Kissenhülle in Schachenmayr Silk Wool - 1994

Knitted Cushion Cover Pattern Using Schachenmayr Select Silk Wool – Downloadable PDF

This free downloadable PDF pattern provides instructions for knitting a cushion cover (Kissenhülle) measuring approximately 40 cm x 40 cm, designed to fit a standard 40 cm x 40 cm cushion insert. The pattern is published by Schachenmayr and is worked in a combination of classic knitting techniques, making it an excellent project for confident beginner and intermediate knitters who want to add a handcrafted, textured accent piece to their home décor.

What Is Being Made

The finished item is a knitted cushion cover with a button fastening. The cover is knitted as a single flat piece, then folded and seamed at the sides to create an envelope-style closure. Three buttons with a diameter of approximately 38 mm are sewn on to fasten the opening, and three corresponding buttonholes are worked directly into the knitting. The result is a polished, structured cushion cover with a sophisticated cable panel as its centrepiece.

Design and Construction

The cover is knitted in one piece from bottom to top, beginning with a ribbed border (Bündchenmuster) of 6 cm. The main body is then worked in stocking stitch (glatt rechts), with a central cable panel (Zopfmuster) introduced at 20 cm height. The cable panel spans 30 stitches and measures 13 cm wide, providing a bold, tactile focal point against the smooth stocking stitch background. At 60 cm height, the cable stitches are decreased back down as the pattern transitions away from the cable section. A second ribbed border is worked from 80 cm, and the three buttonholes are incorporated at 83 cm height before the stitches are cast off at 86 cm total height.

Once knitting is complete, the piece is blocked by stretching it and allowing it to dry under damp cloths. It is then folded according to the cutting diagram: the lower 20 cm are folded upward and the upper 26 cm are folded downward over them, creating the envelope back. The side seams are then closed and the buttons are sewn on to align with the buttonholes.

Stitches and Techniques Used

• Bündchenmuster (Rib stitch): A classic 1 x 1 rib — alternating one knit stitch and one purl stitch — used for the borders at both the cast-on and cast-off edges. This creates a neat, elastic edging that frames the cushion cover cleanly.
• Glatt rechts (Stocking stitch): Knit stitches on right-side rows and purl stitches on wrong-side rows, forming the smooth main fabric of the cover.
• Zopfmuster (Cable pattern): A detailed cable worked over 30 stitches (increased from 22 stitches at the start of the panel using twisted make-one increases from the horizontal thread). The cable pattern is worked over a 10-row repeat and involves crossing groups of stitches to create the characteristic rope-like cable texture. Flanking columns of purl stitches frame the cables, adding depth and definition.
• Twisted increases (verschränkt aus dem Querfaden): Stitches are picked up from the horizontal thread between stitches and worked through the back loop to avoid holes, used both to set up the cable panel and to shape within it.
• Decreases (2 M rechts zusammenstricken): Two stitches knitted together to reduce the stitch count after the cable section ends, returning from 78 stitches to 70 stitches smoothly.
• Buttonholes: Three buttonholes are created by casting off 2 stitches at evenly spaced intervals across a row, then casting those stitches back on in the following row — a simple and tidy horizontal buttonhole method.

Materials Required

• Yarn: Schachenmayr Select Silk Wool — a luxurious chunky weight yarn composed of 64% Schurwolle (pure new wool), 27% silk, and 9% polyamide, with a running length of approximately 120 m per 50 g