As my dog Rush took over the pricey club chair in our master bedroom as his own, it became very clear to me that a towel on the floor was no longer good enough for his nightly snooze. Now, 13 years later, he still owns the club chair but has started to fall or need two tries to leap to his pillow top. It’s time for a dog bed and time to reupholster his chair for human use again. The Bark-A-Lounger is born! A Fair Isle of circles and stripes, this bed is knit in the round in one piece. Finishing requires light felting and a tiny bit of sewing, but nothing fancy. Pets of all kinds love sleeping on cozy wool. No encouragement needed. Don’t have a dog? The Bark-A-Lounger makes a great Euro-sized bed or floor pillow as well! |
||||
SIZE | ||||
One |
||||
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS | ||||
Approx. 32 inches square, after felting |
||||
MATERIALS | ||||
[MC]
Cascade - Ecological Wool [100% Wool; 478yd/437m per 250g
skein]; color: #8018; 2 skeins [CC] Noro Kureyon [100% Wool; 110yd/100m per 50g skein]; color: #150; 6 skeins Swatches Shown in
Alternate Colorways |
||||
GAUGE | ||||
16 sts/20 rows = 4 inches in stockinette st, before felting |
||||
PATTERN NOTES [Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.] |
||||
When working stranded
colorwork patterns,
be sure to trap long yarn
floats at back of work.
Information about felting by hand can
be found here
and here. ssp: Slip next 2 sts knitwise, one at a time, to right needle. Slip them both, purlwise, back to left needle. Purl them together through their back loops. |
||||
|
||||
DIRECTIONS | ||||
Using double-point needle and MC, CO 8 sts. Place 2 sts on each of 4 needles and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist. After the first few rounds have
been worked, place safety
pin or split ring marker
in work to indicate beginning of round.
Work Rounds 1-42 of Chart B; outlined pattern repeat is worked 8 times in each quarter of round. 440 sts when Round 42 is complete: 110 sts in each quarter. Faux Piping: Using MC, work as follows: Back of Pillow: Note: Read ahead! Stripe pattern is worked at the same time as pillow shaping. Using CC and beginning on Round 1 of Stripe Pattern, continue
as follows: AT THE SAME TIME, work Stripe Pattern using colors as follows,
carrying color not in use loosely along WS of work: BO Round: K1, [slip last st on right needle back to left
needle, k2tog] to end. Break yarn and draw through last st. |
||||
FINISHING | ||||
Weave in ends. Felting: Measure size of square opening in back of pillow. Cut a piece of linig fabric approx. 4 inches larger than opening in both height and width. Sew buttons to lining, evenly spaced along sides, approx. 1 inch from edge. Cut buttonholes in pillow back to correspond to button size and placement. Insert pillow form and button lining in place. |
||||
ABOUT THE DESIGNER | ||||
Champagne Maker (not her
real name, of course) --
Sharon Payne Maker (say it
quickly 10 times) -- is the
wife of 1, mother of 2, and
daughter of many! She’s
the designer of Stitch
Poet Designs which includes
a line of hand-knitting patterns,
handcrafted jewelry, clothing
and accessories. She
can also be found with
a paintbrush in her hand.
To see what she’s up to, check out her blog and watch her projects unwind on Ravelry (StitchPoet).
|
||||
Pattern & images © 2008 Champagne Maker. Contact Champagne |