Moonglow Pillow with Hidden Pocket

Take your basic Red Heart Supersaver or other smooth worsted weight yarn and crochet a simple spiral. Then it gets exciting: slip stitch some glow in the dark Jelly Yarn® onto the surface of the pillow front. The look and feel of the surface-crocheted Jelly Yarn is very cool. You just have to see for yourself. It also adds impressive durability to the pillow surface.

Assembly is easy too, and the bonus is a hidden roomy stash pocket. A child would love its comforting “nightlight” glow and built-in toy pocket features.

I originally wrote this pattern in 2009. It was inspired directly by the Crochet Liberation Front when a pattern book called CLF All Growed Up! was in the works back then.

Skill Level

Advanced Beginner. UK and Australian equivalents for American measurements, yarn weights, and stitch terms are in brackets { }. After using this pattern, you will know (if you didn’t already):

• How to crochet spiraling rounds.
• How to create a pillow with a roomy pocket simply and effectively.
• How to do surface slip stitch crochet, which is a very old form of crochet called tambour. According to some accounts, today’s crochet developed from tambour lace.
• How to combine a traditional household yarn with quite the opposite—an unusual, futuristic monofilament yarn—for fun and very practical results.

Finished Measurements (stuffed)

Approximately 12″ in diameter and 6″ thick. {30.48 cm by 15.24 cm}. It’s easy to change the pillow’s diameter by increasing or decreasing rounds.

Materials

• Crochet Hooks: Size US8/H {5 mm} crochet hook, or appropriate size for gauge. (Exact gauge is not essential for this project.) Size US10/J {6.0 mm} crochet hook for the Jelly Yarn surface crochet (an aluminum crochet hook is recommended).
• Main Yarn: 1 skein smooth worsted weight yarn (projects shown in 100% acrylic Red Heart Supersaver: color #0322 Pale Yellow, and #0312 Black). You may need additional yarn if you use a different brand. To substitute a yarn: Use one in the “#4 Medium Weight yarn” category, a.k.a. Worsted, Afghan, Aran weight. A crochet hook size range from US H/8 {5 mm} to US J/10 {6 mm} is recommended for this category.
• Contrast Yarn: 1 skein Jelly Yarn® Fine (projects shown in “Vanilla Peppermint Glow” and “Pink Peppermint Glow”). To substitute a yarn: This unique yarn, a vinyl monofilament, is listed in the #2 Fine Weight category (a.k.a. sport weight). Sometimes it behaves more like a thicker, #3 or #4 yarn because of how bouncy it is. For this pillow, try a #3 or #4 yarn and see if you like it.
• Pillow Stuffing: A standard 14″ {35.56 cm} round pillow form, or poly fiberfill, or a square pillow form with corners that you have rounded.
• Also helpful: Length of contrasting scrap yarn, 10″ {25.4 cm} or so (for marking spiraling rounds). Hand lotion, small amount (recommended for Jelly Yarn).