Knitted cushion covers

Sometimes I make things that seem very simple to me, and I get used to having them around the house, until someone that hasn't been to my place before comes around and points out how nice something is. This was the case with these cushion covers. I made them last year, in a rush to add some comfort to the spare bedroom, a couple of days before our visitors arrived!

So in an attempt to make something out of what I had I ended up spending only five euros and made, two knitted cushion covers, converted an old scarf into two more cushion covers and curtain ties. Anyway, the knitted cushions, for some reason (apart from the fact that I am a bit nuts and like moving things around) now sit on my living room.


Now in an attempt of making me feel that these cushions are special (and not just something I just rocked up with 5 euros) I am making them into a tutorial!

Basically the cushions are made of a combination of cables, they are all the same cables just combined differently in the pattern. So I just thought I would give the instructions on how to make the cable I used and then just tell you the stitch combination in each of the cushions, so you can follow them or just make a pattern of your own!

How to make the cable in the pillow?

In Argentina we call it an "eight", and this is a simple one made of 6 stitches. In order to make it pop out of the design, I use two purl stitches at each side of the cable. This way you cross over the cable to the front every 8 rows, however at the begining of the work we do it half way, just so it looks better!

Cast 10 stitches (s6ts): 2 purl (p), 6 knit (k), 2 purl
Row 1: 2p, 6k, 2p
Row 2 and all wrong side (ws): 2k, 6p, 2k
Row 3: 2p, 6k, 2p
Row 5: 2p, slide 3sts into a cable needle (or stitch holder) to the front of the work; 3k, then knit the sts in the cable needle, 2p
Row 7 to 11: 2p, 6k, 2p
Row 13 and onwards: Repeat from Row 5

In order to make the lighter cushion cover I combined three cables in the middle of the cushion. For a 40cm x 40cm cushion, I casted 80 stitches in the following order:

32 knit, 2 purl, 6 knit, 2 purl, 6 knit, 2 purl, 6 knit, 2 purl, 32 knit

Gauge: 10 cm = 16 knit stitches

For the darker cushion, I  made knit strips followed by just one cable each time. I also casted 80 stitches and knitted until I had approximately 80 cm.

5 knit, *2 purl, 6 knit (cable stitches), 2 purl, 10 knit*, repeat *to* two more times (three in total), 2 purl, 6 knit (cable stitches), 2 purl, 5 knit.

Knit the cushion making sure you make the cross at the cable stitches at the same time in all the cables on the  9th row. Following the explanations above.

Gauge: 10 cm = 16 stitch

Finally to assemble the cushion you need to fold it in two and sew together two of the sides. Add a zip in the side you want to be the bottom of the cushion, and voilà! Now you can put it in your chair, make some tea and enjoy!

Nati xx