Pillows are such a fun crochet project to create! They are kind of like painting the walls….a few short hours and voila – a totally different look! This easy Puff Pillow pattern is worked with just one skein of yarn and is so soft and scrumptious, you might not want to put it down.
For this pattern, you will work both sides of the pillow and then seam them together. You can use a pillow form or just use one of the pillows you already have on hand…perhaps an older pillow that is a bit worn on the outside, but still soft and fluffy.
This Bernat Velvet yarn is so soft you might find yourself just zoning out and cuddling with the skein! Seriously, if you haven’t tried it, grab one today! We used the Blush Pink color, but it comes in a lot of gorgeous options. My kids can’t keep their hands off it when we go to the yarn store.
Materials
- Yarn: 1 Skein of Bernat Velvet in Blush Pink
- Hook: US K/6.50mm
Abbreviations
- Ch: Chain
- SC: Single Crochet
- DC: Double Crochet
- Sl st: Slip Stitch
- Ch 2 sp: Chain 2 Space
- Rep: Repeat
- Rnd: Round
Crochet Puff Pillow Pattern
Finished measurements: 17”x 17”
Front:
Ch 38 loosely.
Row 1 (Right side): Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across: 37 sc.
Row 2: Ch 1, turn; sc in first 4 sc, * [(YO, insert hook in st or sp, YO and pull up a loop even with hook) 4 times in next sc, YO and draw through all 9 loops on hook, ch 1 to close. (Puff St made)], sc in next 3 sc; repeat from * across to last sc, sc in last sc: 8 Puff Sts.
Row 3: Ch 1, turn sc in each st across.
Row 4: Ch 1, turn; sc in first 2 sc, work Puff St in next sc, * sc in next 3 sc, work Puff St in next sc; repeat from * across to last 2 sc, sc in last 2 sc: 9 Puff Sts.
Row 5: Ch 1, turn; sc in each st across.
Repeat Rows 2-5 for pattern until piece measures approximately 17”;
Finish off.
Weave in ends.
Back:
Ch 36 loosely.
Row 1: DC in 4 ch from hook, DC in each ch across: 33 DC
Row 2: Ch 3 and turn. DC in first DC and each DC across: 33 DC
Repeat Row 2 until piece measure 17” in height. Do not fasten off.
Attaching the Pieces Together:
Holding the front and back pieces together, evenly slip stitch all sides together around a pillow of the same size.
Weave in ends.
Tips and Other Ideas
- If you want to have a fully reversible pillow, just work the front side twice and seam together.
- You could work this in another yarn, just make sure to check your measurements with your pillow.
- Have a different size pillow to cover, no problem! Just measure and make sure you are crocheting to your measurement. You could even do this one on a rectangle pillow as long as you pay attention to your own sizing. The puff stitch used is easy to adapt!
- The puff stitch in this pattern includes the chain 1 to close it, so work into the space between the ch 1 and the puff close in the next row of sc. So, the puff with chain counts as one stitch, not two.
Looking for some other pillow patterns? Try our Crochet and Fabric pillow or our Christmas Baltic Star.
Hi! Love this pattern and super excited to make one.
I have a couple questions
1. How would you go about washing the pillow if the case gets dirty but I’ve sewn the insert inside it. Is it ok to wash as is?
2. For altering the size of the pattern do I just work in even numbers of beginning chain?
Thanks!
You could hand wash and dry that way without removing the pillow…just be sure to let it thoroughly dry and maybe put in the dryer on a rack to help. Or, you could leave an easy to remove knot on one end and then “unseam” it and remove the case and then seam it back when you have washed. Just be sure to not let it unravel!
To change size, just make sure that your beginning chain is an even number and then work into the second ch from hook, leaving you with an odd number of stitches for the pattern repeat.
Let me know if you have other questions. Thanks!
What a great pattern!! I have it pinned and I might be using this pattern for pillows my mother in law wants to update. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks so much! Be sure to send a picture if you make one! 🙂
I’m a bit confused about the puff stitch in this pattern. When you pull through the 9 loops and then chain 1 to close the puff stitch, aren’t you adding a stitch? I am getting an extra stitch in my row for each puff stitch. Can you please tell me what I’m doing wrong? Thanks.
The chain 1 is used to close the stitch, it doesn’t really count as an additional stitch in this case, so the sc goes into the sc and the top of the puff stitch. I will try to get a diagram added to the pattern. Look for the puff stitch count rather than the overall stitch count.
