Valley Yarns #153 Hyacinth Pillow

Valley Yarns Hyacinth Pillow: Woven Homeware Design

What Is Being Made

The Valley Yarns Hyacinth Pillow is a 19 ¼" square decorative pillow featuring hand-woven fabric in spring-inspired colors. This homeware project showcases independent block overshot patterning on an 8-shaft loom, with a functional button closure overlap on the back that allows easy insertion and removal of a 20" pillow form.

Weaving Techniques

This project employs independent block overshot as its primary weaving structure. Overshot is a classic decorative weaving technique that creates raised, textured patterns by floating supplementary weft threads over the base weave. The use of 8 shafts allows four independent blocks to weave simultaneously, enabling complex and clear patterning across the fabric surface. The design demonstrates how overshot weaving can produce distinct visual blocks of pattern that work together harmoniously.

The pillow construction incorporates seaming techniques to join the woven front and back panels, with a hand-stitched button closure that creates an overlap for practical pillow form access. This combination of weaving and finishing methods results in a professional, functional homeware piece.

Stitches and Structural Details

The weave structure is built on plain weave as the foundation, with overshot patterning layered on top. The warp is threaded across 8 shafts with the following heddle distribution:

• Shaft 1: 45 heddles
• Shaft 2: 64 heddles
• Shaft 3: 64 heddles
• Shaft 4: 38 heddles
• Shaft 5: 42 heddles
• Shaft 6: 62 heddles
• Shaft 7: 66 heddles
• Shaft 8: 52 heddles

The warp is set at 20 epi (ends per inch) with a finished width in the reed of 21.65", producing a finished pillow dimension of 19 ¼" square. The weft is beaten at 40 ppi (picks per inch), creating a balanced, durable fabric suitable for a pillow cover.

Materials: Yarns and Equipment

Warp Yarns: The project uses Valley Yarns 10/2 Cotton, a 100% mercerized cotton available at 4200 yards per pound. The warp color sequence combines three shades: Porcelain Blue (#2166) at 573 yards as the primary color, Sheer Lilac (#6399) at 450 yards for contrast, and Willow Green (#5604) at 60 yards for accent detail. The total warp length is 2 ½ yards of 433 ends.

Weft Yarns: The weft uses two yarn weights for textural variation. Valley Yarns 5/2 Cotton (100% mercerized cotton, 2100 yds/lb) in White (#8001) provides 271 yards of foundation weave. Valley Yarns 10/2 Cotton supplies the overshot pattern threads: Porcelain Blue (#2166) at 622 yards, Sheer Lilac (#6399) at 101 yards, and Willow Green (#5604) at 19 yards.

Equipment Required: This project demands an 8-shaft loom with a minimum weaving width of 24". Additional equipment includes a temple (to maintain consistent width), 2 shuttles for weft insertion, 4 bobbins for yarn management, a 20" pillow form insert, and a large matching button (approximately 1 ½" diameter) with coordinating sewing thread for the closure detail.

Design and Color Palette

Designed by Anita Thompson, the Hyacinth Pillow showcases the clarity and independence of block overshot patterning through a carefully considered spring color palette. The combination of Porcelain Blue, Sheer Lilac, and Willow Green creates a cohesive, seasonal aesthetic that highlights the structured beauty of the overshot technique. The outer 12 ends of the warp are designated as seam allowance, eliminating the need for floating selvedges since these edges will be hidden in the seaming and secured by machine stitching.