DIY and free pattern: crocheted duck printed cushion covers

To make such a pillow cover yourself is not hard at all. And you even shouldn't be an advanced crocheter, just know how to make an average -SC (single crochet) and try and deal with jacquard technik, wich is not as hard as it seems from the first sight. By the way, my pattern can be used in needle knitting, embroidery and whatever else where pixel pictures work.

For one pillow cover you need:

 1.  Yarn (I took 50\50 wool\acrylic) medium thikness, 2 balls (each ball 200-250 meters lenth) of main colour and appr. 1\2 ball of a "duck" colour. You can make ducks in different colours, then take yarn basing on your own crochet density. I picked my yarn looking strict for the required colour (for the complete design-project of a restaurant), thats why i have a yarn from different brands.


My colour scheme includes: light grey melange+ vine red+ milk white (for the second type of covers).

           

               2. Crochet hook  №3
(size number of the hook depends on you yarn choice, but 3-4 is perfect)

3. Zipper , I took a secret one, but you may use a usual one or sew buttones or use any other kind of lock you like.

(or maybe dont use a lock at all if you re not going to ever wash it)

The cover based on my pattern is made for a pillow size 40x40 (cm), but can be applied toa standart Ikea 50x50 one (mention it will be more tough) and it consists of two canvas: the front and the back.

Work Process:

1. Making the front canvas
Actually the front side is a only thing that needs a DIY here. Below you can see the pattern of the it. The pattern is maximum detailed and every pixel here denotes one -SC(single crochet)- white means main colour and red means a contrast or "duck" colour. This picture shows how to crochet exactly mine design, but of course fantasy can be used and the pattern can be changed (ducks can be put by the diagonal or go around etc.)

As I see, there is three ways to crochet this pattern: 
- using a jaquard technic (when in the double colour raw you alternately hide the second  thread inside a SC)
- regular double colour crochet with changing a thread when its needed
- tunisian crochet (we won't describe this way cus in this post cus its a single big story)

BGN (from bottom to the top)
 row 0: 63 ch
row 1: 63 sc
row 2-6: the same as row 1
(rows 1-6 make single crochets as usual alternateling front and wrong sides passing the hook through both sides of the loop)
row 7: adding red colour and working even till the end of the row - in the end cut both threads !
row 8-17 : similarly by the pattern (in the row 17 you can cut only a red thread and go on front\wrong with just mail colour )
row 18-21: 63 sc
and so on..

IMPORTANT! In any case using jaquard technic or just alternating colours the crocheting rows with ducks go only on a front side. so you cut the rope and and start from the front again (exeption is a tunisian technic). In the opposite case if you continue to switch between front and wrong, the picture will be blurred and lose its borders.
IMPORTANT! Count steps! there are strict 63 sc in the row. if you add of decrease any, the composition will be lost.

There is nothing wrong with all the threads left by the sides, it will be sewed inside the cover and won't be seen. For more safe, i tied them in a "granny" knot.

There is also nothing wrong if you notice that the canvas you make seem a bit skewed to a side. The reason of that is we crocheting mainly on a front side. This will dissapear when you attach two canvas together and put it on a pillow.

Here is how does a ready front canvas looks.












2. Making the back canvas

The back canvas has nothing hard to deal with and is made sipmly by doing SC (single crochets). 63 loops x 64 rows, alternately front/wrong side.

3. Attaching zipper

First necessarily stich by hand, zip, unzip, check if all is well and
If you chose buttons, you can stich it in the very end.
then you can do a final stich by hand or sewing mashine (by the way for thin secret ziplock i didnt use any spesial foot, just a regular one)


4. Attaching canvas toghether
Put the worng sides of bith canvas together and attach one to another using a simple single crochet during all the perimeter exluding ziplock area. This type of edging will add a presision to a shape and help to avoid curves.

5. Put on a pillow! Thats it!

Duck print pillow covers and soft sits for Cheer Duck club-restaurant in St.Petersburg

My first post and our first large project  -  cushins and sits for one of sit zones in club restaurant CheerDuck in St.Petersburg, Russia. 
Game of words in the place's name (word "cheerduck" literally translates from russian as "garret" or "loft") defines a project stylistics. The project's main designer Evgeniya Uzhegova (Kroo Cafe, Funky kitchen) task sounded like it should be smth very cosy, homy andin the sametime very cheer. So you can see its a definetely a handmade but without any diletancy or awkward look as hand crocheted items can often look like.

photos from restaurant.ru site

The duck print and crochet techniks were conformed straight in the beginning, and the colours (grey melange, vine red and milk white) were picked after the final design project of the restaurant was ready.

The crochet project includes: 14 pillow covers (9 with duck print and 5 solid) and also 8 soft sits cases (47*90cm). Foam for furnishing was inserted into a sit cases. Both pillowcovers and sit cases have zippers for better care.

To be honest, it was a pretty much work to do. Two of us managed to make it all in a month working rather intensivly.

DIY on the pillow covers and soft sit cases are coming...