Green House Cushion in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted - ZB299-00005-DE - Downloadable PDF

Rowan Greenhouse Cushion by Chloe Thurlow – Knitting Pattern Summary (ZB299-00005-DE)

The Greenhouse Cushion is a beautifully designed intarsia knitting pattern created by Chloe Thurlow and published by Rowan. Released as a downloadable PDF (reference ZB299-00005-DE), this intermediate-level project produces a striking 40 x 40 cm decorative cushion cover worked in a colourful charted motif. The design is rated difficulty level 2, making it an ideal project for knitters who are comfortable with basic techniques and ready to explore multi-colour intarsia work.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a square cushion cover measuring 40 x 40 cm (approximately 16 x 16 inches). The cover is worked in two separate pieces — a decorative front panel featuring a colourwork chart and a plain reverse stocking stitch back panel — which are then seamed together on three sides to create the finished cushion cover. The finished piece is designed to be a bold, decorative home accessory with a greenhouse-inspired botanical aesthetic.

Techniques Used

• Intarsia colourwork: The front panel of the cushion is worked using the intarsia technique. Unlike stranded colourwork, intarsia involves using separate, individual lengths or small bobbins of yarn for each distinct colour area in the design. This prevents long floats across the back of the work and is ideal for bold, block-colour motifs and pictorial designs such as the botanical Greenhouse theme.
• Stocking stitch (glatt rechts / smooth knit): Both the front and back panels are worked entirely in stocking stitch — knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side — creating a smooth, flat fabric that showcases the colourwork chart clearly.
• Charted colourwork: The front panel begins at Row 1 of a written colour chart and is worked over 100 rows, following the chart instructions for colour placement across the row.
• Casting on and casting off: Both panels begin with a cast-on of 80 stitches and are cast off after the required number of rows are completed.
• Seaming and finishing: Once both panels are knitted and blocked, they are placed right sides together and joined on three sides. The pattern instructs knitters to steam both pieces before assembly, following Rowan's standard finishing guidance.
• Blocking / steaming: Both the front and back panels are steamed prior to finishing, which helps to even out the stitches, set the intarsia joins neatly, and achieve the correct finished dimensions.

Stitches Used

• Stocking stitch – used throughout both the front and back panels as the base fabric
• Intarsia colourwork stitches – worked across the front panel following the chart, with colour changes managed using the intarsia method of twisting yarns at colour joins to avoid holes

Front Panel Details

The front panel is cast on with 80 stitches using 4.5 mm needles and Colour A (Tiger 201). From Row 1, the knitter follows the colourwork chart, working the design in stocking stitch using the intarsia technique across the three specified colours. The panel is worked over 100 rows, ending with a wrong-side (purl) row. At this point the piece should measure approximately 40 cm in length, after which all stitches are cast off.

Back Panel Details

The back panel is cast on with 80 stitches using 4.5 mm needles and Colour A (Tiger 201). It is worked in plain stocking stitch, beginning with a knit (right-side) row and continuing until the back measures the same length as the front panel. All stitches are then cast off. The back panel is intentionally simple, providing a clean reverse to the decorative front.

Yarn and Materials

This pattern is designed specifically for Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted, a worsted weight yarn that is 100% superwash-treated pure wool. This yarn is known