Cushions
Two cushions embroidered on canvas. The one on the left is from a kit we saw in a Sunday newspaper. The other is from The Glorafilia Needlepoint Collection book. I love these books, but I do spend far more time looking at the pictures than making anything.
These are from kits. The one on the left has a matching rug, which took ages to finish. Unfortunately the house is a bit pale - it was originally cross stitch, but the upper arm of the stitch has worn off in several places. I dare not wash it again - the rest of the stitch would come out.
Someone gave me a length of pink satin when I was at University, so I made some cushions.
The patchwork is the star variation of the classic tumbling square pattern where 3 diamonds are joined to make a hexagon. To make a template, draw a hexagon using your compass:
The patchwork is the star variation of the classic tumbling square pattern where 3 diamonds are joined to make a hexagon. To make a template, draw a hexagon using your compass:
- First draw a circle, then
- keeping the radius the same, put the point of the compass anywhere on the circle you have just joined & mark where that radius touches your circle.
- Then put the point on one of the marks & repeat until you have 6 crosses marked on the circle.
- Join these points with a ruler to make the hexagon.
- join every other point of the hexagon to the point at the middle of the circle with a ruler.
Three patchwork cushions.
The cream one is the back of the pink & cream stars, & shows what can be done by sewing offcuts together. This satin was the lining for a flared skirt. I joined the pieces from between the panels, pressed the seams & cut out a square.
The one at the top is crazy patchwork embroidered with herring bone stitch & feather stitch.
The one at the bottom of the pile is my favourite method of quick machine patchwork, described on the guitars page.
The cream one is the back of the pink & cream stars, & shows what can be done by sewing offcuts together. This satin was the lining for a flared skirt. I joined the pieces from between the panels, pressed the seams & cut out a square.
The one at the top is crazy patchwork embroidered with herring bone stitch & feather stitch.
The one at the bottom of the pile is my favourite method of quick machine patchwork, described on the guitars page.
Ever wondered what to do with those lovely skeins of yarn that are interesting textures & colours? Some of them can be made into lovely garments, but sometimes you just don't want to wear that sort of thing.
So make a cushion. These took a couple of skeins each, but because the row pattern random you don't have to worry about running out. Just finish off with a different colour that looks nice with the rest.
Start at one corner with one stitch on suitable needles, then increase one stitch at the beginning of every row. Keep going until your work is wide enough for the diagonal of your cushion pad, then decrease every row instead.
I find that is easier to increasing at the beginning of the row rather than the end of the row, which I forget to do. If you use garter stitch the shape should be about right. If you use another stitch (particularly stocking stitch) just keep an eye on the shape. You may need to adjust it a bit.
If you only change colours on even rows you can just run the spare colour up the edge & it will be waiting for you. If you want to do odd numbers of rows in each colour, use a double pointed needle. We are used to working backwards & forwards, but there is no reason why you have to do that if you don't want to!
So make a cushion. These took a couple of skeins each, but because the row pattern random you don't have to worry about running out. Just finish off with a different colour that looks nice with the rest.
Start at one corner with one stitch on suitable needles, then increase one stitch at the beginning of every row. Keep going until your work is wide enough for the diagonal of your cushion pad, then decrease every row instead.
I find that is easier to increasing at the beginning of the row rather than the end of the row, which I forget to do. If you use garter stitch the shape should be about right. If you use another stitch (particularly stocking stitch) just keep an eye on the shape. You may need to adjust it a bit.
If you only change colours on even rows you can just run the spare colour up the edge & it will be waiting for you. If you want to do odd numbers of rows in each colour, use a double pointed needle. We are used to working backwards & forwards, but there is no reason why you have to do that if you don't want to!
This is a traditional American appliqué design. The berries are supposed to be appliqué as well, but i didn't have a suitable shade of fabric, & then I decided I would get very annoyed pressing the hems for so many circles. So these berries are embroidered in chain stitch.
Useful books: