The Spring Butterfly Pillow is sure to get you thinking about spring. It’s perfect to add to your home décor by throwing it on a couch, chair, or bed to brighten up any room.
The front of this pillow is worked up using intarsia crochet technique following a graph (explained further in the pattern), while the back can be done in a solid color or in stripes, or using another stitch if you prefer.
To make this pillow, you will start by making the front and back pillow panels separately. Then the panels will be crocheted together with a pillow form inserted inside (or stuffing can be used instead).
If you love making pillows, there are a couple other fun ones on the blog! Click the photo or the title under each photo to be taken to that post on the blog.
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The Spring Butterfly Pillow crochet pattern is available for FREE on this website. If you’d like an ad-free, printable PDF version, you may purchase it for a small fee from my Etsy or Ravelry shops. Thank you so much for supporting Loops & Love Crochet!
Materials:
- Worsted weight #4 yarn – The pillow made in this pattern was made with WeCrochet/Knit Picks Comfy yarn which is 75% cotton and 25% acrylic. Either cotton or acrylic yarn (or a blend) can be used for this project. This yarn is a little on the thinner side for a worsted-weight yarn. If you are substituting with another yarn, please refer to the gauge as your pillow may turn out larger or smaller, depending on yarn thickness. The colorways used are Sea Foam (light blue/green), Zinnia (bright pink), Lilac (purple), Marlin (darker teal), Honey (yellow), Peony (light pink/rose), and Honeydew (green).
- Yardage – you’ll need approx. 500 yards of yarn for this pillow (about 250 yds per panel). For the front panel, this works out to 95yds Sea Foam, 24 yds Zinnia and Lilac, 12 yds Marlin, 2 yds Honey, 5 yards Peony, and 3 yards Honey Dew. For the back panel, you can use one solid color (~250 yds) or split it up in stripes, as shown later in the pattern.
- 4 mm crochet hook
- 14×14” pillow form (or you can also fill your pillow with any fiber-based stuffing)
- Yarn needle for weaving in ends.
Stitches Used:
- Ch – chain
- Sl St – slip stitch
- SC – single crochet
Gauge
- 2 inches square = approx. 10 rows of 9 SC stitches.
- Note that WeCrochet/Knit Picks Comfy yarn is on the thinner side of the worsted-weight scale. You may need to go down a hook size or end up with a slightly larger pillow if you are substituting with a worsted-weight yarn that’s thicker.
Finished Size:
- When finished, each pillow panel measures approx. 13.5” square. This works out perfectly for a nicely stuffed pillow when you use a 14×14” pillow form.
Important Notes:
- *Note that this pattern includes the graph only. For written instructions that include the row by row instructions for the color changes and number of stitches in each color, you can grab the PDF copy of the pattern here.
- Turned Rows– Each panel is worked in turned rows of SC stitches. At the end of each row, chain 1 and turn. Chain 1 stitches do not count towards stitch count.
- Color Changes – You will be changing colors often in this pattern. To change colors, complete the last SC in the first color up until the last yarn over. Yarn over with the new color and pull through last step of the SC stitch. So, your SC will go like this: insert hook into last stitch of the first color, pull up a loop, yarn over with new color, pull through all loops on hook. Now you will be working in the new color until you change colors again.
- Intarsia Crochet Tips – For this project, you will be using the intarsia crochet technique for the front panel. When you change colors, you will not be carrying the unused colors along under your stitches. Instead, you’ll be dropping the color that you are finished with (leaving it attached) and picking up the next color, pulling it over to where you are working the stitches. There will be a right side (RS) and wrong side (WS) of this project. You’ll see the color changes and the yarn traveling over on the wrong side (back of the panel that will be inside the pillow), but it will not be visible on the front. You’ll need to make sure you are only dropping and picking up your yarn on the wrong side of the project so it’s not visible on the right side (front). I’ve explained this further in the front panel instructions below.
- Video Tutorial – I have a created a video tutorial for showing the color changes and dropping/picking up yarn (using a different one of my pillow patterns) on my YouTube Channel.
Graph Instructions for the Front Panel
Below, you’ll see the graph that I created for the front panel of the pillow. Each box in the graph counts as one SC stitch. This means you’ll be working 72 rows of 60 stitches, following the color changes in the graph.
IMPORTANT NOTE – To read this graph, you will be starting at the bottom right and working your way across in back-and-forth rows. All ODD numbered rows will have the right side of the project facing you, EVEN numbered rows will have the wrong side facing you. When you are working on the right side (RS), make sure you are dropping the yarn to the back (away from you) for the color changes. When you are working on a wrong side (WS) row, make sure you are dropping the yarn on the front (towards you) for the color changes. This will ensure that the front of the pillow cover does not show any of the color changes.
On the wrong side, you’ll start to see where you drop and pick up each color, pulling it over to where you need it. Yes, it’ll be messy looking with all the ends and yarn carried across, but it’s the back so you won’t see it once you sew the panels together!
