Rowan Black & White Boxes Cushion Homeware Knitting Pattern

Rowan Black & White Boxes Cushion by Kaffe Fassett

Project Overview

The Rowan Black & White Boxes Cushion is a knitted homeware project designed by renowned colorwork artist Kaffe Fassett. This cushion cover features a striking geometric pattern of black and white boxes created using the intarsia technique, resulting in a sophisticated decorative accent piece suitable for contemporary interiors. The finished cushion cover accommodates a standard 56 cm square cushion pad.

What is Being Made

This project creates a complete cushion cover consisting of two main components: a patterned front panel and a plain back panel. The front showcases an intricate repeating geometric design of boxes in contrasting colors, while the back provides a clean, solid finish. The two pieces are seamed together on three sides, with the fourth side left open for inserting the cushion pad before final closure.

Techniques Used

Intarsia: The primary colorwork technique employed in this cushion is intarsia, which allows for the creation of large blocks of contrasting colors without carrying yarn across the back of the work. This technique produces a flat, professional finish ideal for homeware items where the reverse side may be visible.

Worked Flat: Both the front and back panels are worked flat on straight needles rather than in the round, allowing for easier pattern management and seaming.

Bottom-Up Construction: The cushion pieces are knitted from the bottom edge upward, with the front panel worked from the cast-on edge through the full pattern repeat sequence before casting off.

Seaming: The finished pieces are pinned, blocked, and sewn together along three sides using mattress stitch or similar seaming techniques to create clean, invisible joins.

Stitches Used

Stockinette Stitch (st st): The entire cushion is worked in stockinette stitch, which creates a smooth, flat fabric with characteristic V-shaped stitches on the right side. This classic stitch provides an ideal canvas for the intarsia colorwork pattern and ensures the geometric boxes remain crisp and well-defined.

Materials: Yarn and Needles

This project uses Rowan Felted Tweed yarn, a blend that provides excellent stitch definition for colorwork. The yarn palette includes ten carefully selected colors:

• Yarn A – Black (color 211): 2 x 50gm balls, used as a primary contrast color
• Yarn B – Alabaster (color 197): 4 x 50gm balls, the dominant light color in the design
• Yarn C – Lime (color 213): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn D – Scarlet (color 222): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn E – Fjord (color 218): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn F – Sulfur (color 220): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn G – Heliotrope (color 219): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn H – French Mustard (color 216): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn I – Candy Floss (color 221): 1 x 50gm ball
• Yarn J – Ciel (color 215): 1 x 50gm ball

Needles: The project requires two pairs of needles. The front panel is worked on 4mm (US 6) needles, while the back panel uses slightly smaller 3¾mm (US 5) needles to achieve appropriate tension for the plain stockinette stitch.

Pattern Construction Details

The front panel is cast on with 118 stitches using 4mm needles and yarn A (Black). The pattern is constructed by repeating a 29-stitch pattern repeat four times across each row. The intarsia chart is worked over 31 rows and repeated five times in total, with chart rows 1 and 2 worked once more at the completion, creating a cohesive geometric composition. The pattern is worked entirely in stockinette stitch, beginning with a knit row.

The back panel is worked separately on 3¾mm needles using yarn B (Alabaster), cast on with