Hold onto Summer with a Beach Hut Cushion

This is one of those projects I could see people in both the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere getting behind right now.

If you’re in the part of the world where summer is ending soon, you might want to hang onto that feeling a little bit longer with a cheery project like this that can make you smile through the cooler days.

And if you’re in the part of the world that is waiting impatiently for summer to come along, this is the perfect little bit of home decor to stitch up as you anticipate the arrival of warm temperatures.

Of course if you live in a beachy area or have a beach house, this is ideal decor any time of year. It would also be fun in a kids’ reading nook.

The beach hut cushion is a free pattern from Prima, and it’s about 46 by 31 cm (or 18 by 12 inches, give or take a little). Since you probably won’t find a pillow form that shape you can stuff it with batting or make your own pillow to slip inside this fun case.

It’s worked with DK weight yarn in four colors, but of course you can change up the colors as you like to make a beach hut that’s just to your liking.

The front and back of the pillow are each worked flat, and both sides are the same other than adding the door applique to the front of the pillow. The pieces are stitched together with an I-cord edging, though you could just sew them together in whatever way you like if you’d rather.

This pillow is super cute and easy to make, and it’s sure to bring a smile to your face whatever the weather outside.

You can get the free pattern for this sweet and colorful knit cushion from Prima.

[Photo: Prima]

It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and learn a lot about colorwork knitting at the same time.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket by Annah O’Leary includes charted designs for 50 colorwork blocks worked flat that can be combined to make a blanket or used in other projects. The book calls for worsted weight yarn but also offers suggestions for using fingering, DK or even bulky yarn, which will give you blocks of different sizes.

It opens with a section on materials and tips for choosing colors and maintaining contrast among blocks across a large project. There’s also information on how to read charts and colorwork basics such as maintaining tension, measuring gauge, catching floats, holding yarn and yarn dominance, among other things.

There are 196 squares (14 by 14) in the blanket shown on the cover, which, including the edging, makes for a blanket that’s about 79 inches, or 200 cm square knit in worsted weight yarn. You can adjust the size as needed by working more or fewer blocks, especially if using a different weight of yarn.

The sample was worked in Cascade 220 and the book includes the amounts of yarn used in each color so you can knit a blanket exactly as shown. Or use stash and leftovers from other projects to make a possibly less harmonious but more meaningful project.

Colorwork patterns are arranged into 10 themes: flowers, tiles, diamonds, stripes, peaks, woven, sky, leaves, lovestruck and architecture. They’re also rated by skill level on a range of 1 to 3 balls of yarn. If you’re newer to knitting or colorwork in particular, you can start with the easier squares and move up as you build more skills.

Each pattern is shown as a large black and white chart with three or four possible color variations, though or course you can also go your own way on the colors. There’s also a knit sample of each block pictured at the beginning of each pattern section.

There’s also a section to help you finish your blanket, including tips for weaving in ends, blocking, joining squares and adding a border. She also suggests different project sizes and color palettes for smaller scale projects.

In addition to the big blanket there are five other project ideas including a baby blanket made of 6 by 8 squares, a hot water bottle cover, a couple of pillows and a wall hanging. These are sure to give you ideas of different ways to use the blocks in other projects.

Knit an Heirloom Blanket includes lots of fun colorwork blocks and ideas for using them that are sure to appeal to those new to colorwork as well as those with more experience. Even if you never knit a full blanket with them, you can add these motifs to your collection to work in other projects.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 50 charts and 6 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $25.99.

Have you read?