If there is one thing I am confident in, it is that I am always ready for Halloween. No matter what time of year it is, I am looking forward to the pumpkin-spiced lattes, spooky movies, and cold nights. So at the beginning of this month, when I was itching for a Halloween-themed craft to do, I decided to design this adorable and not-so-spooky ghost pillow crochet pattern.
Click here to go directly to the ghost pillow crochet pattern!
As I was decorating my home for Halloween, yes I have already started, I looked at my bed and realized that my pumpkin pillow (purchased from Target in 2022) looked so lonely! He definitely needed a friend!
So of course, I started browsing around social media and Pinterest for some ideas. That’s when I came across a new yarn that got my brain moving! This year, Lions Brand released a glow-in-the-dark chenille yarn!
If you know me, you know how much I love anything glow-in-the-dark. I am like a kid, I will sit in a dark room and stare at my glowing items for hours, I’m not even joking. So I immediately went on Joann’s website and bought it. At that time, I didn’t even have an idea of what I was going to make yet, I just knew I needed the glow-in-the-dark yarn!
While I was waiting for my brand-new yarn to ship, I started looking at various fall bedroom aesthetics and noticed that many included an adorable ghost pillow. I have seen pillows similar to this at T. J. Max and Target and I figured that would be a great use of my yarn.
However, I couldn’t find a pattern that was perfect. There are so many ghost crochet patterns online, however, none of them looked “pillow” enough for me. So I took it upon myself to design my very own ghost pillow crochet pattern.
This crochet pattern is meant to create an adorable ghost with a swept tail, ready to perch on top of your bed and comfort you while you watch a horror movie and drink some apple cider. I can’t wait to share this with you as my very first crochet pattern!
If you want to learn more about crochet as a beginner, I wrote a post about beginner crochet tools with everything you need to start crocheting! This free ghost crochet pattern is incredibly beginner-friendly because it only uses a couple of stitches and techniques!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I make a small commission through these links with no impact on your purchase. For more information, click here!
Materials You Will Need
1. Yarn (White and Black)
For this crochet design, you are going to need two colors of yarn. I decided to make my ghost pillow pretty traditional, with a white body and block facial features. However, feel free to choose whatever color you want! I know the pastel pink Halloween trend is popular right now, so a pink and white ghost pillow would be adorable!
As I mentioned above, I used Lion Brand’s new Glow-in-the-Dark Chenille yarn for the body. I was hoping it would be as soft as other chenille yarns I have used, however, it did end up being a little… crunchy? You can feel the glow-in-the-dark solution sprayed on it, it is nowhere near as soft as regular chenille yarn. And looking at the reviews, it looks like others had the same issue with it. However, I did still use it because I am way too obsessed with glow-in-the-dark. But just know that it won’t be a soft cuddly ghost if you do.
If you are looking for something softer I would go with a regular white chenille yarn or blanket yarn. Threads and Loops yarn from Michael’s or Bernat Blanket Yarn are both really good options!
Or, if you want to work with some worsted-weight yarn, Lion Brand does have a glow-in-the-dark yarn shown below. I have used this yarn below, it feels exactly like your basic acrylic or cotton yarn and is super easy to work with. You can find this yarn at Joann’s, or you can order it from Amazon, here!
Just note, that if you use a thinner yarn like a worsted weight or DK weight yarn, the end result of the pillow will be smaller. You can size the pattern up by adding stitches to each row and adding rows when there are no increases or decreases. Feel free to message me on Instagram @jackieem.thoughts if you need help adjusting the pattern!
See in the image below, the difference in size between using a chenille yarn vs. a worsted weight, acrylic yarn (ignore the dog butt lol).
For the black yarn, I used a black chenille yarn from the Threads and Loops brand. However, any black yarn you have sitting around your house will do, you don’t need very much.
For this pattern, I used 192 yards of white yarn and less than 5 yards of black yarn.
