Easy Cable Knit Pillow Cover

So here I am...a day before Thanksgiving...thinking about holiday decorating for home and for work. Thinking about it a lot. Probably obsessing about it. Searching Pinterest, Google and every magazine and book I can get my hands on; compiling ideas; making plans; calculating materials needed and of course the cost. As much as I am a DIY gal, I'm also frugal. That's not to say cheap. I want my projects to look sensational not tacky.

I found a cute and very soft, faux fur pillow at Target (Online Item #: 14623031).

Creamy white with interesting texture and a steal at $24.99. But I needed something else equally cozy to complement it. I thought a sweater pillow would be perfect.

Plan A:  Buy one online - too expensive.
Plan B:  Make one from a thrift shop sweater - but ugh, every white sweater at the thrift shop looked     horrible.
Plan C:  Buy some yarn and knit one myself.

I should mention here that I'm just an occasional knitter...not an avid one. So my pattern had to be fairly easy.  I wanted an interesting braided-looking cable. With the help of lots of online searches this is what I came up with.

Easy Cable Knit Pillow Cover Pattern (for an 18" pillow)

I bought 4 balls of baby yarn (light weight), knitting 2 strands together on No. 5 needles producing a gauge of 5 stitches =1 inch and 7 rows = 1 inch. ( I used baby yarn because I couldn't find the color I wanted in a medium weight yarn.... I had lots of yarn left over.) Any medium weight yarn can be substituted, using a single strand, as long as you can produce a similar gauge. Larger or smaller pillow? Just increase or decrease the number of cables and/or stitches on the side panels. There's a quick online tutorial on knitting cables at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woLWbd74zxo

Cast on 98 stitches. K2, p2 cross for 8 rows to make about 1 inch of ribbing.
Row 1: Knit 32, p2,* k3, slip next 3 stitches to a cable needle in front of work, knit 3, knit the slipped stitches, p2. Repeat from* twice more...a total of 3 cables. Knit remaining 32 stitches.
Row 2: Purl 32, k2, p9, k2, p9, k2, p9, k2, p 32.
Row 3: Knit 32, p2, k9, p2, k9, p2, k9, p2, k32
Row 4: Repeat row 2
Row 5: Knit 32, p2, *slip 3 stitches onto cable needle in back of work, k3, knit slipped stitches, knit 3, p2. Repeat from * twice more, k 32 stitches.
Rows 6-8: Repeat rows 2-4.   This creates one full cable.

Rows 9 and beyond - continue the 8 rows of cable pattern until the length of knitting fits around your pillow form - about 36-37 inches in all.  Knit another 1 inch of ribbing and bind off. To finish, turn the piece inside out and sew the seams, overlapping the ribbed ends in an envelope fashion. Insert your pillow form.  I finished by sewing the overlapped ribbing edges together with a simple running stitch (see photos below) and adding buttons for a sweater look. But you could just as easily finish by sewing large snaps or Velcro to the ribbed edges for closure. I think it turned out pretty good...for $14 of yarn!

One holiday project finished and ready for the next...