Merino Pillow

Merino wool is one of the most used wools, and for good reason. It possesses excellent isolation properties, making it the ideal winter addition to any wardrobe yet it’s thinner and much (much) softer than normal wool.

It is also a renewable material, as sheep can grow anywhere between 1 and 3 kg of wool per year, and as it is a natural fiber it is biodegradable, making it eco-friendly.

Apart from garments, merino wool can be used for many other types of knitting. It can be used for home décor, wall hangings, fiber art and all sorts of accessories. We made a merino blanket with it, and now I’ll show you how to make these super warm and cozy round pillows that are fantastic to curl up to, especially during this colder autumn weather.

For this project you’ll need:

• 1 ball of Merino Wool (40 meters)

• A knitting instrument, in this case it’ll be your hands!

Before starting this pillow, it is always advisable to untwist the ball in which the yarn comes in, and gently place it to either side, Infront of yourself. Although merino can withstand a certain amount of force, this merino is only slightly spun and can break if you pull it too hard.

1. You begin by making a slip knot. You place the wool on a flat surface and create a shape as seen on the photo.
   
   
    

2. You take the strand that I’m holding with my left hand and pull it through the loop created until a knot appears. Make sure that the ending strand has at least 15-20 fingers beyond the knot as we’ll be using this to close the pillow on one side.
   
   

3. With the working yarn (the longer section of the yarn), start by making a chain of 12. The size of the chain will determine the diameter of the pillow. If you want a smaller pillow, you can try chaining 8 or 10, whereas a bigger pillow might need a chain of 14-16. The technique is the same for whatever size you choose, therefore it will be easy for you to still follow the tutorial should you choose to go with another pillow size.
   
   

4. At the end, you should end up with something looking like on the photo. The only thing to look out for is to try and make the chain (and the following stitches) as even as possible, otherwise the pillow might look crooked in some places.
   
   

5. Place the chain of 12 in a round shape. The working chain should be above the chain with the ending as we will begin to knit counter-clockwise.
   
   

6. We will work with the left part of the chain (or the top, depending on how you’re looking at it), the one that I’m pointing at.
   
   

7. We start by inserting our two fingers/hand in the loop of the last chain, and pulling it through the left part of the first chain created. We then take the working yarn and pull it through both of the chains. This is how we make the circle.
   
   

8. We then put our two fingers through the left side of the second chain anti-clockwise, take a part of the working yarn and pull it through. This creates the first row of stitches which we’ll soon see forming.
   
   

9. We continue to do so until we reach the first stitch we created. If you started off by chaining 12, you should end up with 12 at the end of the first row. If you have less or more, it means that you’ve probably missed a stitch or added an additional one somewhere along the line. Don’t worry, this mistake is easily fixable. Just go back and redo the row 
   
    

10. We repeat step 9 until the desired length of the pillow is reached. I decided to make 8 rows, as I was using my fingers (it makes the stitches tighter and more together than using hands). If you chose to use your hands, you might want to make 5 or 6 rows. Make sure you have enough yarn left after you’ve finished your rows as it will be used to tie off the stitches.
    
    

11. To close the bottom hole of the pillow, we take the yarn that we left out in one hand and pull it through the top part of the chain, from out to in. Make sure to slightly pull on it every couple of chains. It will begin to close until you have a sort of a flower forming. Separate the strand in two and tie a knot to secure it. You’ll then insert the remaining strand of yarn into the hole.
     

12. Turn the pillow on its other side and you’ll notice that some space has formed inside. You can either leave it as it is, or stuff it with your desired materials. In my case, I had a bit of merino yarn left over and decided to use it.
    
    

13. We’ll then move onto closing the top part of the pillow. This is done by threading the remainder of the yarn into the loops on the top part of the pillow. Make sure to tighten the yarn along the way.
    
    

14. The more you tighten the more you’ll see the shape of a flower being made. As with the bottom part of the pillow, make a knot, and push the remainder of the yarn into the hole of the flower.
    
    

15. Squish a little here and there to even out the stuffing inside, and you’ve made your first merino pillow!