Stag's Head Pillow

Stag's Head Pillow Cover by Kraftling

Project Overview

The Stag's Head Pillow is a knitted cushion cover designed by Kraftling that combines simple construction with striking visual impact. This intermediate-level knitting project creates a decorative pillow cover measuring 16 x 16 inches, featuring a charted stag's head motif on the front and a classic ribbed stockinette back. The design knits up quickly and is suitable for knitters with some experience looking to add texture and colorwork to their projects.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a complete pillow cover featuring a two-color knitted front panel with a stag's head design and a solid-colored back panel. The finished cover is designed to fit a standard 16 x 16 inch pillow form. The cover is constructed as a flat piece that can be seamed and finished with button closures for easy removal and washing.

Knitting Techniques Used

• Stockinette Stitch: Forms the primary fabric on both the front and back panels, creating a smooth, classic knitted surface
• Ribbed Edge: A K1, P1 ribbed border provides structure and prevents curling on the edges
• Two-Color Knitting: The stag's head design is created using a charted colorwork technique with a foreground color worked over a background color
• Cable Stitches: Texture elements incorporated into the front design to create dimensional movement and visual interest
• Purl Contrast: Strategic purling on the knit front adds textural variation and helps define the stag's head motif

Stitches Featured

• Knit Stitch (K): The foundation stitch used throughout most of the project
• Purl Stitch (P): Used for ribbing, reverse stockinette sections, and textural contrast
• Cable Stitches: Twisted stitches that add dimensional texture to the stag's head design
• Ribbing (K1, P1): Alternating knit and purl stitches creating an elastic, structured edge

Materials and Specifications

Yarn Requirements: Approximately 550 metres of worsted weight yarn total. The original pattern used one skein of Paton's Classic Wool in Jade Heather (192m/100g) for one color, with additional worsted weight yarn for the contrasting color. Worsted weight yarn provides the appropriate gauge and durability for a frequently-used pillow cover.

Needles: 4mm needles are required to achieve the correct gauge of 4 inches = 17 stitches x 23 rows.

Additional Materials: Buttons are needed to finish the pillow cover, allowing for secure closure and easy removal for cleaning.

Pattern Structure

The pattern begins with casting on 71 stitches in the background color. The first six rows establish a K1, P1 ribbed edge for structure. Rows 7 through 30 are worked in stockinette stitch (knit on odd rows, purl on even rows) to create the smooth back panel. Beginning at row 31, the foreground color is attached and the knitter follows a stag's head chart through row 114, incorporating the two-color design with cable and purl texture elements. This construction method creates a finished pillow cover with visual interest on the front and classic simplicity on the back.

Difficulty Level

Classified as an intermediate project, the Stag's Head Pillow requires knitters to be comfortable with basic stitches, reading charts, managing two colors in knitting, and working with texture stitches like cables. The combination of stockinette foundation with charted colorwork and textural elements makes this suitable for knitters beyond the beginner stage who are ready to expand their technical skills.