I love making swatches but sometimes I feel like I could be making something “real” instead of just knitting pieces to rip out or toss in a box. This pillow will give you a chance to try out some different pattern stitches and display them in your home.

Since I made this pillow, I’ve gotten a copy of the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida, translated to English by Gayle Roehm. I’ve added a page to this pattern to show how you can choose stitches from this book to make your own, unique pillow. It’s a great way to practice following Japanese-style charts and to learn some new techniques.

The name Makura MishMash is my tongue-in-cheek translation of Patchwork Pillow to Japanese.