Email me if you have other questions and I will try to help! 🙂
Hi, I’m having this extra stitch issue too and don’t understand your explanation on how to not make the slip stitch become and extra one. Thanks for you help and this pattern!
The drawing through 9 loops and the ch 1 counts as one stitch, not two. So, each “puff” section in the pattern would count as one stitch. The ch 1 is just a closing technique and not a separate stitch for this pattern. So, the next row works a sc into each puff section rather than one in the puff and one in the ch 1 space. So, rather than counting stitches each time, count those puff sections and those should line up.
I will try to add it to my list to make a video to help show how this work. Thanks!
I made this pillow with the velvet yarn as well…LOVE IT – but a bit disappointed in the fact that the yarn stretches when you pick up the pillow…mine looks terrible after just a week of using it. I guess they are for show and not practical for use.
Oh no! I gave this one away, but the Purrsly Pillow that I made with the same yarn is holding strong. Maybe going down a hook size would tighten it up? It is a bit loopy yarn, so tight stitches would help either way. I found that with the lapghan that I made…if I didn’t hold it tight, it would loop out on me and stretch out.
Hi Brenda, I’m not Lisa, my name is Cindy. I have a suggestion for your question. If you’re using a pillow form, crochet the cover to 1″ less than the size of the pillow form you are using.
Cindy is right! Just keep your foundation chain as an even number to keep the pattern the same. 🙂
Thank you so much for this pattern! The one I’m making for my daughter needs to be 15″ square for a 16″ pillow form. How many chains do you recommend for me to subtract from your number?
Thanks again!
I’m also having a problem with adding extra stitches. I don’t really undertand, should I skip over the puff stich loop at each puff stitch to keep the same amount of stitches?
The puff stitch in this pattern includes the chain 1 to close it, so work into the space between the ch 1 and the puff closing in the next row of sc. So, the puff with chain counts as one stitch, not two. The stitch count is for the full puff with chain to close. So, we aren’t adding any stitches by including the ch 1.
Hi, busy with this pattern now. Just started the back but I’m noticing you chain fewer in the back than in the front. How will they match up when you need to stitch around to close the pillow?
You want the puff side to be slightly larger to come down on the sides as well, but the seam should be pretty close to the seams of your pillow insert. You can test it after chaining the back panel and adjust and then test it again after a few rows to make sure it still works.
I’m just wondering about the weight of the velvet yarn. I’m going to have to use a different yarn for to all the velvet being sold out. I need to cover a square 13″ pillow with a bulkier yarn but the same size hook. What number of stitches are used per area, line what multiples are needed incase I have to form size because of size off pillow and or downsize stitches due to yarn? If this is to hard to do with such a small pattern I’ll understand.
I think you could adjust to any size yarn and match your pillow. You would want to have at least 14 chains to start and in order to keep the repeat, add 4 chains to 14 to keep the repeat until you reach your width. Row 2 will start and end with 4 sc and Row 4 will start and end with 2 sc. The repeat between is the puff + 3sc stitches. So, you might chain 14 or 18 or 22 or or 26 or so on. Then your row counts would just be one less…so 13 sts or 17 or so on. Let me know if that helps!
Hi! This might be a dumb question. I just finished the front panel, but I’m not sure it’s correct. Should the panel be a square (17in x 17in)? If so, I’ve definitely made a mistake.
Yes, the panel for the front should be a square and the back as well. Let me know if you need help!
Ive started over twice now, not sure what I am doing wrong but it is not turning out as a square either. Could I be not making the stitches tight enough? I know it says to chain 38 loosely but is the rest of the pattern tighter? Also the puffs are not lining up and I am following the pattern precisely. Question: when it says to chain 1, turn, sc in the first 2 sc. Do u start your first sc in the second stitch from the hook? I really want to make this pillow for my daughter. Hope u can help.
The puffs will not line up with the row below since it is creating an alternating pattern. When it says to sc in the first two sc, then that includes the first stitch and the second stitch.
I just made this pillow cover using the baby velvet yarn by Bernat. I absolutely love it. The stitch worked up easily. For the edging I did reverse single crochet instead of the whip stitch. I came out great. Thank you for posting this pattern.
What is reverse single crochet? Would prefer to whip stitch.
Hi! Can you please tell me how many stitches I should have after completing row 3, and also row 5? I read further down in the comments about only using the puff as one stitch but am still having trouble.