Daisy Wheel Roundie Cushion

Hey guys! I've just finished another crochet project, and I've been eager to share this one with you since the very first row. Mandy from Redagape crocheted up a few versions of her Daisy Wheel Roundie Cushion using Caron Cotton Cakes, and they inspired me to crochet a cushion of my own:

Isn't it pretty? Caron Cakes have been around forever but I've never been motivated to crochet a project with them. My brain can't cope with random or abrupt colour changes, and even though I love some of the projects I've seen using these cakes, the colour changing mid row puts me off. To me it feels unbalanced, especially in a pattern crocheted in rounds.
My plan for this cushion was to give the Cotton Cake's a try, and snip and rejoin at the end of rows to control the colour changes to my liking - and I'm so glad that I did!

After purchasing Mandy's PDF pattern (HERE) I went yarn shopping - my second favorite thing to shop for after fabric. There's some gorgeous colour combinations in the Caron Cotton Cake range, and I fell in love with the soft tones of Nested Blues. I'm a sucker for blue so it was inevitable but I also loved the muted tones of Rose Whisper - maybe I'll grab this one for my next cushion ;)
I think there are eight colour ways in the range with some brights but the rest are mostly soft tones. They do take the work out of picking individual colours, so I can see why they are so popular.

The Caron Cotton Cake is soft and squishy, and its crochets up so well. Its a 60% cotton and 40% acrylic blend which gives your projects great structure and texture. Skeins are not all wound from the same point so the colour change sequence varies, and this makes it even more interesting.
For Mandy's pattern you require one ball for the cushion front and one for the cushion back (with a little left over) so you can choose how you want your project to look, and which combination to start with - I chose the blues (of course).

Mandy's patterns are always fun to work up and its a comprehensive pattern written in both US and UK terms with lots of photos to help you out. There's nothing too difficult to crochet and you're going to love all the texture this pattern creates.
Mandy has an awesome online shop and she does stock the Caron Cotton Cakes and the cushion inserts, plus she has kits for the Daisy Wheel Roundie in five Heirloom 8ply cotton yarns. You can also pick up hooks, scissors, magazines etc. while you're there. Go and check it out!

I did snip and rejoin at the end of rows to avoid any abrupt colour changes for the front of the cushion but for the back I just let the yarn change as I worked. It did mean I had a few extra tails to sew in but that was a small price to pay for this stunning cushion :)
The bobbles, lacy chains, scallops and the centre flower create the gorgeous texture in this cushion. Mandy has cleverly combined so many elements in this pattern, and it all flows from one row to the next so beautifully.

This was such a fun project to crochet and I have to admit I enjoyed working with the Caron Cakes. The result is a gorgeous squishy cushion that looks like I've carefully selected my own colour combination, and I love it! My Daisy Wheel Roundie Cushion sits in my rocker in the sunroom and it looks so pretty in this space.
I think I need to make one in each of the Caron Cotton Cake combinations, don't you think?