2. Crochet Hook
For this ghost pillow crochet pattern, I used a 3.75mm hook. I personally love ergonomic crochet hooks like the ones shown below. You can get them from Amazon, here! It also comes with a bunch of useful tools for crochet that you will need in this pattern and beyond.
The size of the book is definitely dependent on what yarn you choose. You can check the label of the yarn to see which hook size it recommends. However, when doing amigurumi crochet (what this pattern is) I would recommend sizing one or more hook sizes down from what it says on the label. It creates a much cleaner look, with no holes for the polyfill stuffing to come out.
3. Fiber Fill/Poly-fill Stuffing
You are definitely going to need something to stuff your ghost with to make him fluffy and puffy! You can get this at most craft stores such as Joann’s and Micheal’s. Amazon also has some cheap options for polyester filling like this bag of Fiber Fill seen below!
Another money-saving tip is to go to Target or another department store and find their cheapest pillow. The ones at Target are under 5 dollars and are filled with a ton of fiber filling! Just cut the top off and you have plenty of stuffing to make as many ghost pillows as you want!
4. Tapestry needle
Any basic tapestry needle will do. I find the curved tapestry needles that come with this set shown below from Amazon is perfect for amigurumi projects. It makes stitching together oddly shaped pieces so much easier! You can find this set by clicking here!
5. Sitch Marker (optional)
When making the arms of your crochet ghost, you will be working in the round. I have found using stitch markers to show the beginning of each row incredibly helpful! Stitch markers come in a lot of crochet sets if you buy them online, but you can also buy them separately on Amazon by clicking here!
If you don’t want to buy any stitch markers, you can also use some things you might have lying around your house like paper clips, bobby pins, safety pins, or even a spare scrap of yarn!
6. Scissors
Any old scissors will do, or anything that will cut a piece of yarn. Even if you have to tear it apart with your pure strength. I mean… I can’t do that but if you can let me know, that would be really impressive.
How to Make a Crochet Ghost Pillow
Finally, we can start crocheting our new spooky friend. A quick disclaimer, this is the first crochet pattern that I have ever written, so if there are any issues, please feel free to comment below or message me on Instagram, @jackieem.thoughts! If you have any questions, please let me know because I would be happy to help!
Ghost Pillow Crochet Pattern
This ghost pillow crochet pattern is written in US terms.
The number inside the () parentheses at the end of each step represents how many stitches you should have on your project once that row is complete.
At the end of each row, make sure to chain 1 and turn your project.
To clarify, when you see instructions shown in [brackets] followed by a multiplication, repeat that step however many times is indicated. For example, if the instructions say [1 SC, 1 INC] x6, you would complete the SC and INC 6 times.
Abbreviations:
CH = Chain
SC = Single Crochet
DEC = Decrease
INC = Increase
MR = Magic Ring
Body (make 2 of these)
- CH 45 (45)
- 45 SC (45)
- 45 SC (45)
- 1 DEC, 42 SC, 1 INC (45)
- 43 SC, 1 DEC (44)
- 1 DEC, 41 SC, 1 INC (44)
- 42 SC, 1 DEC (43)
- 1 DEC, 41 SC (42)
- 40 SC, 1 DEC (41)
- 1 DEC, 39 SC (40)
- 38 SC, 1 DEC (39)
- 1 DEC, 35 SC, 1 DEC (37)
- 1 DEC 33 SC, I DEC (35)
- 1 DEC, 31 SC, I DEC (33)
- 1 DEC, 31 SC (32)
- 32 SC (32)
- 1 DEC, 28 SC, 1 DEC (30)
- 1 DEC, 26 SC, 1 DEC (28)
- 1 DEC, 24 SC, 1 DEC (26)
- 1 DEC, 22 SC, I DEC (24)
- 1 DEC, 20 SEC, 1 DEC (22)
- 22 SC (22)
- 22 SC (22)
- 22 SC (22)
- 1 DEC, 18 SC, 1 DEC (20)
- 1 DEC, 16 SC, 1 DEC (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 1 DEC, 14 SC, 1 DEC (16)
- 16 SC (16)
- 1 DEC, 12 SC, 1 DEC (14)
- 1 DEC, 10 SC, 1 DEC (12)
- 2 DEC, 4 SC, 2 DEC (8)
- 4 DEC (4)
- Finish off, leaving a long thread so you can sew together your ghost
Arms (make two of these)
- Make a MR and put 6 SC into it, then tighten and close ring (6)
- 6 INC (12)
- [1 SC, 1 INC] x6 (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 18 SC (18)
- 9 SC, 9 INC (27)
- 1 SC, 4 DEC, 18 SC (23)
- 23 SC (23)
Bottom Panel (only make one of these)
- CH 35
- 35 SC (35)
- 35 SC (35)
- 35 SC (35)
- 35 SC (35)
- 35 SC (35)
- Finish off, leaving a long thread to use while constructing your ghost pillow
Mouth
There are so many options for your ghost’s facial expressions, the options are endless. Below, I have included instructions for a circular, open mouth and a half-circle, smiley mouth. However, feel free to create whatever facial expression you want for your ghost!
