea cozy, and calm her nerves with a lovely cup of tea poured from a teapot warmed by the cozy. A type of knitted cozy traditional to Great Britain inspired the pattern for this tea cozy. Double-stranded garter stitch creates a thick, durable fabric that lends itself to colorful variations and on occasion turns tea cozies into ladies wearing elaborate gowns. The model for it emerged from a jumble sale at the Voe Agricultural Show during my summer 2013 travels in the Shetland Islands. It had been well used for decades, and someone, sometime, valued it enough to reattach the doll’s broken head. Similar cozies are in the collections of the U.K. Knitting & Crochet Guild in Huddersfield, England, and The Knitting Library at the University of Southampton.