My Crochet Stories: Pillows, Pillows, Everywhere-Graphic Crochet Artwork

Crocheted Pillows for HOme Decor

As a teen-aged crocheter, making crocheted pillows with vibrant colors for home decor was a favorite hobby. Using standard 4-ply acrylic yarn, I started with rather plain designs and then experimented with unique shapes and innovative granny square motifs.

These crocheted pillow covers were a challenge, but it was so rewarding to see the end result. At the time, some 40+ years ago, these functional pillows decorated chairs and served as sturdy backrests in various bedrooms of our family home.

Crocheted PillowS – Granny Hexagon

This hexagon granny square pillow is a “scrap” pillow, constructed from remnant yarn.  The front has an olive green center. This crocheted pillow is a quick project and easy to work on as a traveling crochet project.

Brighter colors and yellow single crochet stitches accent the center and connect the front pieces.  The back is a solid green, matching the center of the front.

Crocheted Pillow – Rainbow Squares

Taking squares to a different level, I added the colors of the rainbow and interesting color blends. This rainbow design is a crocheted pillow, constructed with individual squares and then sewn together. Two sides were then expanded with additional rows of the same color trends.  The pillow’s reverse side is a similar color pattern.

Crochet as Artwork

Filet crochet is beautiful and mesmerizing. It takes some special skills to use the small mercerized cotton and tiny steel crochet hooks. In time, I started using filet crochet concepts with my Red Heart yarns, to create colorful artwork in crocheted pillows.

While filet crochet in its purest form has a open weave grid, I was able to modify the filet crochet patterns and use colors to “paint by number” and fill in the grids with crochet colors for a sturdy fabric with artistic elements embedded in the design of the crocheted pillow covers.

These are sc (single crochet) stitches on the front and the back of each pillow is a solid color with single crochet. However, if the sizing is monitored, any crochet stitch could be used for the back of the pillow. I’d like to create a pillow using the woven stitch for an interesting texture.

I’m testing my memory, but I believe the simple yellow flower with a white background was most likely my first pillow using this technique. In time, I moved on to doing a western boot and the butterfly pillow.

These pillows have been stored in my parents’ home for these many years awaiting my return to the Mississippi homeland. They are aged and have been used for years, but we are reunited at last. I have not located any of the patterns.

Group consensus is that I designed as I crocheted, used filet crochet or counted cross stitch embroidery patterns, or maybe did these from sketches on graph paper. I want to make some more of these fun pillows and will find the time to document the graphs as I crochet.  

These special creations remind me of fun times in my youth with my most favorite childhood hobby of all!

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