Axolotl Tea Cosy Design Sketch

A tiny axolotl with big personality is about to wiggle its way into the TeaCosyFolk family; a pint‑sized cosy for a pint‑sized teapot.

The idea began with the creature itself. Axolotls are irresistibly cute, with their wide smiles, soft rounded faces and those iconic feathery gills. They are long, slender, newt shaped animals in real life which makes them an amusing challenge to translate into the round, plump shape of a teapot. But that is part of the fun, finding a way to disguise the teapot’s rotundness while keeping the axolotl’s unmistakable charm.

For this design I am working to the smallest Price and Kensington teapot size, the little one person pot. A miniature teapot deserves a miniature creature and the axolotl feels perfect for it. The cosy will be knitted in Stylecraft Special DK Candyfloss for the body with Fondant as the deeper pink for the gills. It is a sweet, soft colour pairing that captures that marshmallow cute axolotl look.

The gills are going to be the star of the show and the trickiest part. Real axolotl gills are fluffy, frond like and wonderfully dramatic and recreating that in DK yarn will take some experimenting. I am imagining loops, something that gives that soft, feathery texture without overwhelming the tiny cosy. They need to look delicate but still be knittable.

Then there is the shape. Because axolotls are long and slim, the round teapot body will need a bit of clever disguise. The cosy itself will form the main body but the neck and tail will have to extend out from the central shape to keep the silhouette recognisable. The feet will be another fun challenge, those little pointy toes are such a distinctive feature and I want them to look dainty without becoming fiddly for knitters.

It is going to be a small but surprisingly intricate design, full of character and tiny details. And once it all comes together, the soft pink body, the fluffy gills, the sweet little face, I think this axolotl tea cosy is going to be absolutely jaw droppingly adorable.

A tiny creature with a big cosy heart. And I cannot wait to start bringing it to life in yarn.







Tags: new knitting design