A step-by-step guide to knitting the Charlie Cushion
Ever gotten halfway through a project and thought “Hang on, am I even doing this right?” We have 🙋♀️
That’s why we’ve created these step-by-step guides to walk you through the knitting process.
Even if you've never knitted before, we'll take you from zero to knitting hero in no time 🦸♀️
When it comes to knitting, practice makes perfect
Before we get started on the pattern we suggest you spend a bit of time learning the basic stitches you’ll need to complete your cushion cover.
You'll want to be confident with the knit and purl stitches before you start 🧶 You'll also want to get a hang of tying a slip knot and casting on your stitches (AKA getting your stitches onto your needles) which is the first step in any knitting project, as well as changing colours and casting off to finish.
You can use the yarn that came in your kit to practice with. Once you've got these mastered you'll find the pattern a cinch!
Total beginner? 👩🏫
For a more comprehensive lesson on the basics of knitting visit our Learn How To Knit page.
Onto the cushion!
💪 Remember learning a new skill can be a little challenging at first, and you’re bound to find yourself making some mistakes along the way. But as with learning anything, your brain and your hands slowly start to get the hang of it, muscle memory is created, and soon the thing you found tricky/daunting/scary is like second nature!
⚡️What you'll need
Your kit comes with everything you'll need to make your masterpiece. In your kit you'll find;
- 15mm needles
- Cardigang Chunky Merino Wool - one main colour plus 200 grams of 3-4 additional colours
- A darning needle
- Made by me tag
You also want to have a pair of scissors and a tape measure handy.
⚡️Test your tension
Before you start your project, make sure your tension (how tightly or loosely your knitting is) is juuuust right 🥣 We do this by knitting a “tension swatch”. It's a bit like goldilocks, if the tension is too tight, your piece will be too small, and if it's too loose it may not hold its shape and might be too big.
Gauge: If done correctly, your 10x10cm knitted swatch should be 7 stitches wide and 9 rows high when knitted in stockinette stitch on your 15mm needles.
To test this, jump on your needles - use the yarn and needles that came in your kit. Cast on around 12-15 stitches, then knit in stockinette stitch (knit all stitches in your first row, purl all stitches in the next - repeat) for around 10-14 rows. Then measure a 10x10cm square and count your stitches and rows within that space to make sure you're knitting at the correct tension.
If you've got more stitches or rows than the instructions say you should have, your knitting is a little too tight, and if you've got less your knitting is too loose. Adjust your tension by holding the yarn a little more tightly/loosely as you knit.
💡 We know knitting a tension swatch can seem like a bit of a drain, but it's really important because the difference of a few millimetres in your tension can lead to a finished piece this is quite different in size to what you intended.
🧶 Let's knit up a storm!
Time to get click-clacking and relax into the rhythm of knitting.
We'll knit our cushion cover in 2 pieces, the front and the back before we sew the pieces together.
BACK
STEP 1: Cast on
First thing first, cast on all your stitches using your main colour.
💭 Casting on, like many things in knitting, can be done in a number of ways so if you don't like the technique we suggested, you can pick any that’s right for you.
STEP 2: STOCKINETTE STITCH
You're going to knit up the back of our cushion cover in stockinette stitch. Stockinette stitch is a basic stitch that most knitting patterns often don't explain! It's created by knitting one row and purling the next. It's a non-reversible stitch so the 'right' side of the stitch is the one with the V's facing upwards.
Complete your 42 rows of stockinette stitch.
STEP 3: CAST OFF
✔️ Time to cast all your stitches off your needle.
When you cast off the second last stitch you'll be left with one stitch on your right needle. Cut your yarn from the ball (give yourself about a 25cm tail) and thread the tail back through the last stitch to secure it.
FRONT
We cast on our stitches for the front just the same as the back.
Now let's get into the fun stuff! 🔥 You get to choose your stitch type and colour to create a unique, rainbow-riding design 🌈
We recommend you change colours at the end of a row. Change as often as you like and mix in some of your main colour as you go.
To create texture with your stitches you can mix up the order you alternate your knit and purl rows.
- If you stick with stockinette you'll knit one row, then purl the next
- If you knit 2 or more rows you'll get a garter stitch
- If you repeat a knit or a purl row in a stockinette sequence you'll get a contrast stitch row
SEWING TOGETHER
🪡 Grab your darning needle, we're going to sew this baby together!
Lay your pieces on a flat surface with the cast-off ends up against each other. Sew these pieces together first.
Next, you'll sew a side seam. Then another side seam.
Pop your cushion in and sew up the final side.
D.O.N.E! You've finished your cushion, well done! Epic work 🤩 If this was your first-ever knitting project or one of many, we hope you had a blast click-clacking and making your cushion 💥❤️
In a bind and need some help?
Book in for a 15min one-on-one knitting or crochet session with the Cardigang Hotline ☎️. Whether you're just starting out, or you've got a specific question or problem (dropped a stitch, no stress!), we're here to get you out of a bind.