Bloom Pillow

Bloom Pillow by Maggie Trunkhill

Project Overview

The Bloom Pillow is a decorative crochet cushion designed by independent designer Maggie Trunkhill. This intermediate-level project features a charming floral composition made from eight crocheted flowers arranged on the pillow front, making it an ideal piece for adding handmade texture and color to any room.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a finished pillow with removable pillowcase functionality. The design combines a decorative front panel featuring eight flowers with a traditional back panel, joined together with functional button closures. The pillow is constructed as a complete cushion cover that can be removed from an insert pillow form.

Construction and Design

The Bloom Pillow uses a modular construction approach. The front side is composed of sixteen squares that are strategically joined together using single crochet stitches to create a unified panel. This front panel receives three rounds of border crochet work to ensure proper finishing and structural integrity. The back of the pillow is constructed from a large light green traditional granny square, providing a classic contrast to the floral front design.

Functional Features

Five buttons are sewn onto the bottom of the pillow to create a removable pillowcase design. This practical feature allows the crocheted cover to be easily taken on and off the pillow insert for cleaning or customization purposes.

Crochet Techniques and Stitches

• Single Crochet: Used as the primary joining stitch throughout the pattern to connect the individual squares together
• Granny Square: The foundational stitch pattern used for both the flower squares and the back panel, with the back panel featuring a traditional light green granny square
• Border Rounds: Three complete rounds of border crochet work are added around the front panel for finishing and structure
• Flower Construction: Eight individual flowers are crocheted separately and incorporated into the front design
• Stem Squares: Specialized squares featuring stems are used alongside the flower granny squares, creating a more complex joining process than standard pillow patterns

Materials and Yarn Specifications

This pattern is designed for DK weight yarn, a medium-weight yarn that provides excellent stitch definition for the granny square pattern. The designer used hand-dyed pink yarn for the flower petals in the original design, though the pattern is flexible and allows crafters to choose any color of DK weight yarn to match their personal preferences and home décor. Light green yarn is specified for the back granny square panel. Any quality DK weight yarn will work successfully with this pattern.

Difficulty Level and Pattern Support

Rated as an intermediate difficulty project, the Bloom Pillow presents a moderate challenge due to its multi-component construction and the slightly more complex joining process required when connecting different types of squares (flower squares and stem squares). To support crafters through this complexity, the pattern includes extensive photographic documentation explaining each step of the joining process, making it accessible to intermediate crocheters who have foundational skills but are ready to tackle more involved assembly work.

Design Notes

The modular nature of this pillow pattern—with its combination of flower elements, stem components, and border work—creates visual interest while maintaining the classic appeal of granny square construction. The removable button closure adds both functionality and a charming vintage-inspired detail to the finished cushion.