Crocheted Rose Pillow Tutorial

Sometimes Sharon and I are surprised by how much we're on the same page.  I'm not talking about how we're on the same webpage--that's a given.  But take for instance, this pillow:

Pier 1's Lavender Rose Pillow, $34.95

We each took pictures of it at our Local Pier 1 at separate times, each thinking "I could make that".  A few days ago, Sharon was over at my house (for the purpose of crafting, what else?!) and I showed her my work in progress and she immediately knew which pillow I was knocking-off because she had intended to do the same thing! 

Great minds truly do think alike.  Except for the fact that Sharon really loves that purple color, and I really don't.  I'm just not a purple-lover.  Wanna make something of it?  That's what I thought. 

Back to the pillow--want to make one?  Sure you do.  Here's what you'll need:

crochet hooks that correspond to the size of your yarn

2 balls of yarn (can be the same color)

scrap fabric for making the pillow

poly-fil

a good old-fashioned needle and thread

an embellishment for the center (maybe a pretty brooch or a big button)

Before you start crocheting, you'll want to determine the size of your pillow.  I wanted a small accent pillow, so I traced a 10" dinner plate onto scrap fabric.  In hindsight, I wish I'd used plain fabric, but I was trying to be thrifty and use what I had on hand.   Be sure to cut two matching pieces of fabric--a front and back for your pillow.

Now it's time to get crocheting.  I've been crocheting for about 6 months now, so I'm by no means qualified to make patterns or use the jargon--but here goes anyhow. Please note that I used two different colors of yarn to better show how I went about creating the pattern.  With the base color (white) I made a chain--I probably started with about 20 stitches.  Then I began to make a shell pattern using the yellow yarn, starting at the beginning of the chain.  Here's the shell pattern I used:

1 sc *skip 1 st, 5dc into next st, skip 1st, 1sc into next st; rep from * to end.

Once your shell pattern is approaching the open end of your chain, it's time to chain some more.  Then shell some more.  As I was making my shell strand, I was also tacking it down to my fabric using a needle and thread starting at the outside of the pillow. 

I know it sounds kind of complicated, because you are basically running three processes at once--the chaining, the shelling, and stitching it all down on to the fabric.  It's really not that complicated, though.  The reason I did this little by little is so that I only made enough crocheted shells for the pillow and so I didn't waste my time and resources making a string of shells 20 feet too long.  Make sense?  It worked out pretty well, though I wish I'd sewn the strands of shell closer to each other so that the petals would appear fuller like the original Pier 1 pillow. 

Live and learn, right?  With the lessons I learned, your pillows are bound to be better than mine!

Anyway, follow the same process until you work your way into the middle of the pillow.  Now it's time to add your embellishment.  The Pier 1 pillow has a gorgeous rhinestone cluster in the center--this would be the perfect opportunity to use a brooch from a thrift store or from your own jewelry box.  I chose a big blue button I picked up at Hobby Lobby for $2.50.

Sew or pin your embellishment in place and then finish your pillow as you normally would (taking care not to sew the petals into your seams).

Voila!  A beautiful and unique accent pillow!

Yeah, Sharon and I are both a bit pillow-obsessed lately.  But there are worse things to be obsessed about, right?

P.S. Please send us a link or a picture if you create this pillow or any of our other crafts.  We love to see what you come up with and we'd like to share your successes with our readers!