#OxCoPALs Winter Pillow Project #1

Hi All!

I hope you have all had a chance to look at the patterns we are offering for this PALs project. They are so fun and different. We had a blast collaborating on the different designs.

With these pillows we really wanted people to be able to let loose and just have fun. We have covered a lot of the basics with previous PALs posts. We have talked needle sizes, punching with regular needles and punching with the fine needle sizes. We want everyone to now be able to stretch their wings if they want. So, our big ask with this project is to try these patterns using different needle sizes. It's really amazing the texture and definition you can give a project just by switching up needle sizes. You can be as simple as you want and use the #13 and #14 fine Oxford Punch Needles. This will give you a very subtle loop height shift. You can also go very dramatic and and use ALL the fine needle sizes. This will give you big shifts as you sculpt the loops. This is how a lot of these amazing punch needle artists make such dramatic and unique pieces. If you ever get a chance to, go onto Instagram and check out @func.n.rec. The amazing punched pieces she creates using sculpting will take your breath away. She does it differently from using different punch needle sizes, but using the 5 different Oxford fine needle sizes is a great stepping stone into this amazing technique. 

So, what are the 5 different fine Oxford Punch Needles? 

• #8 (1/2" loop size)
• #9 (3/8" loop size)
• #10 (1/4" loop size)
• #13 "The Mini with Heels" (3/16" loop size)
• #14 "The Mini" (1/8" loop size)

Remember, each of these Oxford Punch Needles uses worsted or thinner weight yarns.

For this project we developed 6 color palettes, 2 for each pillow project. 

Now, you do not have to use the same color palette that we used for your project. Any of the palettes would work beautifully for whichever pillow pattern you decide to punch up. 

So which yarn pack, pattern, and needle sizes did we each use? That's a great question!

Heidi: 

Heidi took the Bubble Pillow pattern and she punched it twice using 2 of our yarn palettes; Rocky Coast and Vintage Postcard. Heidi kept her needle sizes simple, opting to use the #13 fine and #14 fine Oxford Punch Needles

Cotey:

Cotey chose to punch the Huckleberry pillow pattern, completing two with different color ways. She used Birthday Cake and Lavender Fields. Cotey punched her patterns using all of the fine point Oxford Punch Needles.

Hannah: 

I punched the Tile pillow pattern using the Sprinkle Donut color palette. I also decided to really go for the sculpting in my pillow. As a complete novice, I wanted to push myself. I also like to take the opportunity with these PALs projects to learn new techniques and I have wanted to try sculpting for some time now. It was a great opportunity to try because I could ask Cotey and Heidi lots of questions. Amy also gave me a lot of great advice when it came to punching with all of the fine needle sizes. 

Christy:

Christy also punched the Tile pillow pattern, she used the final color palette, Winter Barn, to create hers. She stuck to the #13 and #14 fine Oxford Punch Needles as well to create limited sculpting but great definition on each of the elements. 

How are you going to choose to punch your Pillow? Are you going to use multiple loop heights? Are you going to do a different pattern/palette combo? Let us know! We love hearing all of the comments and questions!

 ~Hannah 

Interested in signing up for a Retreat or a Private Class? CLICK HERE!

Interested in taking a class? CLICK HERE!