Free Crochet Pattern for the Pillow Cardigan

***You can find the PDF version of this pattern in the shop by clicking HERE. Great for easy printing!***

So I’m pretty stoked to bring today’s pattern to you, mooooostly because I was able to team up with Red Heart and use their amazing yarn, Chic Sheep by Marly Bird! This yarn made the perfect material for what I’m calling the “Pillow Cardigan”… a cozy sweater—but for your pillow. ha!

It features such a great textured stitch pattern, with a ribbed center that holds four oversized buttons. It’s so simple, yet so lovely! And the best part?? It’s worked up in one piece— yessssssss.

I think what makes this pillow, though, is the yarn. You guys. If you haven’t tried out Chic Sheep yet… you’ve gotta. I think what sets it apart from other big brand yarns is the luxurious feel of it. It is hands down the sleekest yarn I’ve used. You can tell when working with it, that it’s such good quality. It’s 100% superwash merino wool, and washable— hayyyyy! Another thing I noticed while working with Chic Sheep was the “bounce” it had to it. Like it seemed really springy and squishy. Does that make sense?! lol

This project is actually a part of a blogger tour that features lots of amazing projects created with Chic Sheep by other super talented designers! You can read more about the tour HERE and swoon over all the other awesome designs. There’s lots of great garments and accessories in the lineup!

I chose to use the color “Linen”, which is exactly what I used for The Slopes Headband this past Winter. There’s such a nice selection of colors for this yarn too… a good mix of vibrant tones plus some good neutral options.

I hope you enjoy making this pillow cardi! It’s sure to cozy up any corner of your home :)

What you’ll need:

-worsted weight (4) yarn, approximately 700 yards (for this project I used four skeins of Red Heart Chic Sheep in color “Linen”, linked HERE)

-size i (5.5 mm) hook or size needed to obtain gauge

-18 x 18 inch pillow insert

-four 1 3/8 - 1 1/2 inch buttons (the ones I used can be found HERE)

-thread for buttons

-yarn needle

-sewing pins

Finished Dimensions:

Pillow cover measures approximately 16.5” x 17”

Gauge:

15 hdc by 12 rows equals a four inch square

Abbreviations:

ch(‘s)=chain(s), hdc=half double crochet, BLO= back loop only, sc=single crochet, sk=skip, dc=double crochet, st(s)=stitch(es)

Notes:

-pattern is written in US terms

-whether or not ch’s count as sts will be clarified in the pattern

-the pillow cover is worked up in one piece, starting with the ribbing (that includes button holes) then working sts along the long side of the ribbing. It’s designed to wrap around the pillow and be buttoned in the center, then the two sides are sewn.

-the finished cover measures a tad smaller than the 18” pillow, but since it stretches it fits nicely

***You can find the PDF version of this pattern in the shop by clicking HERE. Great for easy printing!***

Pattern:

-Ribbing (chains at the beginning of ribbing rows do not count as st):

Row 1) ch 9, hdc in 2nd ch from hook and across (8 total sts)

Rows 2 - 10) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO across row (8 total sts)

Row 11) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO of first 2 sts, ch 4, sk 4 sts, hdc in BLO of last 2 sts (4 total sc, 4 total ch’s)

Rows 12 - 23) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO across row (8 total sts)

Row 24) repeat instructions from row 11

Rows 25 - 36) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO across row (8 total sts)

Row 37) repeat instructions from row 11

Rows 38 - 49) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO across row (8 total sts)

Row 50) repeat instructions from row 11

Rows 51 - 60) ch 1, turn, hdc in BLO across row (8 total sts)

-do not finish off

-Body of the pillow

Row 1) to begin the body of the pillow you will start by working into the side of the ribbing, from where you left off in row 60. You will ch 1 (does not count as st), then work one sc into the side of each row of the ribbing, working sc’s all along the long side of ribbing. You can see a visual of this in the photo below. (60 total sc’s)

Row 2) ch 1 (counts as sc), sk first st, dc, [sk next st, work 1 sc and 1 dc in next st] across until last st of row— in that last st, only work 1 sc, not a dc (59 total sts)

Rows 3 - 135) ch 1 (counts as sc), dc in first st, [sk next st, work 1 sc and 1 dc in next st] across until last st of row— in that last st, only work 1 sc, not a dc (59 total sts)

-Finish off

Assembly:

To assemble your pillow cover, you will fold up your piece like shown in the photo above— bringing both ends to the middle and overlapping them, with the ribbed side on the under side, because you will flip it inside out once it’s sewn and will want the ribbed side on the outside. You will want the middle overlapped part to be in the very center.

Make sure to overlap in the middle only just up to the top of the ribbing, like shown in the photo above. You can pin your pillow together on the sides, to keep it from shifting around while you sew.

Then using a long piece of yarn and yarn needle, sew along the very edge of the two open sides using a whip stitch. When you sew the middle part that is overlapped be sure to include all the layers when sewing— very important! Then you can weave in all ends.

Once your pillow is sewn, flip it right side out. Now you’re ready to sew on your buttons. How I attached each button was by going one at a time and aligning the button with each button hole to where it should be placed on the under piece.

After all buttons are sewn on, you can stuff in your pillow insert, button up the center and you’ve got yourself a cozy little sweater just for your pillow! Teehee.

I really really love this pillow pattern… Dare I say it’s my new favorite?! I love the simplicity and the durability of it. And those buttons are the perfect touch…

If you make one of these bad boys yourself, be sure to tag me over on Instagram. I’d love to admire! Thanks for following along with my makes, and I hope you have a great weekend!

