Knitting

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Revamp Your Couch with these Great Pillow Knitting Patterns

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Getting new pillows is a great way to change the look and feel of your space, and it’s a great thing to do before the weather gets cold and you are spending a lot more time at home.

It’s even better when you can make your pillow covers yourself, and these Cedar Shake cushion covers from Knit Picks (designed by Janice Allen) bring a lot of simple, organic beauty that’s great for fall and winter.

They use combinations of Seed Stitch, Stockinette and Diagonal Basket Weave to evoke the texture of cedar roofs. They can be worked in aran or worsted weight yarn and are worked flat in one piece and seamed up the sides.

You can get the pattern from Knit Picks and grab some yarn to make them while you are there!

[Photo: Knit Picks.]

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Have you read?

A Sweet Skater Dress to Knit

I know knitting a dress sounds like a major time commitment. And that’s before I even tell you that this particular dress, the Sixth Ave Skater Dress by Briana Luppino, is worked in light fingering weight yarn. 

But would you just take a moment to look at it and tell me if it doesn’t look like it would be worth all the time you would spend knitting it? And it’s miles of stockinette stitch so it’s actually beginner friendly and a great semi-mindless knit you can take with you on your travels this summer and wear when it is done. 

The dress is worked from the top down with tank straps, a scoop neck, waist shaping and a flowy skirt for a fun and comfortable fit. 

The pattern has 10 sizes, with finished bust measurements ranging from 28 to 64 inches, or 71.5 to 163 cm. The sample shown was worked with 4 inches/10 cm of negative ease at the bust, and the designer says most people like between 2 and 6 inches/5 to 15 cm of negative ease in the bust and around 10 inches/25.4 cm positive ease in the hips. 

(To refresh your memory, negative ease means the measurement of the garment is smaller than your actual body measurement, while positive ease is bigger than your body.)

To pick a size you’d work from the bust measurement because you can always add more or fewer decreases as you need to get your desired fit at the waist and hips. And because it’s worked from the top down you can try it on as often as you like to make sure it’s the perfect fit. 

The I-cord edgings give the dress a super casual feel, and I think this would be a great one to add to your summer rotation. (Yes, even with a wool blend yarn.)

You can see lots of cute finished versions and grab a copy of the pattern for yourself on Ravelry. 

[Photo: Briana Luppino]

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