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Book Review: 25 Cushions to Knit

25 Cushions to Knit by Debbie Abrahams

Back cover excerpt: Explore and experiment with color, stitches, and embellishment in this stunning collection of hand-knit cushion projects, featuring step-by-step instructions, scores of color photos, and a handy spiral-binding that lies flat for easy use.

The spiral-binding is a big plus for any book with knitting patterns. I’ve tested it and it also folds back on itself fairly well. That helps relieve some awkwardness for photocopying a chart. However, this book is rather large (10.5″ by 10″), so you may not always be able to fit the entire page onto one sheet. Photocopying will take a little bit of strategic positioning and patience.

The Table of Contents categories the patterns into several collections: Urban Cool, Shaker Style, Playtime, English Garden, and Modern Minimal. Tucked into the end of the book is a Techinques section.

Urban Cool surprised me the most; I expected the designs to be trendy. At first, the designs seemed rather sedate, but I realized my mistake quickly. I had expected novelty yarn to be used frequently, and the closest thing to novelty yarn in 25 Cushions… was a mohair-silk blend. This collection is about chic, not trends. There’s one pillow where you can use bleach to drizzle white lines onto denim yarn, and another incorporates the loop stitch as mini-fringe.

The other categories were as expected. Shaker Style makes use of traditional or country motifs, such as patchwork, stripes, stars and stripes (shown on front cover), and log cabin. Playtime is geared for kids or the young at heart. English Garden consists of delicate flowers and lace. Modern Minimal was my favorite, with its monochromatic textures or simple accents.

This is not a How To book, it is assumed that you know how to cast-on, knit, purl, increase, and decrease (eg: k2tog or yarn-over). The Techniques section includes basic instructions with accompanying color photographs for the specialized techniques required by some patterns (eg: Intarsia, cables, loop stitch, beads, or buttonholes).

Beads, buttons, and fringe were used as embellishment here and there. At least one design in each collection incorporated beads.

Ms Abrahams provided one or more colorway photographs for many patterns; this is a good visual for readers who may need inspiration with color choosing. There also is a difficulty rating system of one (level 1), two (level 2), and three (level 3) stars. I noticed that projects involving cables or intricate intarsia were rated 3 stars, and others with beading, bobbles, lace, or intarsia were given 2 stars. Overall, the designs did not appear complex, most patterns rated 1 star. Each category included at least one design with two or three stars. In matters of finishing, some cushion covers were assembled piece by piece, and others also required picking up stitches.

There are actually 26 patterns in this book and the cushion sizes ranged from 12″ x 12″ to 26″ x 26″ square or rectangular. There were unique shapes and sizes, as well, including a 10″ x 30″ x 3″ cushion, a 18″ x 7″ bolster, and a 11-1/2″ cube. The most common size was 16″ x 16″. As Josie points out in her Amazon review (available by clicking on cover photo above), you can create your own pillow form if you don’t have the correct size available.

Overall, I was pleased with this book. The yarn requirements, sizing, and notions were all clearly listed. The thing I liked best was that the back panel was also displayed, not just the front. Most were different from the front, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes dramatically. Many times, I found myself preferring the back over the front! I would have liked measurements included with the button information, in case I wanted to shop early before making or finishing a cushion.