Attic 24 inspired crochet cushion

11th March 
My attempt at the raindrop stitch from Attic 24

Any avid crocheter anywhere around the world will eventually stumble upon Lucy's blog, Attic 24. I discovered her in the summer of 2013.  Her blog with inspiring photographs of where she lives in north England are a treasure. Her pattern creations are inspiring and her tutorials are simple and extremely clear and easy to follow. Lucy has always maintained that her patterns will be free and she shares the crochet love willingly and openly. She occasionally has workshops and was a huge part of Yarndale last year, and no doubt will be this year too.  Simply Crochet magazine have snapped her up for a monthly column and it seems the world of yarn cannot get enough of the lovely Lucy. In the last week or two she has shared a new stitch she had come up with, cleverly called the raindrop stitch, so apt with all the rain the UK has suffered recently.  It is a stitch very similar to the spike stitch and I must admit I dropped all my other WIPs and began a test patch which in turn became quite large which in turn has also become a cushion.  Another unplanned project!

I decided that the colours I was using, also from the style craft Lucy pack, bought a few months ago from Wool warehouse, great service by them, by the way, would be ideal, but as my house is not overly colourful, a cushion in such vibrant colours might stick out. With the weather changing at the weekend, a plan began to firm up in my mind: outdoor patio cushions!  Mine were tired and needed replacing , so this would be a great opportunity.  Completing the raindrop stitch front I decided to not continue to the back side but to use oilcloth instead. It would be damp proof, we could use it on the grass, on the damp benches from the dew first thing in the morning as it wouldn't matter and for the same reason, we could use it straight after a rain shower.  In my stash of material I had just the right oilcloth piece, red with spots. Pulling out the sewing machine, within half an hour I had a completed outdoor cushion. Very chuffed with myself I was.  Of course now I have begun to make another cushion, in the same wool, the same colours but to mix things up a bit, in a different pattern. I am half way through already and feeling happy with myself.

I share with you here  a mini photo journal as I had not intended to necessarily blog about this and under the photographs you will find Lucy's great tutorial link for the raindrop stitch.  Hope you enjoy my colours and give Lucy a try!  You won't be disappointed!


I crochet whenever and wherever I can, it is very addictive.  This was me waiting for my son (in the car) to finish triathlon training early last Saturday morning!




The stitch is fast to work up, Lucy uses chunky yarn, but as I did not have any and wanted to try the stitch out straight away, I just doubled up my yarn and used a hook 2 sizes bigger than was recommeneded for the yarn I was using.


In no time at all the cushion front was completed.


I did add in a zip to the back in the middle of the oil cloth, so I can wash/wipe down as needed. 
I think the oil cloth and raindrop stich front in a mad sort of way complement each other.  I am pleased with how this has turned out!
Crocheting on the train earlier today, beginning my mini granny sqaures in the same colours as the raindrop cushion, this is the start of cushion number two!  Watch this space for updates...
Lucy at Attic 24, raindrop tutorial:  http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/raindrops-stitch.html%20


What are you working on?  Have you begun to think about spring and summer makes yet?



19 comments:

  1. That turned out so well!! LOVE the oilcloth backing idea. Don't you sometimes wish there were 53 hours in each day to work on all the creative possibilities?!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Lucy, you are so right, I just want to sit and play all day with yarn and other crafts. Am nearly finished with the min granny squares now and will also make that into an oil cloth backed one too. I really want to thank you for inspiring me, only started crocheting last summer and am having such a ball. My raindrops stitch is not as neat as your but think it might be to do with the fact that I used double yarn instead of chunky, so at some point I will try that too! Thanks for popping over and leaving a comment and THANKS again for all your sharing of your love of crochet, it is so inspiring ♥

      Delete
  2. Lovely pillow! I bet it will bring a lot of colour to your house! The oil cloth is such a good idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Anne, even my children think it is perhaps one of the best 'crochet' items to date. Not easy pleasing teenagers! So much so that my daughter wants me to hurry up and finish the next one!

      Delete
  3. I agree - the oil cloth backing is a great idea - your cushion looks great.
    You are like me - I crochet in the car on the way to cross country races and football matches (my husband is driving I hasten to add).
    Thank you for sharing
    Caz xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, am really pleased with the oil cloth myself, hopefully it will prove it's worth in the coming months too! Crocheting is addictive, isn't it! Glad I am not alone in car crocheting!!! ♥

      Delete
  4. Love your cushion and the jolly dotty oilcloth is a great idea for outdoor use. I love to crochet on the move too, which is why I mostly do granny squares; it's amazing how much I can get done on my daily train commutes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I also try and make bits on the move and more recently started tapestry crochet, making wash cloths, they are small and easy to put in a bag when on a train for example. Have you tried tapestry crochet? I am falling in love with it! Here is my link, so you can see:

      http://eclectichomelife.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/spotty-crocheted-cotton-cloths.html?showComment=1394033216883
      Thanks for stopping by Aisha x

      Delete
  5. It's so lovely colour mix! The most most interesting part of crochetting is to choose colour for next rows (as for me:) and what about you? What is the most most for you?
    And i'm so glad you liked idea of that stones :) Would be great if you will share result. And me too..just will stop worry, take a deep breath and go back to hand made and peacful life

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It depends what I am making, this cushion, I just chose the 6 colours and then whichever one my hand pulled out of the bag was the colour I chose next. the mood blanket I am making, I look at it and try colours next to the row to see which I think would be best. Looking forward to your stones, I won't be doing mine until at least the Easter break at the earliest. Take care in Kiev ♥

      Delete
  6. That's come out so beautifully! Perfect for summer outdoor living. Now let's just hope that we get some summer....
    How's the mood blanket going?

    ReplyDelete
  7. thank, now I have just made a table cloth to match! My house is suffering, need to slow down. Mood blanket has taken a little back seat, but hope to rectify that this week end and will blog about it towards the end of next week. Are you close to finishing the stain glass afgahn, so cannot wait...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Its really nice post. I appreciate your great effort for this work. This red color cushion looks really cool specially for the child. Last night i have also bought some cartoon printed cushions from Outdoor Cushions Dubai Those cushions are also look But i will follow all your steps and will try to make it manually. Thanks again and god bless you

    ReplyDelete
  9. A wise business executive will always choose the best fabric for his or her company and then ensure that the correct "Abu Dhabi Upholstery" is choosing to decorate the new establishment. Often, people confuse this question with how important it is to choose the right sort of furniture for a business office but the point is that this decision will have a significant effect on how well a company functions and is able to grow. Finding the best carpet and upholstery for your new establishment will have a very direct impact on the success of your business and can provide you with a real competitive edge over your competitors.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We are one of Dubai’s biggest floor suppliers and sell all sorts of floors and services. There are plenty of flooring shops in Dubai, but we can choose to deliver the best product at home at very reasonable prices and at record times. Dubai Parquet Flooring is one of the leading manufacturers of Flooring in Dubai. Their products are known for their high quality, beauty, durability, easy installation, and affordable price.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your website is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you¡¦ve on this web site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles.
    Furniture Upholstery Abu Dhabi

    ReplyDelete
  12. very informative article. really amazing stuff that you wrote. visit our website for more inforamtive articles.
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you very much i really appreciate your effort,visit our websitethanks

    ReplyDelete

I will always read all comments and will try to reply but it may take me a couple of days, do please pop back and lets get a conversation going...