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If you try to buy a crochet pillow online, you might find some expensive options. A better option is to get a pillow insert of the right size, your favorite color yarn, and learn how to crochet a pillow yourself. Even if you’re new to crocheting, this article will guide you through the steps you need to end up with a good-looking pillow for yourself.
Crocheting can seem like a very complicated process, especially if you look at the finished products. However, once you learn a few simple tricks, you can crochet your own pillow in a few easy steps.
In this article, we will talk about how to make a chain stitch and a single stitch, and how to crochet a pillow using just these two maneuvers.
How to Crochet a Chain
A chain stitch is one of the simplest crochet patterns you can learn as a beginner. To carry this out, you will need some acrylic yarn and an eye hook. A 5.5 millimeter eye hook should do the job well.
Step 1: Make a loop on your yarn and pull one end of it through the hook. Use the piece of yarn that you just pulled from the yarn loop and attach it to the eye hook.
Step 2: Pull the eye hook through the loop. This will form a simple loop on your tool just below the hook.
Step 3: For the next step, wrap the open end of the yarn around the hook. Once this is done, pull the hooking tool through the whole loop so that there is no yarn left on it apart from the bit that’s on the hook.
Step 4: Repeat these steps again by putting the yarn around the hook and pulling the hook out. This will give you a chain stitch.
If you want to end the chain, you can pull the hook out completely from the yarn and pull on the free end. This will form a knot at the end, completing your chain and giving you a secure fit with two free sides of yarn on each end.
How to Crochet a Single Stitch
Learning a single stitch pattern is just a few steps more than making a chain stitch. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the chain stitch, you can follow the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: Make a chain stitch pattern. The number of stitches doesn’t matter, as you’re just trying to learn how to make a single stitch. Once you’ve made the chain, insert the hook back into the chain that you just made through two previous loops. Before you pull the hook out, you should have two lines of yarn on your hook.
Step 2: Once you have two loops of yarn on the hook, wrap the free end of the yarn around the hook and pull it out. You just made your first single stitch.
You can practice this maneuver a few times. All you have to do is insert the hook back into the loop, wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it out to make a single stitch (insert, wrap, pull).
Now that you know how to crochet a chain stitch and a single stitch, let’s learn how to crochet a pillow using just these two beginner stitches.
How to Crochet a Pillow
Step 1: For this step, use a double strand of yarn. Since you’re going to be using this for a pillow, making a bigger stitch will lend the finished product its durability. Make around 30-35 chain stitches with these two strands of yarn.
(Keep in mind that you might have to use a bigger eye hook for this process. If you miss out on a loop while making a chain, you might end up with a crochet that might look uneven or even unravel.)
Step 2: Once your chain stitches are done, start making single stitches by using the steps mentioned in the previous section (insert, wrap, pull). Pay attention to the loops that you’re pushing the hook through, as the double yarn might leave some room for error.
Step 3: Make the single stitches all the way back to the bottom where you started with the chain stitches.
Step 4: Repeat the single stitches again after the chain crochet. You will notice that while chain stitches contribute to the lengthwise structure of the cover, single stitches add to the breadth of the cover. If you’re working with a square shaped cushion, make about 35-40 straight stitches to add to the breadth.
(The reason why straight stitches are greater in number than chain stitches is because they are packed more densely together, which means that you have to make more rows to reach the same dimensions on both sides. While you’re making these stitches, use a pillow for reference so that the dimensions are correct.)
Step 5: Using two more pieces of yarn, repeat steps 1 to 4 to make an identical crochet piece for the other side of the pillow. When you’re done, you will have too square shaped pieces that you can put together over your pillow. However, keep the yarn attached to the two balls of yarn the second time you crochet a square.
Step 6: Using the free yarn from the second square, start making single stitches from one corner of the second square. This time, the two loops that you will use will be one from each square. Follow this for three sides of the squares until you get an open pillow-covered shape.
Step 7: Put the pillow into the case and make single stitches down the fourth side. Finish off your yarn with a knot at the end to make sure that there are no loose threads. You’re done!
Bottom Line
Learning how to crochet a pillow can seem like a daunting and complicated task, but even beginners can learn to crochet by just getting their hands on some yarn and hooks and getting some practice.