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A

n involved knitting

project can create

pressuresoftime–

and ability. One

way of getting the

needles going could

be to go large. Knitting with extra

chunky wool and correspondingly

chunky needles means that you

should be able to complete something

recognisable in a day – such as this

cushion cover. “It’s addictive, getting

toseeitgrowsoquickly!”says

Helen Hickman of Nellie and Eve

(nellieandeve.co.uk), who has

devised this project. Helen is

addicted to most things wool based:

spinning, dyeing, weaving and

knittingwool–aswellaspassing

on her skills to others through

workshops and classes.

Helen was taught to sew, knit and

crochet at a young age, although it all

came together when she moved to

rural Carmarthenshire 15 years ago

and joined her local spinners and

weavers group. “I jumped at the

chance to learn these traditional

skills and creating yarn from a raw

fleece really appealed to my love of

allthingsnaturalandmaking

completely by hand,” she says.

“I was hooked.” From here, Helen

developed her passion into Nellie and

Eve, named after her grandmothers.

She spins from locally sourced

fleeces, usually from the sheep

grazing the fields surrounding her

workshop. “Spinning wool into yarn

is still my most favourite thing to do;

it’s a gentle, mindful way to make

something so versatile,” she says. She

then dyes her yarn using natural

materials collected from the garden

and hedgerows or from the pantry.

Whether you want to take it to this

level (and Helen is very convincing

that it’s certainly worth a try), this

cushion project is a great place to

start for beginners, as well as

offering more accomplished knitters

the pleasure that comes with trying

out something a bit different. Either

way, the result should be a “super

tactile,superfriendlycushion”that

you’ll want to hold onto.

How to cast on

1 Create a slip knot on your left needle

and insert the point of the right

needle through the knot from front to

back (so needles are crossed).

2 Take the end of the yarn and wrap it

clockwise over the top of the right

needle (behind the left). Keeping the

end of the wrapped yarn in your right

hand, pull the right needle towards

you, bringing the needle tip in front of

and above the left needle: this creates

a loop on the right needle.

3 Move the right needle to the tip of

the left one and transfer the new loop

across to the left needle (as you do

this, the needle tips should be

pointing at each other, not parallel).

4 Adjust the loop size by pulling the

end of the yarn. You should now have

two loops on the left needle.

5 Inserting your right needle into the

new loop, repeat the process until you

have the number of stitches required.

Knit stitch

Garter stitch is when all rows are in

knit stitch, rather than alternated with

rows of purl. The needle with the cast-

on stitches should be in your left hand

and the yarn at the back of the work.

1 Insert the right needle through the

first stitch on the left needle, from

front to back (so the two needles

are crossed).

2 Take the end of the yarn and wrap

it clockwise over the top of the right

needle (behind the left needle).

Keeping the end of the wrapped yarn

in your right hand, pull the right

needle towards you, bringing the

needle tip in front of and above the

left needle: this creates a loop on the

right needle.

3 Release the old stitch off the

left needle.

4 Repeat steps 1 to 3, until all stitches

are on the right needle.

5 Next, swap the needles around and

repeat steps above.

This will all make sense if you visit

nellieandeve.co.uk/events/videos

Knitting: the basics

A FEW BASIC STITCHES

TO KNOW FIRST

PROUDLY

HOMEMADE