Crocheting a Ruffle Rose Pillow

I recently moved and didn't have enough throw pillows, so I decided to make my own! I choose the Ruffle Rose Pillow (LW2505) from RedHeart.com. I adapted the pattern to fit my needs and style of crochet, and I wanted to walk you through it.

I chose to make the pillow in With Love; because the color I wanted was not available in Soft;. I knew I could do this substitution since they both have the yarn weight of 4. Skeins of With Love are larger than the balls of Soft, so I only needed 3 skeins instead of 4 balls.

When I went to crochet the pillow I could not get the circle to stay flat! I did three swatches, each with a different size of crochet hook. Finally I gave up on matching my gauge and strictly following the pattern. I was comfortable with this decision since it was a pillow that just needed to fit a pillow form, instead of a garment or complex item with many interrelated measurements.

I started with 8 stitches (instead of 12) and a 5.5mm hook (instead of 5mm), increasing by 8 stitches each round (instead of 12) and switching to a 6mm hook (instead of 5.5mm) when the larger hook was called for at the start of the second layer of ruffle.My gauge was different from the gauge called for in the pattern so I knew I couldn't rely on the rounds called for in the pattern to correctly cover my pillow form. I did the required number of rounds for the front and the back, but my sides were actually one round shorter than what the pattern says. I might have been able to make the sides two rounds shorter, but I didn't want to rip out and try again.

I really enjoyed making this pillow, especially since the different stages of the pillow each look really neat. I think a smaller, cotton version of the front of the pillow with only one ruffle complete would make a great hot pad. I also like the wrong side of the back, and want to make something with this pattern. What do you think I should make?

Calculating Yarn for Substitution

When you're substituting yarn, you want to make sure you have enough to complete the project. At the same time, you don't want to buy several extra balls. Follow the instructions below to learn how to calculate your yarn for substitution.

(total number of balls the pattern calls for) x (number of yards per ball of pattern yarn) = (total yards in pattern)(total yards in pattern) / (number of yards per ball of substitute yarn) = (number of balls of substitute yarn)

Make sure you round up your second answer to the next whole number. If you round down, you won't have enough yarn.

Total balls of Soft in the pattern: 4 balls
Total yards per ball of Soft: 256 yards
Total yards called for in the pattern: 1024 yards (4 balls x 256 yards = 1024 total yards)
Total yards per skein of With Love: 370 yards
Total skeins of With Love required: 3 skeins (1024 total yards· 370 yards per skein = 2.7 skeins, which rounds up to 3 skeins)