This little pillow, along with my other YanSketch designs, was created as a way to “sketch” with yarn. I came across this gorgeous quilt by Kacey Wolters on Instagram and decided I must recreate it with yarn. Enter the Half Square Triangle Yarnsketch Pillow! The quilt was constructed with half square triangles, so I named the pillow after that construction. I dyed the purple yarn so that the subtle variegation would mimic the different purple fabrics used in the quilt. I’m quite happy with the result!

The body of the pillow is knit in three-color stranded colorwork. Yep, this means you’ll be knitting with three strands of yarn at a time, but it’s not as bad as it sounds! A small project like this is a great way to gain experience before tackling it in a larger project. I do highly recommend a yarn guide like this one to keep the strands in place as you work.

The pillow is knit in the round and bound off with a three-needle bind-off that closes the top of the pillow, leaving only the bottom opening to be seamed shut around an inserted pillow form. You can use a pre-made pillow form and knit your pillow to the size of the form, but it’s simple to make your own form! A photo tutorial is provided to demonstrate how to make the pillow form and finish your pillow.

Size

My sample pillow is 7.5 inches wide and 9 inches tall, and I knit it in fingering yarn, but this pattern is fully adjustable to whatever size, yarn, and gauge you choose. I have created a an Excel spreadsheet that will automatically calculate the number of stitches and rows you need to work based on the pillow size, yarn, and gauge you want to use; though I’m not able to attach it to the pattern (because it isn’t a pdf), you can download it by clicking here.

You can, of course, follow my measurements and yarn choices as the pattern is written, but I’d love to see your own custom YarnSketch pillow! Make it as large or as small as you like.

Gauge

The fingering gauge for my sample pillow is 32 stitches and 30 rows = 4” (10 cm) in the colorwork pattern after blocking. Again, instructions and calculations are included to adjust the pattern for a different gauge, yarn, or size. I tend to knit loosely, so keep that in mind; you may need to use larger needles to get the exact gauge I did.

Yarn

This varies based on your yarn choice and gauge, but you’ll need approximately 250 total yards of fingering weight yarn (110 yards of MC, 70 yards of CC1, and 70 yards of CC2). Totals include a 15% buffer.

For the sample pillow, I used Blue Skin Yarns Oliver fingering (75/15/10 Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Silk, 497 yds/454 m per 115g skein) as follows:

• MC (light gray): Whispers
• CC1 (dark gray): Gautham Gray
• CC2 (purple): Purple Charm Pack

Needles

US sizes 1 (2.25mm) and 1.5 (2.5mm) circular needles, or whatever size is needed to achieve the gauge you want. I have found that 16” circulars are a good length. I recommend doing the colorwork with smaller needles than one-color stitches, which is why I include two needle sizes.

You’ll need a third needle for binding off; I suggest using at least one or two sizes smaller than the needles used to knit the pillow.

Notions

• Two stitch markers
• Yarn guide (optional but helpful!)
• Crochet hook for finishing (optional)
• Tapestry needle

Techniques

• Single increases and decreases

• Three-color stranded knitting

• Three-needle bind-off

• Seaming (examples provided)

• Basic sewing skills (if you choose to make your own pillow form)