Free Tutorial - County Christmas Cushion

Hi folks !
Its beginning to feel a lot like ......
Christmas decoration making time !!! yayy!
Well I'm been super busy with my lovely crochet snowflakes over the past week
(think I may even be able to crochet them in my sleep at this stage!)
and I love them soooo much thought I might just come up with an idea or two
to use them in other festive ways.
I've also been scheming of ways to use the ribbon I received from the lovely people
at Abakhan through the tutorial exchange at Totally Tutorials.

So here's a little tutorial I put together this morning for a

Country Style Mini Pillow Christmas Decoration With Ribbons & Crochet
(he! he! now that's a mouthful !) Its a super easy and fun little project - took me about half an hour


Here's what your going to need -

Some yarn & a crochet hook
Hessian or Burlap 2 pieces - mine were 7in x 9in
Some scraps of Christmas Ribbon
Wadding or stuffing (I used some leftover stuffing from my scatter cushion)
Sewing needle & thread

Lets get started !

2 pieces of hessian (burlap) , mine were 7in wide x  9in high but you can use any size you fancy.

Lay your Christmas ribbon down across one piece in a random pattern, pin it all down when your happy :)

Pin about 4 inches of ribbon in the centre of the top of your burlap (this will be your hanger)

Lay your pieces right sides together and whip out the machine & stitch all round the cushion leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom for turning out and stuffing.

I like to double stitch (go over it twice) as the weave is so open on the material)

Trim the excess & trim your corners

Now carefully remove all your pins & turn right side out , carefully push out the corners.

Time for some Christmas Stuffing ( he he ! Couldn't resist! )

When your cushion is stuffed , hand sew the opening closed with coordinating thread.

Ahhh! Now we're getting somewhere !

 Next up the mini crochet snowflake...
'Whaaa!!' I hear you cry 'I can't crochet!!!'
Well that's why I'm here ! Its easy!!

Grab a crochet hook & some yarn you only need three stitches to make a snowflake -
Chain (C)
Slip Stitch (SS)
& heres where things get a little hairy! one more simple stitch called
Double Crochet (DC) (UK) or Single Crochet (SC) (USA)

You can learn how to make these 3 stitches HERE, HERE and HERE
Got it ? Great then lets make a mini snowflake! ...

Chain 4 

Join your chain with a slip stitch (ss) to form a loop.

Working into the loop chain 2, 1 Double crochet (US- Single), Chain 3 

2 Double Crochet in the loop (as above) then chain 3 - do this 3 more times 

 then SS into the 2nd chain of your initial ch 2. now you've formed a cute little 5 pointed star shape.

Slip stitch into the closest loop (formed by your chain 3 in the previous round) & do the following-
DC, Chain 3, DC, Chain 5, DC, Chain 3, DC

Now move onto the next loop and do it all again !
DC, Chain 3, DC, Chain 5, DC, Chain 3, DC
Continue in each of the 5 loops ...

SS into the base of your first DC and hey presto ! Your done !!

You can at this point block your crochet snowflake if you like. The difference between blocking & not blocking is demonstrated in the photo of a larger snowflake below - the snowflake on the right has been blocked.

& this is how you do it - pin your snowflake open on a folded towel (I use some foam behind my towel to save the table). Spray with water or a spray starch & then leave to dry. Its a simple as that !

Sew that critter on to the front of your mini cushion & wayyy hey!!
Your done ! Now all you've to do is decide where to hang your creation !
It will look great hanging on a door handle or on a hook and what a lovely Christmas gift it would make !

Thank you for visiting & do come back soon !

Love Siubhan x x x