Sofia the Star Pillow

I made this pillow for my granddaughter Sofia’s first birthday. I decided on the star shape because it’s easy for little hands to grasp, and it’s adorable! My pattern is a little different than most in that you don’t have to keep re-attaching the yarn to make the points – they’re crocheted right onto the body almost like a border. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the pattern. It’s mostly repetition, and I think even a beginner could do it.

I had to include some photos of my little sweetheart when she first saw the pillow. She loved it! As you can see, it’s very soft and squishy because I stuffed it very loosely.

As always, I’d love to see your photos if you make this and care to share. You can find me @simplethingscrochet on Instagram and Facebook.

If you’d like an ad-free, easily printable version of the pattern, you can help support my small business and purchase it for a small fee in my Etsy shop – SimpleThings byTia, or in my Ravelry Store – Simple Things Crochet.

Like this pattern? You may also like the Love You Forever Baby Blanket or the Starry Night Baby Blanket. And if you’d like to receive an email whenever there’s a new post, you can find the sign-up box below. I’ll never sell your info or use it for anything else. Promise!😊💕

Skill Level: Easy+

Materials:

Lion Brand Baby Soft in Pansy – 1 skein

Lion Brand Baby Soft in Pastel Yellow – 1 skein (This color has been discontinued, Lemonade is a good replacement.)

Any black yarn for the optional embroidery on the face

Hook size F/5 – 3.75 mm

Stitch markers

Child-safe poly stuffing

Gauge:

5 sc and 3 sc rows = 1” (measured on the star point)

Dimensions:

14 3/4” wide by 14 3/4” long

Abbreviations:

Ch – chain

Sc – single crochet

Dc – double crochet

Sc2tog – single crochet two together

St, sts – stitch, stitches

Special Stitches:

Single crochet two together – insert hook in stitch, draw up a loop, insert hook in next stitch, draw up a loop, yarn over, draw yarn through all three loops. This creates one decrease.

Notes:

Beginning chains count as stitches.
I prefer a magic circle to start so there’s no hole in the middle. However, if you’d like, you can chain 3 and work 9 dc into the third chain from hook for Round 1.
Stitch markers are highly recommended for this project. Place a stitch marker in the top of each starting chain so you know where to put your slip stitch at the end of the round. Also, placing a stitch marker in your first stitch of each row on the points will make it clear where to stop on your next row.
For the star points, you will be crocheting from 24 stitches at the bottom to 1 stitch at the top. For the first four points, you will slip stitch down one side of the point to the base to begin the next point. Do not slip stitch down the side of the fifth point. I’ve included some photos at the end of the pattern for clarification.
Don’t forget to switch to Pastel Yellow partway through the fifth star point.
For the circle pattern, you will be increasing the number of stitches in each round by 10. You’ll notice that each round has 1 more individual stitch between the “two stitches in one”. It’s an easy pattern to follow once you get the hang of it.
The back of the pillow (the yellow side) is exactly like the front except it’s all one color. I included the full instructions just to be thorough.
I’m not an embroidery expert by any stretch. The face stitching is optional, and if you’d like try it, you can use my minimal basic instructions or look to someone who is better at this than me!

Instructions:

Front of pillow:

With Pansy, Make a magic circle. (Or use optional instructions in Notes.)

Round 1: Ch 2, dc 9 times into the magic circle, ss in top of starting ch to join. (10 sts)

Round 2: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of chain, 2 dc in each stitch around circle, ss in top of starting ch to join. (20 sts)

Round 3: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *sc in next st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in last st, ss in top of starting ch to join. (30 sts)

Round 4: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *sc, sc, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in each of last 2 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (40 sts)

Round 5: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *sc, sc, sc, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in each of last 3 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (50 sts)

Round 6: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of ch, *dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 dc in each of last 4 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (60 sts)

Round 7: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of ch, *dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 dc in each of last 5 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (70 sts)

Round 8: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in each of last 6 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (80 sts)

Round 9: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, sc, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in each of last 7 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (90 sts)

Round 10: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of ch, *dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 dc in each of last 8 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (100 sts)

Round 11: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of ch, *dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 dc in each of last 9 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (110 sts)

Round 12: Ch 2, 1 dc in base of ch, *dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, dc, 2 dc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 dc in each of last 10 sts, ss in top of starting ch to join. (120 sts)

Round 13: This is where you begin your star points. Row 1 of the star points is what makes up Round 13.

First Star Point:

Row 1: Ch 1, sc in next 23 sts, (24 sts)

Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (23 sts)

Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (22 sts)

Rows 4 – 23: Repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Row 24: Sc2tog (1 st). Chain 1, turn your work so the front is facing you, ss in each row down the left side of the point to the circle base. Ss in the last stitch of Row 1 of the star point.

Second Star Point:

Row 1: Sc in next 24 sts, (24 sts)

Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (23 sts)

Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (22 sts)

Rows 4 – 23: Repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Row 24: Sc2tog (1 st). Chain 1, turn your work so the front is facing you, ss in each row down the left side of the point to the circle base. Ss in the last stitch of Row 1 of the star point.

Third Star Point:

Row 1: Sc in next 24 sts, (24 sts)

Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (23 sts)

Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (22 sts)

Rows 4 – 23: Repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Row 24: Sc2tog (1 st). Chain 1, turn your work so the front is facing you, ss in each row down the left side of the point to the circle base. Ss in the last stitch of Row 1 of the star point.

Fourth Star Point:

Row 1: Sc in next 24 sts, (24 sts)

Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (23 sts)

Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (22 sts)

Rows 4 – 23: Repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Row 24: Sc2tog (1 st). Chain 1, turn your work so the front is facing you, ss in each row down the left side of the point to the circle base. Ss in the last stitch of Row 1 of the star point.

Fifth Star Point:

Row 1: Sc in next 24 sts, (24 sts)

Row 2: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (23 sts)

Row 3: Turn, ch 1, sc2tog, sc across row. (22 sts)

Rows 4 – 12: Repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Rows 13 – 23: Switch to Pastel Yellow, repeat pattern, your number of stitches will decrease with each row.

Row 24: Sc2tog (1 st). Chain 1, tie off and weave in ends. Do not slip stitch down the side of this last point.

Optional Embroidery:

If you’d like to do the embroidery, you can use any black yarn you like. I placed the smile between Rows 5 and 6, and the eyes and eyelashes span Rows 5 and 6. I made a knot for the eyes, and just wove my yarn up and down for the smile and the eyelashes.

Back of pillow:

With Pastel Yellow, Make a magic circle. (Or use optional instructions in Notes.)

Round 1: Ch 2, dc 9 times into the magic circle, ss in top of starting ch to join. (10 sts)

Round 2: Ch 2, dc in first st, 2 dc in each stitch around circle, ss in top of starting ch to join. (20 sts)

Round 3: Ch 1, 1 sc in base of ch, *` `sc in next st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat from * to * around circle, 1 sc in last st, ss in top of starting ch to join. (30 sts)