Smocking is given a contemporary ‘op-art’ feel with this soft, colourful design by Kirstie McLeod
If you have about 200g of an aran-weight yarn sitting in your stash, this graphic cushion knitting pattern by Kirstie McLeod is a nice way to use it up. Designed to work best with a self-striping yarn, such as the Patons Fusion used here, this cushion features a smocking-effect stitch pattern that produces a fabric with a raised, almost chain-effect pattern. It’s knitted in the round in one piece - with stocking stitch for the reverse of the cushion on one half of the round and the smocking pattern on the other half - then cast off using the three-needle cast-off or Kitchener stitch to graft the two sides together. It’s completed with a simple, sewn-on border which makes use of stocking stitch’s inclination to curl in on itself.
