Wheel Crochet Throw Pillow – Free Pattern

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The Wheel Crochet Throw Pillow is a free crochet pattern and made with herringbone crochet stitches that create a beautiful texture with a wheel style pillow using worsted weight yarn by WeCrochet.

Mystery Crochet Alongs are super fun and exciting. So I like to make sure I host at least a few throughout the year. But after I finish the Mystery CAL, I make sure to publish the pattern separately so you can find it again and still be able to enjoy it for free. That is what happened with this cute Wheel Throw Pillow. It was designed in parts and was part of the end of Spring 2020 Mystery Crochet Along which was sponsored by WeCrochet.

Crochet Herringbone Stitches

The Wheel Pillow was actually designed using the Herringbone double crochet stitches. I have a video and written tutorial to make the learning process much easier in case you have never heard of it before. But essentially it provides the pillow with a lot more texture and style than a normal double crochet stitch could show.

Crocheting squares

Using the Herringbone stitch, you’ll crochet 8 rectangles in one color and then add another rectangle section with a different color to create squares. Those squares are then sewn together to create a wheel which then makes the pillow stylish and come together.

I used WeCrochet’s Provincial Tweed yarn and Multi-Dishie Yarn. The Provincial Tweed is on the thinner side of a worsted yarn when worked up. That means it looks worsted in a skein, but due to its twist, it may work up almost like a thicker DK weighted yarn.

It’s ok to mix yarn fibers. I used wool and cotton. It’s not a wearable. If you prefer to use the same fibers that’s fine too. BUT make sure to use the SAME BRAND and type of yarn for the 2 main colors (which are for me purple and grey). The last color doesn’t need to be the same brand and weight as the first two.

I designed the pillow with colors to show off a colors splash with color harmony in mind. So what does that mean? Well, to create a harmony with colors, it’s best to have a color system to work off. In this pattern I used one neutral and two complementary colors one of them being the accent colors that catches your eye when you see the pattern.

What is a complementary color?

It’s a color directly opposite your starting color on a color wheel. It is used as an accent color. Here I show off and explain the color wheel in a video. You can get the color wheel here.

So I used purple and grey as the main colors. And yellow is the complementary color of purple and therefore the accent color as it was only used a little bit.

So, let me now give you the supplies you need in order to crochet this easy Wheel Throw Pillow.

This pattern is also available as an ad-free, printer-friendly pdf pattern and can be purchased at the links below for only a small fee.

If you like this pillow crochet pattern, you might like these also:

1. Plaid Heart Pillow
2. Present Pillow
3. Pillow Case with Flying Hearts
4. Reversible Jumbo Yarn Pillow

How to crochet the
Wheel Throw Pillow

You will need:

• Two colors of worsted yarn (1-2 skeins) I used WeCrochet’s Provincial Tweed yarn
  • pick ONE NEUTRAL colored skein (I picked grey) and
  • pick ONE COLORED YARN skein (I picked purple)
• 1 skein of complementary colored yarn (any weight will do)
  • I used Dishie Yarn by WeCrochet
  • pick a complementary color of the color you picked above
• 5.0mm hook -> I used Furls Crochet Odyssey Hook
• scissors
• tapestry needle
• 12×12 thin pillow insert

Gauge:

3 sts x 2 rows = 1 square inch

Size:

12 x 12 inches (w x h)

Stitches used:

Learn all the basic crochet stitches HERE

• sc = single crochet
• hbdc = Herringbone DC stitch
• ch = chain
• atc = alternative turning chain
• mattress stitch for sewing

Written Pattern for the Crochet Throw Pillow:

Important: The pattern is written with a lot of details and is broken down like the Mystery CAL was broken down. It was also designed such that you can make this into a bag, instead of a pillow if you like. So keep that in mind when reading and using the pattern.

Start with your neutral color. I picked grey.

You will now make a rectangle that has the ratio 1:0.5 (length : height). You can make it bigger or smaller than mine, BUT stay within that ratio. So mine is exactly 6.5 : 3.25 inches (length : height).

We’ll use the Herringbone DC (but feel free to just use double crochet or even linked double crochet).

