Hand-Crochet Your Own Statement Pillow

This handcrafted pillow would be a great addition to any sofa or cosy armchair. It can be made in under 30 minutes as a fun DIY project to relax and unwind.

No tools or specialised equipment needed, you don't even need to know how to knit of crochet- this whole project is a simple, repetitive movement.

It's made with chunky tube yarn- cotton fabric tube filled with polyester fiber. It's washable, soft, squishy and mailable.

Use it as a pillow, a decorative wreath for the wall, a comfy floor seat, or a cozy photo prop.

1. For a firm floor pillow get a 1m long pool noodle
2. For a softer pillow get extra wadding or fabric scraps
3. 
   
4. duct tape or masking tape/ needle and thread/ sharp scissors
5. at least 20 m chunky tube yarn (2cm thick) like this one
6. small amount of fabric in the same shade/colour as your yarn
7. thick polyester wadding fabric - enough to plump the pillow

Let's start by making a base/filling for the pillow- whatever you choose, just make sure it's between 8 and 10 inches in diameter- any bigger and you will need more yarn. You have three options for a base:

1) For a soft, squishy pillow you can grab wadding or fabric, slice it into thick ribbons and twist together until a circle is formed (picture 1- pink pillow base).

2) If you have more than 20m of yarn, you can use extra yarn to create the base by arranging loops of yarn on top of each other (8-15 layers) until you get a desired shape (picture 2 - purple yarn) --> i don't like this method because it uses up a lot of yarn and yarn skeins usually only come in 20-24m.

3) The method I'm showing in this instructable- use a pool noodle for a firm, floor pillow - score shallow slices along one side of the pool noodle, bend it into a circle and secure with duct tape.

To make the floor pillow more enjoyable to sit upon, you have to pad it with something soft- use wadding or an old blanket.

Slice wadding fabric into 3-4 inch wide ribbons and wrap them around the pool noodle base. Secure the ends with duct tape or needle and thread.

Lastly, I wrapped a layer of regular, teal fabric around the base. This step is to make sure the base colour and the yarn colour match.

First step is making a simple slip knot.

Follow the GIF and pictures to make your knot.

Don't tighten it too much, only enough to fit two fingers through.

Now we will use a single crochet stitch throughout the whole pillow to create a pattern. It's a really simple, repetitive process, so once you get into the groove, it won't take long to finish the project.

1) Sit down, unspool your yarn from the skein and let it pool on the floor or on the table - make sure the yarn is coming from your right side.

2) Place the slip knot on the pillow (the loose end of the yarn pointing to the left) and hold it down with your left hand.

3) With your right hand, move a length of yarn underneath the pillow until a loop forms at the front of the pillow.

Take a look at the last picture- this is the baseline position of the loops and loose yarn before you start casting.

Now we cast a first stitch. Follow the GIF and photos- it's best to learn visually.

1) Slip two fingers of your left hand into the slip knot loop- make sure to approach from the front.

2) Move your fingers a bit further and slip the same two fingers into the second loop - again, approach from the front of the yarn.

3) Now you have two loops of yarn on two left fingers. Hold them as they are.

4) With your right hand grab a length or working yarn, make a small loop and push that small loop through the two loops on your left hand fingers. Push all the way through and pull the single loop out. Make sure this new loop is only big enough to fit two fingers though.

And that's the jist of this project.The next step is the same as the previous one, you have to repeat the pattern over and over until you cast about 25-30 stitches and your pillow is complete.

Make sure to keep the loops tight- only big enough to fit two fingers.

After every 3-4 stitches, take a brief pause and examine the pillow for any errors or issues- if you have any problems you can always unwound the last few stitches and try again.

Last step:

1) When your pillow is complete and you are done casting the last stitch, cut the remaining yarn until you have a 6 inch tail left.

2) On that last stitch, when you put the small loop through the two loops in your left hand pull the yarn end completely through until you have that 6 inch tail sticking out.

2) Unknot the slip knot and let the loose yarn end fall.

3) Now, take that 6 inch tail from the left side and pull it through the next loop on the right. Fold it underneath and secure with a thread and needle.

4) Trim the loose yarn from the slip knot down and also fold it underneath and secure with thread and needle.

Once you get to this step, you will know what to do, it's quite intuitive when it's in front of you as opposed to me trying to explain it here.

Pillows can be different size and thickness for varied results, different softness and material type (cotton, fleece or velvet are most popular) as well as different purpose - pet pillow, decorative sofa pillow, sitting pillow or sleeping pillow - hole in the middle is perfect for your ear if you like to lay down with earphones in.