Tuesday 5 April 2011

Pea Soup Cushion



This one was commissioned by my parents for their new uberflat in Glasgow. My Mum loves this retro kind of green, and wanted something simple but not just stocking stitch. They seemed pretty pleased with it, and I hope you'll like the pattern too! 

     

I'm sure this stitch pattern must have a name, it seems so simple. (I actually copied it from a pair of my boyfriend's mum's handknitted ovengloves!) I'm going to refer to it as pea soup stitch: it's pretty smooth with the odd lump, and the colour's about right. If you know the real name please let me know! 



Yarn : Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, 8 balls = 728m, held double throughout.

Needles :  8 mm/US 11

Gauge:  Held singly, gauge is 18sts/ 4'' in stocking stitch with 5mm/US 8 needles.
            Held double, gauge is 11 sts/ 4'' in stocking stitch with 8mm / US 11 needles.
Size: To fit a 45cm x 45cm cushion pad.

Extras: You might want a couple of buttons and a crochet hook to crochet some button loops.

Notation: 
k = knit
p = purl
CO = cast on



Directions:

Pea Soup Stitch: 
Row 1: k2 *p1 k1* to last stitch, k1.
Row 2: purl.
Row 3 k1 *p1 k1* to end.
Row 4: purl.



With yarn held double, CO 45 stitches. Work in pea soup stitch until cushion cover measures 100cm, then bind off loosely. Fold up the the bottom leaving 12cm at the top as shown below (i.e. fold up the bottom 44cm). 


Pin in place and sew up the sides using mattress stitch. 

Fold the top 12cm over and sew in place down the sides.

You might want to sew a couple of buttons on as shown below, I crocheted two button loops for them by working 10 chain stitches from the "bind off" edge with a 5mm crochet hook (yarn held singly). 

Weave in loose ends and you're done!



16 comments:

  1. That's so pretty! I love the buttons. Thanks so much for the details, I'll be linking if you don't mind.

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  2. Thanks again Rachel! Of course you can link, one pretty thing is such a cool blog!

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  3. It's wonderful! I want to have a try,make my own pillow.

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  4. Just wanted to thank you for this lovely pattern! My mum asked for a "big, green cushion" and this fit the bill perfectly and was so quick to knit up.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Glad you like it!

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    2. Love the colour! I think the stitch is called Broken Moss Stitch.

      Penny
      x

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    3. Oh cool, thanks for letting me know! :D

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  5. What ply is the wool in Australia

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your questions. It's 10 ply yarn held double.

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  6. What do you mean 'with the yarn held double'? It's a while since I've knitted!

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    1. You need two balls of wool and work with the yarn from both. So you're knitting with two strands of wool rather than one.

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  7. I'm really excited to knit this, and I've just cast on 45 stitches, but it doesn't seem like a lot. Does it stretch a lot during the knitting?

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    Replies
    1. Hey, thanks for your question. Can I just check that you're holding two strands of yarn at the same time? And that you're getting the same gauge as I did? It doesn't really stretch that much when you knit it! Hope this helps!

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  8. Such an elegant cushion cover, thank you so much for posting the pattern! Very mid-century mod, especially with the 'pea soup' green. This one goes to the top of my 'next knit' list. Thanks again :-)

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  9. I used the pattern to cover chair pads, it did stretch a lot but my tension is uneven, I used 35 stitches, 9mm needles and 2 strands 10 ply in different colours. Thank you.

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