*Note – It will be helpful to use two separate bobbins or skeins of yarn in the background color (Sea Foam colorway) so that you don’t have to pull it across as far every time you need to pick it up. Remember to be careful when you pull yarn across a bunch of stitches not to pull too tight or your pillow panel won’t sit flat.
Remember to keep consistent tension, even when working with the different colors. This is so your square panel comes out nice and even on the sides.
Front Panel Instructions
Row 1: In main color (Sea Foam), chain 61, SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across (making color changes as shown in the graph for row 1), ch 1, turn (60)
Rows 2-72: SC in each stitch across (following the graph for the color changes), ch 1, turn (60)
*No chain 1 and turn after row 60 (fasten off instead).
Fasten off on the front panel. Weave in or tie off all ends on the back of the panel so they are secure.
Back Panel Instructions
The back panel of the Spring Butterfly Pillow is worked in back-and-forth rows of single crochet stitches. You may choose to work in one solid color, stripes, or any other stitch that would line up well when joining the panels. Working the back panel in the main background color from the front panel (Sea Foam) would compliment the front side well, or you can choose another color of your choice.
For the pillow in this pattern, I worked the back panel in thick stripes using 5 of the colors from the front side with a stripe of the main background color in between. I’ve included instructions for this below in case you’d like to make yours the same. Really, you can break up the 72 rows into stripes any way you’d like. I would just math it out first, unless you want the stripes to be random sizes, which would look neat too.
When you finish the back panel, it should be the same size as the front panel. Remember to keep a consistent tension so that your square has nice and even sides.
Row 1: In color A (or any chosen color), chain 61, SC in 2nd chain from hook and in each chain across, ch 1, turn (60)
Rows 2-72: SC in each stitch across, ch 1, turn. (60)
Do not chain 1 and turn after row 72. Fasten off, weave in ends.
Notes for the Stripes on the Back Panel
Below are the details for the stripes as shown on the pillow pictured. Note that I did not use the purple color on the back, but if you’d like to include all the colors, you can just change the number of rows for each to make room for the purple.
Rows 1-6 (6 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Rows 7-14 (8 rows): pink rose (Peony)
Rows 15-19 (5 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Rows 20-27 (8 rows): dark teal (Marlin)
Rows 28-32 (5 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Rows 33-40 (8 rows): yellow (Honey)
Rows 41-45 (5 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Rows 46-53 (8 rows): green (Honey Dew)
Rows 54-58 (5 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Rows 59-66 (8 rows): bright pink (Zinnia)
Rows 67-72 (6 rows): light blue/green background color (Sea Foam)
Joining the Panels Together
Now we are going to join the panels together and insert the pillow form (or stuff the pillow) to finish your Spring Butterfly Pillow. First, make sure that all your ends are sewn in or tied off on the two panels.
Start by laying your two panels one on top of the other with the wrong sides facing each other in the middle and the right sides on the outside. If your back panel has stripes or another design, make sure that both panels are facing the right direction, so you don’t end up with sideways stripes or upside-down butterflies.
Make a slip knot with your yarn (I used the main background color). With the front of the pillow facing you (butterfly side), choose a corner where you’d like to start joining (I chose top left) and then back up a few stitches so you’ll be joining your yarn 4-5 stitches before the corner. Insert your crochet hook through the chosen stitch, passing through the same stitch on both pillow panels. Place the slipknot on your hook and pull it back through the stitch to join the yarn.
Chain 1 and SC in each stitch making your way over to the corner stitch (passing through the stitches lining up on both panels). Work [SC, ch1, SC] into the corner stitch and then continue down the next side of your pillow placing one SC in each stitch or at the end of each row (when moving down the sides). Repeat with the next side and then work your way across about halfway along the bottom. Work [SC, ch1, SC] into the next corner stitch and then continue your way across the next side. When you are half to two thirds of the way across the third side of the pillow stop and insert your pillow form. Make sure to get the pillow form all the way into the corners that area already joined and that it is sitting flat and not twisted.
If you are using stuffing instead of a pillow form, try to stuff it smoothly and evenly, with no large lumps or bulges. Start by making sure the corners that are joined already are firmly stuffed, then stuff the rest of it as you continue crocheting around joining the panels together. Make sure you have finished stuffing it enough before you get all the way to the last corner.
Continue working your SC stitches around. It may be harder to hold the two panels together now that the pillow form is inserted. I used some locking stitch markers to help hold parts together. Again, work [SC, ch1, SC] into the next corner stitch and continue working along the last side of the pillow. When you get all the way to where you started, join with a slip stitch to the top of the first SC. Fasten off and weave in ends.
You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed making the Spring Butterfly Pillow. Now you can have fun finding a place to display it in your home. Or maybe it’s a gift for someone special, which will definitely be well received.
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