"Arctic Cushion" - Cushion Knitting Pattern For Home in MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino

Arctic Cushion Knitting Pattern by MillaMia – Fair Isle Stranded Colourwork Cushion Cover

The Arctic Cushion is a knitting pattern from MillaMia designed to create a beautiful 34cm × 34cm (13½in × 13½in) cushion cover, sized to fit a standard 35cm × 35cm cushion pad. Part of MillaMia's Winter collection, this project is an ideal introduction to Fair Isle stranded colourwork knitting, making it accessible to improving beginner knitters who want to develop their colourwork skills in a low-pressure, no-shaping context. The finished cushion features a classic Fair Isle motif on the front panel, with a simpler design on the back, giving knitters a satisfying and practical home accessory to display.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a knitted cushion cover worked as flat panels and then seamed together. The front panel features a Fair Isle colourwork chart, while the back panel is worked in a much simpler construction, allowing the knitter to focus their colourwork efforts on the decorative front face. The finished cover is designed to slip over a 35cm × 35cm cushion pad, creating a cosy, wintry home accessory perfectly suited to seasonal interior styling.

Techniques Used

• Fair Isle stranded colourwork: The front panel is worked from a colourwork chart, carrying two colours across the row. The key technique here is stranding — carrying the unused yarn loosely across the wrong side of the work. The pattern specifically advises knitters not to pull the stranded yarn too tightly, as this will pucker the fabric and distort the finished dimensions.
• Working from a chart: Knit (right side) rows are read from right to left, and purl (wrong side) rows are read from left to right, following standard chart-reading conventions for flat knitting.
• Seaming: The cushion cover is constructed as separate flat panels that are joined together, making this a seamed project — a useful finishing skill for any knitter to practise.
• Stocking stitch (st st): The main fabric is worked in stocking stitch, alternating knit rows on the right side and purl rows on the wrong side, providing a smooth, even base for the colourwork pattern.
• Stripes: The design incorporates stripe elements as part of the colourwork structure, adding visual rhythm and contrast to the finished piece.

Stitches Used

• Knit (k) — the foundation stitch of stocking stitch and all chart rows on the right side
• Purl (p) — worked on wrong side rows to create the smooth stocking stitch fabric
• Stocking stitch (st st) — the primary fabric stitch throughout both panels
• Garter stitch (g-st) — referenced in the abbreviations, potentially used in edging or border sections
• K2tog (knit two together) — a standard right-leaning decrease listed in the abbreviations
• Skpo (slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over) — a left-leaning single decrease
• M1 (make one) — an increase worked by picking up the loop lying before the next stitch and knitting into the back of it

Materials Required

• Yarn: MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino in sport weight, a soft, high-quality merino wool available in a range of colours. The main colourway uses three 50g/1¾oz balls in Forget me not (shade 120) as the main colour (M), plus one ball in Snow (shade 124) as the contrast colour (C).
• Needles: A pair of 3.25mm (US 3) knitting needles.
• Tension/Gauge: 25 stitches and 34 rows to 10cm/4in