Colorful Crochet Star Pillow

In an earlier post I shared my experience making a colorful Baby's Star Blanket; well, after making the blanket I had quite a bit of left over yarn so I decided to make a small pillow.  I dedicated this project to my mother. I have crocheted so many things and as of yet, I had not given her a crochet item made by me. And here was my opportunity to experiment and in turn a lovely gift for my mother.  

I worked on making two star panels that would come together to form the pillow.  After a few days working on the panel I had finished them.  I made five rows of alternating colors.  Next up to make the liner.  I bought a sheer shimmering white fabric.  At this point, I called my mother since she used to be a seamstress and was the person who made our clothing when I was young.  I asked her how to make a paper pattern for a pillow I was working on (I didn't tell her the shape of the pillow, I wanted to surprise her.)  She was so happy to be helping me over the phone.  

Funny how a flood gates of memories came rushing in for her.  She shared with me the days when she worked making hospital garments and how fast she was at making them.  Gosh, I felt her pride, her confidence, and she so vibrant over the phone--Wow, I had not seen this side of my mother.  She's awesome.   

With the paper pattern cut out and the sheer shimmering white fabric in hand I started to attached the paper pattern onto the fabric.  Firstly, I took the sheer fabric and folded it so that I can get two panels once I had cut the fabric. I secured the paper pattern onto the folded fabric and proceeded to make the cuts.  Without removing the paper pattern, I would lift the edge of the paper and begin to hand stitch the two panels together.  I gradually work around the star shape until I was close to the starting point of my stitch.  I left an opening so that I can turn the liner inside out and stuff it and finish sewing the remainder of the opening until it was securely closed.

The real challenge begins when you line up the two star panels.  After you line them up, then you have two options:  

1) to sew them together and insert a zipper to allow the removal of the liner or 

2) crochet to the two panels until you are four inches close to the starting point and then insert the liner and finish the remainder.  

This project took me over a week to make. The pillow measures 20 inches across from tip to tip.  Here is the finished star pillow:

Once completed I mailed this colorful star pillow to my mother.  She called me when she got the package.  I listened to her voice as it crackled when she expressed her gratitude.  It was the first time she received a crocheted item from me.  Such projects are truly a labor of love and more so when the receiver appreciates your work.

Colorful Crochet Blankets

Some people enjoy knitting while others enjoy crocheting.  I've learned to crochet on my own, therefore, my blankets are simple and yet colorful.  Recently I made two baby's blanket (one for a boy and the other for a girl).

                                            Baby Boy's Blanket

The baby boy's blanket is a square with three color yarns (beige, light green, and green). Each color are in an alternating row almost like seeing water waves.

It's an interesting process crochet a row, change color, flip, crochet another row, change color, flip and continue each row until you reach 36 inch square.

It's a slow process since you don't want to skip a stitch.  I also add a nice and tight boarder which completes the blanket.

This baby boy's blanket took me a week to do in the evenings.  I mailed it to the happy family and some time later I received a heartfelt thank you.  

                                            Baby Girl's Blanket


The baby girl's blanket is a star shape design made with white and rainbow color yarns. This was my first time crocheting a star shape blanket, therefore, it took me a little longer to do since at times, I had to undo a row or two because I lost count.

The process on this one is more challenging than the square blanket since you start at the center stitching a circle then move up to the next row.

I'm moving from right to left thus when I next double stitch (DS) I'm offsetting it and then I go to the next hole. In this hole I do the following corner set (3 DS, 3 Single Stitch, 3 DS) and then go to the next hole and do a DS.  At this point instead of going to the next hole skip it and then DS, next hole do the corner set and repeat until loops is closed.  

Every time you move up/out from the center of the star as you crochet from one corner point to the next corner point you'll see a pattern as each row increases... 

                        start of circle, 4 SS, slip stitch (sl st)

                        row 1 circle 20 DS, 

                        row 2 { 3SS, 3DS, 1DS, pinch gap, 1DS, 3DS, 3SS }, 

                        row 3 { 3SS, 3DS, 2DS, pinch gap, 2DS, 3DS, 3SS }, 

                        row 4 { 3SS, 3DS, 4DS, pinch gap, 4DS, 3DS, 3SS }, 

                        row 5 { 3SS, 3DS, 6DS, pinch gap, 6DS, 3DS, 3SS },
                        row 6 { 3SS, 3DS, 8DS, pinch gap, 8DS, 3DS, 3SS },
                        and so on,

until you've reached the desired size.

The pinch gap as I call it allows for the v-shape as you move along from one corner point to the next.

Once I understood the rhythm of this pattern I felt more comfortable making each row as the blanket grew in size.

I tried following the free pattern flyer I got from the craft store but I didn't have the patience to follow the written instructions so I basically looked at the image and since the blanket had alternating colors, I counted the rows and obtain the blanket size.  That did the trick for me.

Just like the baby boy's blanket, I finished the star blanket with a nice boarder. This baby girl's blanket took me two weeks to do in the evenings.  I mailed it to the happy family and some time later I received a heartfelt thank you.  

So nice to know that both children are enjoying their handmade blankets.

Perfect for this time of year.  Brrr.