Pink and Blue Cushion

Waaaaaaay back when I first started crocheting (well, ok, it was only about 18 months ago), after making a few teddy blankets and scarfy things, I decided to really go for it, live dangerously, throw caution to the wind, and make A Cushion Cover ! Whoop!

I got out my notebook and pencils and drew a little plan of the cushion cover I had in mind. 

My stash was fairly minimal back then, so I didn't have too many colours to choose from, yet funnily enough, this is one of my favourite colour combos so far. I love the dark blue and dark pink especially, and really wish I'd noted down the brand and shade, because I have absolutely no idea what I used (and bizarrely don't even seem to have any small bits left).

The little 3 round grannies mounted up pretty quickly ....

.... and my favourite oatmeal yarn (random stuff from Hobbycraft but I use it loads) was just right for the final round.

I played with the layout a bit (and gosh my pictures may not be that great now but they've definitely improved!) ....

I didn't use join-as-you-go, instead I joined the squares together using double-crochet - yes it's tedious, but I simply adore the beautiful straightness of the outlines of those squares.

Of course at first it all looks a bit wrinkly, but nothing that a bit of good old steam blocking won't sort out ....

And so the front of my cushion cover was complete. All I had to do was turn it into an actual proper cover with a front, a back, an opening and a filling. Easy, right ? Er so why did it take me over a year ???!! Finally, at the weekend just gone, I made a bold decision, and rescued the poor thing from one of my many to-do piles. Also in that pile were two little blue cardigans that my girls grew out of a couple of years ago. Age 3-4 and 5-6. Aaaaahhhhh sweet. 

The cardigans had been deliberately set aside to be upcycled, and they seemed like the perfect colour for the back of the cushion cover, complementing the blue accent on the front.

I fastened up the cardigans' buttons, then chopped off a chunk of the sleeves to square them up, sewed up where I'd cut, and then cut most of the back off, leaving a large rectangle with buttons down the front.

I overlapped the 2 rectangles (one from each cardigan), envelope style and made up a complete cover with an off-white front, and the upcycled cardigans as the back.

Finally, I hand-sewed the crocheted piece onto the front of my cover, and put in an old cushion pad that I'd set aside.

And there you have it, my pink and blue cushion :)

It's one of those projects which, when I finally got round to completing it, it didn't really take that long, and I am left wondering why on earth it took me so long ??? And now I need to work in applying that to all the other WIPs in all those little piles around the house :)