Third Piece The Herringbone Pillow Homeware Knitting Pattern

Third Piece The Herringbone Pillow

What Is Being Made

The Herringbone Pillow is a knitted homeware project from The Third Piece's Contemporary Series. This decorative pillow features a distinctive herringbone pattern on the front and a smooth stockinette stitch back. The pattern offers three size options: Small (12" x 12"), Medium (18" x 18"), and Large (24" x 24"), making it adaptable for various living spaces and design preferences.

Experience Level and Techniques

Designed for intermediate knitters, this project employs seamed construction and is worked flat on straight needles. The pillow is constructed in two separate pieces—a decorative front panel and a plain back panel—which are then joined together using vertical seaming. This two-piece approach allows knitters to focus on the intricate herringbone stitch on the front while keeping the back simple and efficient to complete.

Stitches and Stitch Techniques

The pillow showcases two primary stitch patterns. The front panel features a herringbone pattern, which is created through a specialized two-row repeat combining slip stitches, knit stitches, and a unique decrease technique. Row 1 involves slipping stitches knitwise and executing a combined slip-stitch-over and knit maneuver that creates the characteristic diagonal crossing effect of herringbone. Row 2 uses purl 2 together (p2tog) decreases worked without dropping stitches, maintaining yarn tension through the left needle before releasing both stitches together. The back panel is worked in classic stockinette stitch, alternating knit rows and purl rows to create a smooth, uniform surface.

Materials and Yarn Specifications

This project uses Funky Chunky yarn by The Third Piece, a 100% super soft merino wool available in generous ball weights of 200 grams with 82 yards per ball. Yarn requirements vary by size: the Small pillow requires 2 balls, the Medium requires 4 balls, and the Large requires 6 balls. The substantial yardage and chunky weight create a quick-knitting project with bold visual impact.

Needles and Gauge

This pattern calls for US #19 (15mm) needles, which accommodate the thick yarn and create the open, textured appearance characteristic of chunky knits. The gauge is established at 10 stitches equals 4 inches in the herringbone pattern, which is crucial for achieving the correct finished pillow dimensions. Knitters should swatch the herringbone stitch specifically, as the pattern's unique construction affects stitch width differently than standard knit stitches.

Construction Overview

The front panel begins with a long-tail cast-on (23, 35, or 47 stitches depending on size), with a 20-inch tail reserved for seaming. The herringbone pattern rows are repeated until the piece reaches the target length (11, 17, or 23 inches respectively). The back panel uses a separate long-tail cast-on with fewer stitches (19, 29, or 39 stitches) and is worked in stockinette stitch for the same length before binding off. Both pieces are then assembled with wrong sides together using vertical seaming on three sides, with the pillow form inserted before the final side is closed.

Key Abbreviations

• sts: stitches
• k: knit
• p: purl
• p2tog: purl 2 stitches together
• rep: repeat
• sl1: slip 1 stitch