Stash busting crochet cushion cover

Embarassingly, this is the last of the Christmas presents from 2013.  I finished this about a week ago and only just posted it to my cousin, who always buys me the loveliest and most thoughtful presents.  I'm a terrible person to be related to.



To make things even worse, I'm super skint right now.  After Christmas presents, my car breaking down and the general festivities associated with December, I was limping along to January payday.  Which, just to add insult to injury, was an extra week away this year.  So, I turned to my stash in a panic and whipped up this little beauty, even if I do say so myself.  Sometimes necessity is the mother of craftiness...or something along those lines.



This is a simple granny square combo, using the Blooming Granny sqaure by Melinda Miller.  I crocheted up the front panels using stash yarn (so satisfying!), then backed them with some black cord I had in my fabric stash (double whammy satisfying!).  I then backed the whole thing with more of the black cord.  My aim was for something pretty but hard wearing as my cousin has a dog and 2 cats so this baby is going to get worn.



The little 'Second Fiddle' label adds a professional element I always think.  Though I really must get some new ones made, I've just got so many left from my old Etsy shop and it seems a shame to waste them!



I just sewed these together as I would any other cushion, though I used zigzag stitch to make sure I caught enough of the crocheted stitches that it would hold together.  It was my first time using single chain crochet to stitch granny squares together and I like how it looks, I chose to go with the ridge on the outside but the inside has really neat, flat joins between the squares, it looks very smart.



I chose not to make it into a cushion cover, in that you can't remove the cover using buttons or a zip.  I figured it would be difficult to properly wash this since it's a mix of fabric and crochet, so you'd have to handwash either way.  Not ideal with animals really, oops.  Instead I just sewed up all 4 sides, leaving an opening to turn inside out, stuffed, then slip stitched shut.  I like how nice and plump it is, I often struggle to get cushion covers with pre-made innards to stuff as nicely as this one.  Got to make one for me now!