Earraich means “Spring” in Scottish Gaelic, a time of renewal and rebirth symbolised in this design by Celtic knotwork. As the dark, grey days of winter give way to spring, bright crocuses of purple and gold appear in the freshly growing grass. The colours I chose for this project reflect these harbingers of light and warmth.

Method: This cushion cover features stranded colourwork motifs on the front and a single-color envelope back. This is fastened with buttons allowing easy removal for washing and making this cushion cover as practical as it is beautiful.
Worked in one piece with one row buttonholes, a steek, and mattress stitch to finish, it also provides knitters with a chance to practise many of the skills needed for a colorwork cardigan on a much smaller project.

Photo tutorials for mattress stitch and using a sewing machine to reinforce the steek are included with this pattern.

Please note the colorwork design in this pattern is charted not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Yarn: You will need at least two contrasting colors of any DK yarn containing a high percentage of wool and with which you can get tension/ gauge. Woolly yarns are more suitable for steeking because the fibres naturally want to stick together.

Solid colors work best for this design (because you want to be able to see it clearly from across the room), but don’t be afraid to experiment! You could use just one contrast color for the entire cushion, use three colors and swap the background and contrast colors about (as in the cushion pictured), or make each motif band with a different background and contrast color.
Be creative, have fun, the steek means there are no ends to weave in! The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick and where you choose to use them. As a guide for the cushion pictured, I used the following:
MC – West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK in 186 Pear Green approx. 315 metres (345 yards).
CC1 – West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK in 362 Perfectly Plum approx. 115 metres (126 yards).
CC2 – West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK in 229 Citrus Yellow approx. 40 metres (44 yards).