How to make a miniature intarsia cottage cushion

It’s the little touches that make a home and this pretty and detailed miniature knitted cushion will bring colour, warmth and character to your dolls house or miniature scene. It uses a knitting technique called intarsia which uses blocks of colour.

What is intarsia?

Intarsia knitting involves using separate strands of cotton for each area of colour. When knitting up to the next colour block, twist the two colours to stop a gap forming in the knitting, but don’t take the colours behind each other. You’ll have lots of ‘ends’ hanging down while knitting. Jan Pearce talks us through how to make these delightful mini soft furnishings.

Miniature intarsia cottage cushion

By Jan Pearce of Jan’s Minis.

You will need

• 1 ply cotton in small oddments... green, cream, mid-blue, sky blue, very pale blue and grey
• Small amounts of embroidery silks for decoration
• Very small amount of toy stuffing
• Size 19 needles (1.00mm)

Download Jan’s intarsia knitting pattern. 

Method

1. Prepare your colours before starting – one strand of green, three of cream, one of mid-blue for the door, two of sky blue, one of very pale blue for the window, and one of grey for the roof. Use stocking stitch throughout. 

2. Cast on 23 stitches using green, and starting from the bottom of the chart follow the colours.

3. As you add a new colour, tie it to the last colour as you go, but leave a short tail to the back. Once a colour is finished, cut and tie off, but leave the tail. Keep the front of the knitting as neat as possible, but don’t worry about the tails at the back as you work.

4. Once you reach the top of the chart, change to cream and knit the back for approximately 34 rows. Do check this though as sometimes the intarsia can stretch a little as you work. Add a couple of rows if needed.

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5. Cast off. 

6. Check the Intarsia is neat and tidy on the front. If there are any gaps in the colour changes, take a strand of fine sewing cotton, and on the back of the work stitch up without anything showing through to the front. You need the front to be as smooth as possible. The old tails can be trimmed and left inside.

7. Fold over and join the two together leaving an opening at the bottom for stuffing. Stuff lightly and close the seam.

Decorating your miniature intarsia cushion 

Below are suggestions for decorating your cushion, but you can decorate yours in any way you like!

• With two strands of brown, use simple stitches for the tree trunk and branches.
• For the leaves, use oddments of greens, putting two different colours in the needle. On the samples Jan has done French knots and arranged them in bunches of different green combinations to give a textured look. Try straight stitches horizontally for a pine tree or perhaps running stitches hanging down for a willow tree.
• Outline the window in blue to match the door, and do a black door handle too.
• Create roses or alternative flowers – your choice will make your cushions unique. Perhaps a wisteria instead of roses, and use the colours to suit your room settings!
• Add anything you like – a bird in the sky, a cat, milk bottles, flowers, bushes, house number, letterbox, or even a red post box.

Make a set, but with every cushion slightly different.

Love knitting in miniature? Give these miniature knitted bears a go… or why not learn the art of miniature crochet and make a miniature rug for your dolls house?