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]

Next Pattern:

It’s well known (among knitters, anyway) that knitters seem to love chickens as a motif and a subject of our knitting projects. The Emotional Support Chicken and all the other chicken knitting patterns are just the beginning of our devotion to farmyard friends.

For example, there’s Farmer Dennis’ Chicken Hat. This free pattern from Stacy Black is a simple worsted weight beanie sized for adults and decorate with a couple of little rounds of colorwork fences and a flock of chickens strutting around the body of the hat.

You don’t need a lot of any of the colors for the chickens, their facial features or the fences, so this is a great project for using little leftover bits from other projects. The main color for the body of the hat is less than a skein using the yarn suggested, so you might just have everything you need in your house to start stitching up this hat right away.

The colorwork is presented as a chart, with a 16 stitch section that repeats around the body of the hat. All the color changes are shown on the chart but I think it would be easier to knit the whole chicken in the chicken color and add the eye, beak and other features using duplicate stitch when the knitting is done. That way you don’t have to carry those yarns around the whole hat for just a few stitches.

As the name suggests, the original hat was given to a farmer who shared their eggs, but anyone who raises chickens or just has a thing for the fowl is sure to love this cute hat. It wouldn’t be too difficult for someone new to stranded knitting or reading charts to make, either, so if that’s you, give it a try.

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry.

[Photo: Stacy Black]

Knitting Patterns for Little Chicks

Tiny Hens to Knit

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