Handy wool cushion DMC

Have you heard of arm knitting? It's the art of knitting with your arms!

DMC offers a lightweight, soft-touch tubular yarn called Handy that makes it easy to knit without needles.

Aline, from the blog Aline aux pays des mailles, suggests we make a cushion with this new wool, and the result is so nice that we're tempted to redecorate our living room or bedroom by making several cushions in every color!

Many thanks to Aline for teaching us the arm knitting technique.

How to knit without needles?

Here are the technical tips to learn how to knit without needles and master the arm knitting technique.

A - Knit with your hands (continental method).

The first step is to leave a piece of wool, called A yarn, long enough to knit your stitches. For this project, you'll need about 2 meters of wool (50 cm of which will be used for sewing the right side).

• Following this length, make a slip knot and pass the resulting loop around your right wrist.

• *Hold the two threads firmly in your left palm, slide your thumb and forefinger over the center of the threads from inside to outside and tilt your wrist back. The placement of the threads is important: the A thread should be around your thumb and the thread coming from the ball on your forefinger.

• This forms a loop under the thumb. Pass your right hand from bottom to top through this loop, catch the thread on the index finger and bring it back through the loop*. This is your first stitch, place it on your right hand. Be careful not to over-tighten your work!

• Repeat * as many times as necessary.

B- Knit a row of stockinette

With the stitches on your right arm:

• Using your right hand, hold the yarn coming from the ball in your palm, slide the first loop on your arm and bring the yarn through this loop. You've knitted your first stitch. Place it on your left arm. Repeat until the end of the row.

With stitches on left arm :

• Using your left hand, hold the yarn from the ball in your palm, slide the first loop onto your arm and bring the yarn through this loop. You've now knitted your first stitch. Place it on your right arm. Repeat until the end of the row.

C- Fold down stitches

Knit two stitches right sides together.

• Step 1: slide the first knitted stitch over the second and let it fall out of your arm. You've just folded over a stitch!

• Step 2: With one stitch left on your arm, knit a new stitch and repeat step 1.

• Repeat steps 2 and 1 until only one stitch remains, then stop work by passing the yarn through the loop of the last stitch and pulling.

D- Assembly

The stitching on the sides of the cover is done 1 stitch from the edge, also known as the selvedge stitch, and is easily recognizable as it forms a small V. At this stage, the knitted fabric should be placed purl to purl, with the right side facing you.

• To join two sides, simply pass the thread from right to left and then from left to right, stitching through each small hole at the base of each selvedge stitch.Once sewn, it's a good idea to pass a few stitches in the opposite direction before cutting the thread.

E- Designer's tip

At the end of the knitting process, once the stitches have been brought down, it's a good idea to leave enough thread to sew the bottom and left side of the cushion. The right-hand side will be sewn with the assembly thread (A).

To hide and secure the sewing threads, simply cut the wool as close as possible to the knitting and secure the thread with a few stitches, by hand, on the reverse side of the knitting.

When changing balls, it's a good idea to sew the two ends of the old and new balls together, so that there's no thread to tuck in.

Making the cushion cover

STEP 1

Assemble 12 stitches.

STEP 2

Knit 21 rows of jersey right sides together, then fold over all the stitches. The result is a rectangle measuring 80 x 40 cm.

STEP 3

Place your cushion inside your knitted fabric, fold it inside out and close the cover by sewing on three sides.

Your cushion is finished. Thanks to this cozy wool, you can easily add a touch of softness and a cocooning atmosphere to your home, ideal for the transition to autumn/winter.

We love to see what you can do with the tutorials on Perles & Co. So, don't hesitate to send us photos of your creations on our Facebook page .