I love working with the Bernat Blanket Extra jumbo 7 weight yarn because it works up so very quickly! Everything I make with it turns out unbelievably soft and cushy. The finished products are surprisingly lightweight but quite warm.
This pillow cover uses the same colors as the Christmas blanket pattern I made. However, the stitch pattern is a little different. I wanted to make it quick and easy, so it’s all single crochet. I made this in less than 3 hours. Jumbo yarn is just the best for making quick projects.
I used yarn that was left over from the Christmas Blanket I made. It has a furry border made with Bernat Sheepy. I used that for my stripes because I didn’t have any of the Vintage White left.
The yarn I used is Bernat Blanket Extra Jumbo 7 weight yarn in the colors:
Crimson Red: less than a skein
Smokey Green: less than a skein
And Bernat Sheepy yarn in:
Cottontail
If you prefer, you can use Bernat Blanket Extra in Vintage White for the stripes and the seams.
15mm crochet hook for the pillow cover.
10mm crochet hook for the seams.
I also used a 20” square pillow form.
To begin, chain 25 with the crimson red.
Row 1:
Skip the first chain.
Single crochet into the 2nd chain.
Single crochet in each stitch across.
At the end of the row, chain 1, turn.
Row 2-4:
Make a single crochet in the first stitch.
Single crochet into each stitch across.
Now, at the end, chain 1 and turn.
At the end of row 4, drop the crimson yarn before you pull through the last 2 loops of the last single crochet.
Cut a tail a few inches long to work over in the next row.
Pick up the Sheepy cottontail yarn. Pull through the last 2 loops. Chain 1. Turn.
Rows 5 and 6:
Place a single crochet in the first stitch. Work over the tails of both the crimson and the Sheepy yarn.
Single crochet in each stitch across.
At the end of the row, chain 1, turn.
At the end of row 6, begin a single crochet. Drop the Sheepy yarn before pulling through the last 2 loops.
Cut the yarn, leaving a few inches to work over in the next row.
Pick up the smoky green yarn. Chain 1 and turn.
Rows 7-10:
Working over the tails of both colors, single crochet into each stitch across. Chain 1, turn.
At the end of row 10, begin a single crochet. Drop the yarn before pulling through the last 2 loops.
Cut the yarn, leaving a few inches to work over in the next row.
Pick up the Sheepy yarn. Pull through the last 2 loops of the single crochet. Chain 1, turn.
Rows 11 and 12:
Repeat rows 5 and 6
You will end up with 4 stripes of the crimson. Each has 4 rows. There is also one more stripe. It consists of just 3 rows.
There will be 4 stripes (4 rows each) of the green.
The Sheepy has 8 stripes, 2 rows each.
The pillow cover will overlap so you can remove it for washing or just changing out for the season. It’s handy to remove the pillow form so you can store the pillow cover flat when not in use.
Seaming the Christmas pillow cover:
I switched to a 10mm crochet hook to sew the sides together.
Fold the pillow cover so that the panel overlaps in the back. I was able to overlap to match the crimson stripes and stopped just before the Sheepy stripe.
Use pieces of yarn to hold the cover even with the stripes. Because this is jumbo yarn, you’ll have several thick layers to seam together. You should have the right side showing. It looks a little nicer than the wrong side. You should be able to tell.
Only the sides will need to be seamed together. The top and bottom will have the Sheepy stripes already. It will look like it goes all the way around.
Join with the Sheepy yarn at the top corner. Work into the 2 rows of the sheepy stripes with a slip knot and a slip stitch. Chain 1.
Now, go down the side joining the edges with single crochet.
The first single crochet should be in the sheepy stripe.
Be sure to go through all the thicknesses, especially where it overlaps.
Work single crochets down the side until you reach the sheepy stripe on the end. Join in that stripe with 2 or 3 single crochet stitches to make the corner round. You can fasten off and weave in the tail inside.
Repeat for the other side. That’s it! You can sew some big buttons on and just use the stitches as button holes. Alternatively, you can make a chain and tie it like a gift like I did.
Wasn’t that easy? And sooo cute!
If you liked making this, you will probably like making the matching Christmas blanket.
I love the Christmas colors, but I’m going to make another set in different colors. It’s fun to make something so fast and cushy. Let me know what colors you used!