Make 8 rectangles in the same neutral color

Ch 20 (keep a long starting tail – about 1-2 feet)

R1: starting from the 3rd ch from the hook, 1 hbdc in each ch, turn (18 sts)

R2-7: ch 3 OR alternative turning chain (both count as a stitch), 1 hbdc in each stitch, turn

When finished, weave in your LAST tail, but NOT the beginning one.

Purple Rectangle to make Square

You will now continue with your current rectangles and add onto them using your MAIN COLOR. For me that was purple.

Simply crochet the same amount of rows and stitches for the previous rectangles (all 8), starting where you left off.

R8-14: ch 3 OR alternative turning chain (both count as a stitch), 1 hbdc in each stitch, turn

Fasten off and weave in your ends of your main color.

You should now have 8 exact squares (mine are 6.5 x 6.5 inches). Ignore the wavy edges. You’ll see in part 3 that they don’t matter. If you need, BLOCK (steam block for acrylic – wet block for wool) your squares to be exact measurements to make a square.

Now you crochet one more little square in sc in the same color. It is 2.5 x 2.5 inches. These dimensions do not matter too much. But make it roughly the same and as a square.

Ch 11

R1: starting from the 2nd ch from the hook, 1 sc in each ch, turn (10 sts)

R2-11: 1 sc in each stitch, turn

Fasten off but don’t weave in your ends yet. Keep at least one of them 1-2 feet long.

Little Accent Colored Squares

You made it to the reveal! YAY! I sure hope you love it as much as I do.

Now let’s get it finished, right?

Use your ACCENT COLOR (so for me that is yellow) to crochet 2 squares:

Ch 21

R1: starting from the 2nd ch from the hook, 1 sc in each ch, turn (20 sts)

R2-24: 1 sc in each stitch, turn

Leave a tail of 2 feet at the end for sewing

These squares should be the same measurements as the other 8 squares. So mine are 6.5 x 6.5 inches.

Now it’s time to add something special to one of them. This part is optional but really makes the pattern special. I used a washable marker to draw on initials to one of the squares. My initials are for my and my hubby’s first name 🙂

Then I used the main color (purple for me) to crochet over the marker lines using surface crochet (video for it is here as part of another pattern). You can also sew it on. Or use a Cricut to create iron-on. You pick what works for you.

Let’s sew it all together to make the Pillow or Bag

First use your long ends (you saved in part 1) to sew 4 squares together like the image below. Can you see now why you needed exact squares? I used the mattress stitch for it (video tutorial is here).

Do this twice so you end up with 2×4 squares that make 2 giant squares in the end.

Sew the tiny square (optional) as a pocket onto one of the accent squares. I sewed only 3 sides so it creates a small pocket. That pocket can “hide” things like an engagement or wedding ring(s) or a tooth for the tooth fairy, or whatever you choose. You can also just sew all 4 sides onto it and just have an accent in the middle.

Now sew your accent squares tilted onto the 2 large squares. I used a straight line stitch for it. I sew them right to the middle. Make sure the corners of the accent squares point directly to the sewn lines underneath.

Now let’s make it a Pillow… or a bag?

Now here is where you can choose what to make. You can make it into a pillow like me (I used a 12×12 thin pillow insert for it). or you can make it into a bag (I would suggest adding a lining and a zipper like THIS). Or you can even turn this entire thing into a table runner. Maybe YOU have other ideas. Let me know in the Facebook Group.

I use simple single crochet stitches and crocheted the 2 large squares together using the accent color. I added 3 sc stitches in each corner.

The accent squares and the border really make the pillow stand out and pop. Do you see now why complementary colors are fun to use together with a neutral color in the mix? Color theory is such fun, right?

I hope you love this Wheel Crochet Throw Pillow pattern as much as I do. If you love this pattern and technique, please use the social media share buttons above or below and share this pattern link with the world and your friends.

That way you will find it easily again when you need it and you also provide the world and your friends with the ability to gain extra crochet knowledge as well. And to top it off, you help me as it allows me to create more content that you love already and want to see more of – free crochet patterns and tutorials. So, thank you for sharing.

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