The Royal Pillow Cushion Knitting Pattern

The Royal Pillow Knitting Pattern

Project Overview

The Royal Pillow is a beginner-friendly knitted cushion design created by Barbara Prime, specially designed as a decorative accent piece for the Blue Sky Fibers Royal Petite Babies Series. This charming 4½" square pillow features a textured seed stitch front with a smooth stockinette stitch back, creating an elegant two-sided design perfect for adding comfort and style to any space.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a small decorative pillow measuring 4½" square when finished. The cushion is designed to be a regal, tufted accent piece with corner tassels, making it both functional and decorative. The pillow is constructed as a flat rectangular piece that is folded, seeded, stuffed, and finished with decorative tufting details.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Seed Stitch: The primary stitch pattern used for the front-facing side of the pillow, created by alternating knit and purl stitches in a checkerboard-like texture that adds visual interest and dimension
• Stockinette Stitch: Used for the back section of the pillow after the seed stitch portion, creating a smooth, classic knitted surface
• Tufting: A finishing technique where yarn is sewn through both the top and bottom layers of the cushion at measured points (1½" from each corner and the middle) to create indented details and add structural definition
• Seaming: Three sides of the folded piece are sewn together using a tapestry needle, with a small opening left for stuffing insertion

Stitches and Abbreviations

The pattern uses standard knitting abbreviations and focuses on two primary stitches:

• Seed Stitch: Worked using a set-up row of alternating knit and purl (k1, *p1, k1*), then continued by knitting the purl stitches and purling the knit stitches in subsequent rows
• Stockinette Stitch: Alternating rows of knit and purl to create the smooth back section
• Cast On (CO): 33 stitches
• Bind Off (BO): Used to secure stitches at the end of the piece

Materials and Yarn Specifications

The Royal Pillow pattern is designed to be worked with Blue Sky Fibers Alpaca Silk yarn, a premium blend combining natural fibers for softness and durability. The yarn composition is 50% Alpaca and 50% Silk, providing a luxurious feel suitable for a decorative accent piece.

• Yarn Required: 1 hank of Blue Sky Alpaca Silk (50g/146 yards)
• Color Shown: No. 144 Mango, a warm, vibrant shade
• Needles: Size 2 (2.75mm) needles or size needed to obtain proper gauge
• Gauge: 28 stitches and 34 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch

Additional Materials and Tools

• Fiber Fill or Suitable Stuffing: Required for filling the cushion to create a plump, comfortable pillow
• Tapestry Needle: Used for seaming the three sides together and for tufting details
• Tassels: Four corner tassels are added as finishing embellishments

Difficulty Level

Rated as Advanced Beginner, this pattern is accessible to knitters with basic skills who are ready to progress beyond simple projects. The pattern introduces seed stitch texture work and finishing techniques like tufting and tassel attachment, making it an excellent intermediate learning project while remaining manageable for newer knitters.

Pattern Construction Summary

The pillow is constructed in three main steps: First, a rectangular piece is cast on with 33 stitches and worked in seed stitch for 4½ inches, establishing the textured front panel. The piece then transitions to stockinette stitch and continues until reaching 9 inches total length from the cast-on edge. The finished rectangle is folded in half with the seed st