In this picture, you can see that I created an open mouth for the big ghost and a semi-circle for the small ghost.
Circular, Open Mouth
- Make a MR and put 6 SC into it, then tighten (6)
- 6 INC, one in each stitch around (12)
- Slip stitch into the next stitch and finish odd, leaving a long thread behind so you can sew it to the ghost
Falf-Cirlce, Smiley Mouth
- Make a MR and put 4 SC into it, then tighten (4)
- CH 1, turn the project around
- Work back into the last SC stitch you just did, ding 4 INC, one in each stitch (8)
- Finish off, leaving a long thread so you can sew it to the ghost
Constructing your Crochet Ghost Pillow
It’s finally time to put your adorable and spooky friend together! Grab your polyester filling and your tapestry needle! It’s time to sew.
Step 1
Take one of the body panels and add your spooky ghost face! Sew on your moth and use the same black yarn to create whatever type of eyes you want! You can also use safety eyes if you don’t feel like sewing them on, whatever works for you!
Step 2
Take the two body panels and line them up, make sure the ghost’s face is facing inside (you will be flipping the project inside out later!) Starting at the bottom left, start sewing the two panels together, until you reach row 13
Step 3
After that, grab one of the arms and start sewing it to the body. The front of the arm should be sewn to the front panel of the body and the back of the arm should be sewn to the back. As a result, you should be able to stick your hand into your project and into the ghost arm. The top of the arm should land around row 24. Make sure to place the arm so the longer side of the piece is towards the bottom. of the ghost. As a result, the ghost’s arms will be reaching up!
Step 4
Once the arm is attached, continue sewing around the head until you reach row 24 on the right side. of the ghost. Here, you will start attaching the second arm to the body the same way you attached the first. Make sure the front of the arm is attached to the front panel of the body and the back of the arm is attached to the back panel of the body.
This is what the inside of your ghost pillow should look like. As a result of attaching the front of the arm to the front body panel and the back of the arm to the back panel, you should be able to stick your hand into the ghost body and both of the arms.
Step 5
After the second arm is attached, continue sewing until you get to the bottom right corner of your project, leaving the bottom open. After that, you should now have a ghost-shaped empty body with two arms.
Step 6
Then, flip your project inside out. Grab your stuffing and fill your crochet ghost pillow until he is as fluffy or as firm as you would like him (I like to use enough filling for him to keep his shape, but not too much so he is still squishy).
Step 7
Finally, grab your bottom panel and sew it to the bottom of the ghost so he has a nice sturdy place to stand on.
If you’ve gotten this far, you finally have a completed crochet ghost pillow! I absolutely loved making this ghost pillow crochet pattern, it was so fun and adds a perfect spooky touch to any bed or couch! I know that the explanation of construction can be confusing, so feel free to reach out with any questions you may have, I am always available to help!
