Americana Pillows

Hello Everyone!

A lady on Facebook requested that I make a set of pillows that match the Old Glory American Flag Afghan that I made earlier in the summer. And since she was such a sweet lady, I couldn’t let her down! 😉

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These Americana pillows are super easy! The most difficult part is sewing on the stars, which isn’t really that hard.

Even if you didn’t care for the American flag design on the pillows, the Suzette stitch is wonderful for a pillow covering because of it’s thickness and lack of large holes. The yarn I used is the same yarn as the Old Glory American Flag Afghan (I Love This Yarn! brand from Hobby Lobby) and it is super soft! I chose darker colors to mimic an antiqued Betsy Ross version of the American flag.

My husband is actually the one who came up with making the quarter circle instead of a full circle of 13 stars in the center of the pillow. I thought it was very creative and different and just went with it.

The star pattern for the pillow is smaller than the stars I made for the Afghan. You can certainly crochet 13 stars and arrange them in a circle to truly match the blanket and you will have plenty of yarn considering that the pillows won’t use an entire skein of the linen color.

These Americana pillows would make an amazing and thoughtful gift to any proud patriot, Veteran or active service member!

Here is a pin for your Pinterest boards…

Americana Pillows

Materials Used:

• 1 skein of I Love This Yarn – Cranberry 7 oz/199g – 355 yds/325m
• 1 skein of I Love This Yarn – Linen 7 oz/199g – 355 yds/325m
• 2 skeins of I Love This Yarn – Navy 7 oz/199g – 355 yds/325m
• I/9 (5.25 mm) hook — My favorite hooks! I use them daily!
• F/5 (3.75 mm) hook
• 2 –16” x 16” Pillow Forms or Poly-Fil
• 5 large safety pins
• Tapestry needle

Finished Size Approximately:

16.5” x 16.5” each

Gauge:

7 Suzette stitches and 13 rows in a 4” (10cm) square.

Special Stitches:

Suzette Stitch

*(sc, dc) in same space, skip a space* Repeat from * to * across.

Abbreviations:

FC – foundation chain
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
sk – skip
sp – space
ch – chain
sl st – slip stitch

Notes:

• The Americana pillows are constructed from 2 panels each that are sewn together by single crocheting around the entire perimeter. You have the option to place the two panels, wrong sides facing, and whip stitch around 3 sides. Slide the pillow form in and then whip stitch the opening.
• The five safety pins are for keeping the stars in place as you sew them to the Navy panel. You can use a large plate to create your quarter circle.
• The stars are small enough, that if you chose to, you could crochet 13 stars and place them in a circle on the Navy panel just like the Old Glory Afghan. There is also plenty of yarn left over from your one skein to crochet the extra stars.
• Sew your stars on the Navy panel before assembling the pillow case.
• Your striped panels may appear larger than the Navy ones even though the stitch counts are the same. Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t affect the final results.

*** American crochet terms used throughout.

Instructions:

With Navy and I hook

Make 2

FC: Ch 56

Row 1: In 2nd ch from hook, *(sc, dc) in same ch. Sk next ch* Repeat from * to * across, ending with only a sc in last ch. Turn.

Row 2: Ch 1. In last sc of previous row, *(sc, dc) in same st. Sk next st* Repeat from * to * across, ending with only a sc in last st. Turn.

Row 3 – Row 48: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 48.

Stars

With Linen and F hook

Make 5

Round 1: Ch 4, sl st in first ch to form a loop.

Round 2: Ch 2, dc 10 times in loop. Sl st in 1st dc made.

Round 3: *Ch 4. In 2nd ch from hook, sc. In next ch, hdc. In next ch, dc. Skip 2 dc from Row 1, sl st in next dc* Repeat from * to * 4 more times.

Finish off. Leave long tails for sewing. (About 8-10”)

Finishing

Optional: You can block your stars if you would like more crisp points. I didn’t block because I knew stitching them to the panel would help them keep their shape.

Lay one Navy panel out flat, making sure that it is not sideways—your tails from your foundation chain and from finishing off the panel will tell you which way is up. Arrange your stars the way that you want them. You can use a large plate or something similar as a guide and place your stars around it.

With safety pins (or craft glue if you prefer, although the glue may not create a permanent bond) secure the stars to your Navy panel. Make sure that your stars are facing the right way with one point on the top like a head and two points on the bottom like feet.

I didn’t leave long tails after crocheting the stars so I had to use more yarn for sewing.

Using a tapestry needle and your tails from finishing off the stars, tack stitch the stars to the Navy panel working around the perimeter of the stars. Then remove the safety pins.

With Navy and F Hook

Arrange the 2 Navy panels so that their wrong sides are facing. Begin single crocheting evenly around 3 sides of the panels just like a pillow case. In each corner, work 3 sc. Slide your pillow form into the case (or stuff with Polyfill) and single crochet along the 4th side to seal the pillow. Weave in any loose ends.

Striped Pillow

With Cranberry and I hook

FC: Ch 56

Row 1: In 2nd ch from hook, *(sc, dc) in same ch. Sk next ch* Repeat from * to * across, ending with only a sc in last ch. Turn.

Row 2: Ch 1. In last sc of previous row, *(sc, dc) in same st. Sk next st* Repeat from * to * across, ending with only a sc in last st. Turn.

Row 3 – Row 8: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 8.

With Linen

Attach Linen yarn in the final sc of Row 8.

Row 9 – Row 16: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 16.

With Cranberry

Row 17 – Row 24: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 24.

With Linen

Row 25 – Row 32: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 32.

With Cranberry

Row 33 – Row 40: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 40.

With Linen

Row 41 – Row 48: Repeat Row 2. Finish off after Row 48.

For the 2nd panel, repeat the pattern with the same number of rows and color changes, except, begin with Linen instead of Cranberry. This way, you will have continuous stripes the entire way around the pillow. See photo below.

Finishing

With Cranberry and F Hook

There are no right or wrong sides to these panels. Arrange the 2 panels so that their foundation chains are at the bottom. Begin single crocheting evenly around 3 sides of the panels just like a pillow case. In each corner, work 3 sc. Slide your pillow form into the case (or stuff with Polyfill) and single crochet along the 4th side to seal the pillow. Weave in any loose ends.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Americana Pillows pattern!

***Click here for the ad-free, large print PDF from Etsy***

***Click here for the ad-free, large print PDF from Ravelry***