-Meg

Free Crochet Pattern for the Cabled Throw Pillow

Are you sick of seeing pillows yet?! 😂 Cuz lemme tell ya, I feel like I could design pillows for daysssss (don't fret, this is the last one for a bit, ha!). Today I've got the last design of the pillow series, and it's a cute one. I love the simplicity of this little throw that features a line of cables going down the middle-- I think it'd make the perfect finishing touch to any bedding set!

Speaking of bed sets... the pillow that goes inside this crocheted cover was actually from a previous set I had, and I really just didn't like the look of it.. it had some embroidered flowers on it that were just, blegh. Now, me being the thrifty gal I am I took it as a challenge to see what I could come up with to be able to reuse it. And then comes the idea of doing a cabled throw pillow! 

I think it fits in perfectly with the two previous pillows (see the Funky Fringe Pillow here and the Cottage Pillow here). All were made with Main Street Yarns Shiny + Soft, and the color scheme is perfect for my home! (they've got lots of good colors to choose from)

I'd like to think the cables on this puppy are actually quite simple... They may look intricate but it's actually a very easy repeat of rows! I took plenty of photos for assistance too.

I was a bit doubtful about the tassels when I was putting them on, but ended up really liking this addition! It ties in with the tassels of the Crochet Cottage Pillow really well. It'd even look good with some fringe too! The back side of the pillow is designed with three buttons & button holes, mostly to make washing easier. You could even rock the back side-out too, I think it looks nice too!

What you'll need:

-Approx. 450 yards of worsted weight yarn (I used two skeins of Main Street Yarns Shiny + Soft in Tweed Grey, linked HERE.. I loved working with this yarn! I also used this yarn for the other pillows of the series this month-- I'm a fan)

-size H hook (5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge

-10x18 pre-made pillow

-yarn needle

-sewing pins

-needle and thread (for buttons)

-3 one-inch buttons

Gauge:

16 sc by 19 rows equals a four-inch square

Abbreviations:

ch('s)=chain(s), sc=single crochet, st(s)=stitch(es), fpdc=front post double crochet, sk=skip, fptr=front post treble crochet

Notes:

-ch's at beginning of rows do not count as stitches

-pattern is written in US terms

-the pillow is worked in 3 panels: one front panel containing the cables, and two back panels-- one with button holes. This is so it can be removed to wash. You could always make two front panels if you wanted and just sew it closed around the pillow.

-I write it out in the pattern, but I thought a helpful note would be that all the odd rows of the front panel are "sc across" rows. 

-when you're working the post stitches (fpdc, fptr) you are working into the post stitches from two rows back, in other words you are skipping past the sc row you just did and working a row below it into the previous row's post stitches.

-below are photos I reference in the pattern:

PHOTO A

PHOTO B

PHOTO C

PHOTO D

PHOTO E

Pattern:

Front Cabled Panel:

Row 1) ch 39, sc into 2nd ch from hook, and across (38 total sts, and for remainder of panel)

Row 2) ch 1, turn, sc into first 13 sts, fpdc into next 12 sts, sc into last 13 sts

Row 3) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Row 4) (**remember you are working the fptr's of this row into the fpdc's from two rows back**) ch 1, turn, sc into first 13 sts, sk the first 3 fpdc, then fptr into next 3 sts, working BEHIND the 3 fptr you just worked: fptr into the 3 skipped fpdc's (see PHOTO A in notes), sk the next 3 unworked fpdc's, then fptr into last 3 fpdc (PHOTO B), working IN FRONT of 3 fptr's you just worked: fptr into the 3 skipped fpdc's (PHOTO C), ***at this point, to know where to work the next stitch, you can turn your work over and count the st's you skipped to see where the first sc should go-- you will have skipped 12 total sts, see PHOTO D for assistance*** sc in last 13 sts

Row 5) ch 1, turn sc across row

Row 6) ch 1, turn, sc into first 13 sts, fpdc into next 12 post sts from two rows back (working right to left, see PHOTO E for assistance), sc in last 13 sts

Row 7) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Row 8) repeat row 6

Row 9) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Row 10) repeat row 6

Row 11) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Rows 12-91) repeat rows 4-11 ten times

Finish off, and leave an extra long tail for sewing the pillow together

Back Panel 1 (with button holes):

Row 1) ch 39, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across (38 total sts, and for remainder of panel)

Rows 2-44) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Row 45) ch 1, turn, (sc into 7 sts, ch 3, sk 3 sts) 3 times, sc into last 8 sts

Row 46) ch 1, turn, sc across (working sc's into ch's from previous row)

Rows 47-48) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Finish off

Back Panel 2:

Row 1) ch 39, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across (38 total sts, and for remainder of panel)

Rows 2-48) ch 1, turn, sc across row

Finish off

Assembly:

To start the assembly of your pillow, lay out your front panel, right side facing up. Then you'll place the two back panels on top of the front panel, putting the back panel that has button holes BELOW the other. You'll align all the outside edges, and let the two back panels overlap in the center.

You'll align all the outside edges, and let the two back panels overlap in the center. Then you can pin all your pieces together so they don't shift around while sewing.

Using your yarn needle and the extra long tail of yarn, sew around the entire perimeter of the panels. I used a whip stitch along the very edge. Also be sure to go through all three panels in the center where they all overlap. 

Once your pillow is sewn all the way around, you can weave in your ends then turn it right-side out. Then it's onto adding the buttons. You'll sew your three buttons onto the back panel under the one with the button holes in it. I just placed them in alignment with where each button hole was and sewed them on with needle and thread.

After all buttons are attached, the pillow is complete! You may choose to add fringe or tassels to the ends. Or it even looks nice without any extra stuff :)

What a fun pillow series this was... feel free to tag me over on Insta if you make any of these pillows for yourself! They add the perfect amount of cozy to any room if ya ask me :) 

Take care and happy hookin'!

Meg