Cabled Cushion Cover

Now that Autumn is here, I could finally find it in myself to finish off this knitted cushion cover. I started in March but knit homewares did not seem right in summer so I put it aside and pursued other projects. Now that the evenings are drawing in, and the weather is chilly, this cushion looks so fat and cosy, it is just inviting me to join it on the sofa, knitting needles in hand...

I made a plan to cover our existing sofa cushions. We have had four of these really blah cushions forever. They are fine, they are neutral, they do the job, they blend in and are (mostly) inoffensive; but they are boring. So I decided to knit at least one new cover. Start with one and see how you go, right?

The yarn is Sirdar Denim Sport Aran which I got on sale. I was planning to make myself an Aran fisherman's jumper but I've not had great success with pieced garments for myself so I don't feel like I am really ready to do it justice. This seemed like the right project for showing off it's good qualities. I love having such a neutral shade in my stash and it is a great yarn too. It is soft enough to use for baby blankets and I really like the uneven texture: it gives stitch definition, but is kind to flaws. I can machine wash it and it's very inexpensive.

When I was searching for a pattern on Ravelry, I didn't see any with the sort of cabling that I wanted. So I used the cable design from a poncho instead. (The Ravelry pattern search really is phenomenal.) My notes on how I converted the pattern are here. If I make another one (and I hope I do), I think I'll go for a less elaborate cable and use a lot of rope twists instead, maybe with ribbing on the back. The back of this one is mostly stocking stitch, with a few bands of seed stitch breaking it up along the way.

Instead of attaching a fastening method, or sewing the cushion into the cover, I machine sewed the cover to the zip of the existing cushion cover. That way, I can take out the cushion pad if I need to launder the cover(s) and it is far neater than anything I could achieve.

Now, where's my glass of wine and my knitting?