Free Cushion Knitting Pattern

FREE knitting pattern for a textured scatter cushion

4/10/2016

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The Phoebe Cushion (and Phoebe)

Phoebe Cushion in Libby Summers Chunky

I designed these lovely textured cushions to go with my new sofas. I wanted to create a depth of texture and a mock checkered look to co-ordinate with the faint checks of the tweedy sofa fabric. The cushion is named after our cat, as she thinks we ordered the sofas for her special use!

Materials
3 x 100g balls Libby Summers Chunky (photographed in shade 100 Elderflower Cream and 011 Apple Blossom)
Pair 8mm needles
7 buttons (1.5cm width)
Darning needle for sewing up
30cm [12 in] x 40cm [16 in] cushion pad

Tension
12 sts and 13 rows to 10cm [4in] measured over stocking stitch

Finished measurements
The cushion pad measures 30cm [12 in] x 40cm [16 in] when sewn up and buttoned up.

Abbreviations
k = knit
p = purl
st = stitch
sts = stitches
yf = yarn forward
sl 2 = slip 2 sts from left hand to right hand needle without knitting them
yb = yarn back
RS = right side
WS = wrong side
RH = right hand
LH = left hand
st st = stocking stitch (knit on right side rows, purl on wrong side rows)

Notes
*When you slip 2, you are carrying yarn across the front of work on the RS and back of work on the WS. Make sure you don't pull this too tight. The tension of the carried yarn should be roughly equivalent to 2 knitted stitches. It will naturally pull in slightly, so don't worry about this, but just make sure you don't bunch up your stitches on your needle when working so that it doesn't pull in too much.

**cast off 1 st = knit 2 sts, pass first st over 2nd st

Front
Cast on 52 sts.

Work in waffle stitch pattern as follows:

Row 1: K.
Row 2: P.
Row 3: (K1, yf, sl 2*, yb) rep to last st, k1.
Row 4: (P1, yp, sl 2*, yf, p1) rep to last st, p1.

Repeat last 4 rows 16 times more and Rows 1 and 2 again. (70 rows altogether).

Cast off on RS knitwise.

Pick up and knit 37 sts evenly along LH edge. Knit 15 rows.

Next Row: K3, cast off 1 st**, (k until 4 sts on RH needle, cast off 1 st) rep to last 2 sts, k2. (makes 7 buttonholes)
Next Row: K3, cast on 1 st**, (k4, cast on 1 st) rep until last 3 sts, k3.

Knit two rows. Cast off knitwise.

Pick up and knit 36 sts evenly along RH edge. Knit 9 rows. Cast off knitwise.

Back
Cast on 38 sts. Work in st st until work measures exactly 30cm [12in] ending with a RS row. Cast off knitwise.

Making Up
I prefer to use mattress stitch for sewing up, but you can also use back stitch. Mattress stitch is carried out with RS of work facing you and back stitch is done with WSs of work facing you.

As the tension of the front and back are different and so the number of cast on stitches for the centre sections of the front and back are different, you will find that for this section you need to sew up 1.5 stitches from the front to every 1 stitch for the back when sewing up the top and bottom of the cushion.

Sew RH side of front to RH side of back, matching up garter stitch sections. Sew cast on edge of front to cast on edge of back, matching up garter stitch sections. Sew cast off edge of front to cast off edge of back, again matching up garter stitch section. Leave RH side open. Sew buttons in position on the back of cushion to correspond with buttonholes on LH side of front. You might find it helpful to mark the position with a pin before sewing them on to ensure they are evenly spaced.