Christmas Patchwork Pillow

 

Today’s project is not so much a pattern as a “what I did”. Or at least as much as I can remember of what I did. I started this project over two years ago, and then we moved. If you have ever moved, you know how things inevitably get shuffled, and you lose track of things. Eventually I found it and finished it, and meant to share it last year. Then time got away from me and before I knew it, Christmas was over. And now, here we are right on the doorstep of this Christmas, and I am finally getting it shared.

Of course, you wouldn’t have to necessarily make this a Christmas pillow, it would be beautiful done with a wide variety of different fabrics and yarns. I made this pillow because I had found this beautiful blanket done with fabric and crochet, and I wanted to test it on a smaller scale before investing in a full size blanket. I will tell you as much as I can remember of what I did to translate this project from a blanket to a pillow.

First of all, you will need to refer to the blanket pattern for the basic instructions. You can find that here. Isn’t it gorgeous?!

I used an assortment of Christmas prints, and the yarn that I chose is some vintage Red Heart Baby.  I believe this is a #2 weight yarn.  I don’t remember the exact amount of yarn that I used, but I do know that I had some left over from what is pictured here.

I was making an 18″ pillow, and I decided that 4″ finished blocks of fabric would be about the right size.  If you want a 1/4″ seam allowance, cut your blocks at 4 1/2″ square, if you want a 1/2″ seam allowance, cut your blocks at 5″ square.  Follow all of the cutting and assembling directions from the High Tea Crochet Fusion Quilt.  You will need a total of 9 blocks for the pillow top.

Next, follow the directions for crocheting around each square.  I don’t remember which hook I used, but choose one that is appropriate for the weight of your yarn.

Continue following the instructions to join all of your squares.  I added a border of double crochet around the whole thing once I had all of the blocks joined together, and this brought my pillow top to the appropriate size.  In addition to that, it finished everything off and gave me something to stitch to when attaching the back of the pillow.

Next, cut your pillow back to the size of the pillow that you are making, plus seam allowances.  I usually add a 1/2″ seam allowance for pillow tops.

Fold over and press the seam allowance all around the pillow back.

Miter and press the corners as shown.

I choose to install a zipper at the bottom so I could easily take the cover off and wash it as needed.  If you decide to do the same, install the zipper first.

With right sides of the pillow together, sew around the remaining 3 sides.  I sewed a very narrow seam for this, maybe 1/8″ at the most.  Basically, I wanted to make sure that I had everything caught and sewed together, but I did not want to sew in too deeply into the crochet border of the top.

Once all that is done, turn your pillow cover right side out, insert your pillow form, zip up, and enjoy!

You may not reproduce or copy my pattern or images in any way. You may link to my pattern from another site. You may sell items made from my pattern as long as you give me credit.