Our obsession with the Dritz Comfort Twist Knitting Mill continues! Today, we’re showing you how we whipped up a few seasonal pillows with knitted cord decorative accents.

First of all, be sure to check out our video tutorial on the knitting mill! Tammy shows you just how easy it is to use this clever tool.

Once you’ve made your knitted cord, you have a couple of options for using it!

You can use a longer length of cord to create an outlined shape on a pillow front (or sweatshirt or tote bag or table runner…). If you’re working with a store-bought pillow, draw or trace a pattern using an erasable fabric pen and use a little fabric glue or hot glue to create your design. If you’re sewing your own pillow cover, you might find it easier to stitch your knitted cord down, as Tammy demonstrated in the tutorial above.

And here’s the finished result!

Another option is to create little shaped motifs using your knitted cord, and then attach them to your pillow (or sweatshirt or tote bag or table runner…) with a little fabric glue or hot glue.

Jessie made the cutest pumpkins and ghosts with her knitted cord and attached them to a couple of pillow covers we stitched up! The pillow fronts are made with Moda wovens, and the pillow backs are festive patchwork – making these pillows reversible for double the fun.

To see how Jessie created these shaped motifs, watch this video:

Want to make some seasonal patchwork pillows? We didn’t use a pattern to make these pillow covers, but you can easily achieve the same look with an assortment of 2 1/2” squares and a fat quarter for the pillow front.  

• Cut (64) 2 1/2” squares from assorted fabrics.
• Sew together to create 8 rows of 8 squares, using a scant 1/4” seam allowance.
• Join rows together to make the back panel. Trim to 16 1/2” square.
• Cut a 16 1/2” square from the fat quarter for your pillow front.
• Use your preferred method for pillow finishing, either by adding a zipper or stitching the opening closed after adding your pillow form.
• We used a 16” pillow form for our pillows.

Love the fabrics we used? Here’s the list of featured fabrics for you!

Pumpkin patchwork

Pillow front: Panache Wovens 12218-25 by Jenelle Kent/Pieces to Treasure
Patchwork fabrics: Sugar Maple RS4094-13 by Alexia Marcelle Abegg/Ruby Star Society; Warp & Weft Wovens RS4012-14 by Alexia Marcelle Abegg/Ruby Star Society; Hey Boo 5215-17 by Vanessa Goertzen/Lella Boutique; and Eyelet 20488-22 by Joanna Figueroa/Fig Tree & Co.

Ghost patchwork

Pillow front: Panache Wovens 12218-24 by Jenelle Kent/Pieces to Treasure
Patchwork fabrics: Sugar Maple RS4096-12 by Alexia Marcelle Abegg/Ruby Star Society; Twinkle 24106-13 by April Rosenthal/Prairie Grass Patterns; Midnight Magic 2 24107-17 by April Rosenthal/Prairie Grass Patterns; and Eyelet 20488-74 by Joanna Figueroa/Fig Tree & Co.

We hope you’re feeling inspired to play with some yarn and a knitting mill! Be sure to ask your favorite quilt shop to stock the Dritz Comfort Twist Knitting Mill. And don’t forget to tag us when you post your finished projects on social media!