Winter Snowflake Cushion Cover

Winter Snowflake Cushion Cover by Sian Brown

What is Being Made

The Winter Snowflake Cushion Cover is a 40 x 40 cm knitted cushion cover designed by Sian Brown. This intermediate-level knitting project features a decorative snowflake motif worked from a chart on the front panel, with a button-closure back panel. The finished cover is suitable for a standard cushion insert and combines colorwork design with functional construction.

Knitting Techniques Used

This project employs several fundamental and intermediate knitting techniques:

• Moss stitch (also called seed stitch) for the decorative ribbed edging on the back panel, created by alternating knit and purl stitches on every row
• Stocking stitch as the primary fabric base, worked in rows with knit stitches on right-side rows and purl stitches on wrong-side rows
• Chart reading for the snowflake colorwork pattern, with directional guidance for working right-side rows from right to left and wrong-side rows from left to right
• Yarn over needle (yon) technique for creating decorative eyelets or lace elements within the pattern
• Increasing stitches to shape the front panel (one stitch increase on the first row of the front section)
• Color work using two contrasting yarn colors to create the snowflake design against a contrasting background

Stitches Used

The pattern utilizes basic knitting stitches executed at an intermediate skill level:

• Knit (k) stitch
• Purl (p) stitch
• Moss stitch (alternating k1, p1 pattern)
• Stocking stitch (st st) (the primary fabric structure)
• Yarn over needle (yon) for decorative elements

Materials and Tools

The Winter Snowflake Cushion Cover is worked using Designer Yarns DY Choice Aran With Wool, an aran-weight yarn that creates a medium-weight, durable fabric suitable for home décor items. The yarn quantities are:

• Cranberry (col 1): 2 x 100 gm balls (the primary color for the cushion body)
• Ecru (col 2): 1 x 100 gm ball (the contrast color for the snowflake motif and edging)

The project requires a pair of 4.5mm needles and 5 buttons for the back panel closure. The aran yarn weight combined with 4.5mm needles produces a fabric with a tension of 17 stitches and 24 rows to a 10cm square over stocking stitch, ensuring the finished cushion cover achieves the intended 40 x 40 cm measurements.

Pattern Construction Overview

The cushion cover is constructed in two main sections. The back panel begins with a cast-on of 72 stitches in ecru yarn, featuring a five-row moss stitch border for a decorative edge. The panel then transitions to cranberry yarn and continues in stocking stitch until reaching 30 cm in length. The front panel incorporates the snowflake chart design, with the pattern centered between 18-stitch borders of plain stocking stitch on either side. The chart guides the colorwork placement, with specific instructions for reading rows in the correct direction depending on whether rows are worked from the right side or wrong side. The button closure mechanism provides a practical opening for inserting and removing a cushion pad.