Katie’s Cushion

A stitching panel for Cottage Garden Threads’ “Work Cushion” pattern

Some time ago, Katie from Cottage Garden Threads re-released a pattern she designed for a work cushion – an ingenious idea to create a cushion to use as a stitching surface that is adjustable in height, and that contains lots of clever little pockets to hold your tools and threads.

Katie included a beautiful embroidery pattern for the centre of the cushion, but I spoke with her and asked if she would mine if I designed something using cross-stitch for the cushion – as I thought us cross-stitchers could benefit from such a wonderful piece. When planning for their Nashville appearance, Katie asked if we could present my piece there, and so ‘Katie’s Cushion’ was born.

My stitched piece is adapted from a little antique reproduction; I thought the varied borders of the design echoed the borders in the cushion, and I tweaked it a little to make it fit. Of course, you can just stitch the pattern on it’s own too.

My pattern contains the chart for the stitched design and some tweaks to CGT’s ‘Work Cushion’ pattern needed to make it fit. The ‘Work Cushion’ pattern is sold separately and is needed for the construction of the cushion. And let me just say – I’m not great at following sewing patterns (my brain is weird), but you can see my finish above! So don’t let it put you off if you don’t have much sewing experience.

I stitched my model 2 over 2 in Cottage Garden Threads’ ‘Leatherbound’ (still my favourite red) for a monochrom look, but the pattern is perfect to adjust to your favourite colours or decor. In fact, I’m just about to re-stitch it in one of the new ‘Stitcher’s Palettes’, so you can see how to convert a monochrome pattern into a multi-coloured one. I’ll be showing the process on my Instagram (@mojostitches) and I’ll collate it here, once it’s complete. I’ll also take photos of the finishing process and include them on the blog as well.

The patterns are available now to order from your local and online needlework stores, and I’ll have stock of both and threads in my Etsy in about a month. I know my sore neck is grateful for this cushion – I hope you enjoy it too!