Description

Method: This cushion cover features stranded colourwork motifs on the front and a striped envelope back fastened with buttons.
Worked in one piece with one row buttonholes, a steek, and mattress stitch to finish, it also provides knitters with a chance to practise many of the skills needed for a colorwork cardigan on a much smaller project.
Photo tutorials for mattress stitch and using a sewing machine to reinforce the steek are included with this pattern.

Please note the colorwork motifs in this pattern are charted, not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Size: This pattern is written in one size to fit an 18” (45 cm) square cushion pad.

Yarn: You will need at least two contrasting colors of any DK yarn containing a high percentage of wool and with which you can get tension/ gauge. Woolly yarns are more suitable for steeking because the fibres naturally want to stick together.
Solid colors work best for this design (because you want to be able to see it clearly from across the room), but don’t be afraid to experiment! You could use just one main and one contrast color for the entire cushion, make each motif band with the same main and a different contrast color, or use five colors and swap the background and contrast colors about (as in the cushion pictured).
Be creative, have fun, the steek means there are no ends to weave in! The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick and where you choose to use them. As a guide for the cushion pictured, I used the following quantities of West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK:

MC – 476 Zesty Orange approx. 205 metres (224 yards)
CC1 – 99 Phantom Black approx. 90 metres (98 yards)
CC2 – 362 Perfectly Plum approx. 125 metres (137 yards)
CC3 – 198 Lime Green approx. 60 metres (66 yards).
CC4 – 11 Arctic White approx. 20 metres (22 yards).

Gauge:
6.5 stitches and 7 rows per inch (2.5 cm) over colorwork pattern.

Needles:
3.75mm circular or size needed for gauge with a 16” (40 cm) and a 29” (80 cm) cable.

Other Materials Required:
Stitch Markers
6 Buttons, ⅝” (15mm)
Tape Measure
Scissors
Darning Needle for sewing in ends.
Cushion pad 18” (45 cm) square