Knitted Pin Cushion or Knitting Doo-dads Cushion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skill Level: Beginner
Difficulty Rating: Easy

Material List: A few yards of knitting worsted or DK weight yarn in four (4) colors. I'd use medium dark to light colors, no variegated.

US #7 [4.5mm] knitting needles [can use two double pointed needles since we'll be casting on 20 sts. but knitting flat, not in the round]

We're looking for a close knit but not dense fabric so adjust your needle size. If you knit loosely, you may want to drop down a size and if you knit tightly, you may want to go up a size as we're not looking for something very dense this time.

Pattern: Using one of your four colors, and leaving a long tail for sewing...

First Piece: Cast on 20 stitches loosely
Knit 24 rows which will make 12 garter ridges
Bind off loosely

Second Piece: Cast on 20 stitches loosely
Knit 36 rows which will make 18 garter ridges
Bind off loosely

Third  Piece: Cast on 20 stitches loosely
Knit 56 rows which will make 28 garter ridges
Bind off loosely

[Optional] Fourth Piece: Cast on 20 stitches loosely
Knit 76 rows which will make 38 garter ridges
Bind off loosely

[Optional] Fifth Piece: Cast on 20 stitches loosely
Knit 96 rows which will make 48 garter ridges
Bind off loosely

You may or may not want to knit a fourth and fifth piece...it is entirely up to you. The pincushion is the perfect size with three rounds.

Now sew cast on edge  to cast off edge. Then fold over piece onto itself making a short tube. Insert larger tubes over the smaller one, and so on until all three or four or five tubes are in place. [see pic below] Oversew the bottom edges together picking up a piece of the previous tube to lock each tube in place.

If you use the cushion for pins and needles, there is a hole in the cushion to insert a thimble [as shown in above picture], if you don't want to leave that hole empty, you can fill it in with scrap yarn, and oversew the top opening. In either case, I sew the bottom hole closed as shown in the picture below.

Make several and give them as gifts...fill each cushion up with knitting or sewing notions. I use my knit one for current projects...a place to keep the doo-dads handy while I'm knitting...also a great place to store that working dpn or crochet hook when you're done knitting for the day.

I first made these pincushions in 1972, and it's fun to knit them again. I hope you enjoy knitting this project...