A crochet dragon pattern that is a fun and whimsical crochet Dragon Eye Pillow and a free pattern by Hooked by Kati.  This is a pattern review by Nana’s Crafty Home.

My oldest granddaughter’s birthday is the first part of January.  Because her birthday comes so closely on the heels of Christmas and after my crochet business’s busy season I feel like I never give her birthday the attention it deserves.

Recently a good crochet designer friend of mine – Kati of Hooked by Kati – released an amazing crochet Dragon eye pillow pattern.  Since our entire family is hooked on fantasy stories, we love all the J.R.R. Tolkien books and have watched the Hobbit movies too many times to count.  Dragons are definitely in the love category for all of us and particularly my granddaughter so I knew this would make the perfect gift for her. I immediately purchased the pattern, bought all of the yarn and I was determined that I would make it for my dear Lauren.  

Kati’s designs are primarily focused on magical amigurumi designs.  She has so many different amazing crochet designs if you love mythical creatures or dragon amigurumi patterns! I have links to all of her free crochet dragon patterns at the bottom of this post – go check them out!

I started working on her pillow right after Christmas and it was so much fun to crochet another designer’s pattern!  After many busy design weeks it was wonderful that I didn’t have to worry about math or measurements or frogging because things weren’t matching the design in my head. Such a delight!

The best part? Lauren loves her new dragon eye pillow and I know it will be a treasured keepsake for her. The best kind of gift!

Crochet Dragon pattern pillow details

Kati primarily used Big Twist Value yarn with the addition of one skein of Red Heart Super Saver for her dragon crochet pattern.  This was my first introduction to Big Twist Value and I found it to be extremely economical and a joy to use.  I purchased it at Joann’s and they were having a huge sale on this brand so I spent less than $20 total for all of the yarn in this pattern!  The only color I couldn’t get my hands on was the Burnt Orange colorway so I substituted it with orange and I think it turned out just fine. Red Heart Super Saver has a couple of orange colors in their line that would be a good substitute as well.

If you wanted to make two pillows you would just need to purchase 2 extra skeins of the Wine color to have enough for two complete pillows! This project would make a great stash buster project as well. Use your favorite worsted weight yarn or raid your stash for the perfect dragon colors! I think green would make another great choice.

I have quite a bit of the yarn still available but won’t be making a second dragon pillow.  However, I did ask Kati’s permission to design a matching Dragon Eye “Eye’ll be Seeing You” Towel Topper perfect little project to use your leftover bits of yarn! Check out the free Dragon Eye Towel Topper crochet pattern!

You will also need an 18″ x 18″ pillow insert or fiber poly fil if you prefer.  I used an 18″ x 18″ pillow insert I already had on hand which worked out perfectly with the gauge provided.

Crochet Dragon Pattern Details

You will be making two identical crochet panels with one of my very favorite one row repeat stitches – the Suzette Stitch.  Creates a lovely and gentle texture!  These were fun to work on in the evening while watching one of our shows.  If you aren’t familiar with the Suzette Stitch you can check out my complete photo and video tutorial of the Suzette Stitch as well.

Once the pillow panels were finished it was time to work on the dragon’s eye.  The dragon eye is worked as a perfect round circle.  I must admit I changed up my eye slightly just because I am in the habit of working my increases a certain way and found it easier to do what I am used to.  Amid those rounds of standard single crochet increases you will work a couple of rounds of single crochet spike stitches.  I love spike stitches and the addition really makes the eye pop!

When I originally saw the pattern I wasn’t terribly excited about the horns because I thought those would have to be sewn on at the end and I always dread sewing pieces together.  I will make all the pieces of a project and then it will sit until I get up the gumption to sew it together.  

The design for the horns is absolutely genius and there is no need for sewing the individual horns to the pillow! You will crochet the horns right into the top of the upper eyelid – so fantastic!

In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how little sewing there was overall in this project!  The eyelids are crocheted on to the eye so really the only sewing is to attach the slit on the eye and the eye on the pillow after the eyelids are crocheted to the eye itself!

Once the eye/eyelid/horn combo is sewn to the pillow you will then crochet the panels together, stuff and then finish crocheting together.

Kati’s pattern can be found free on her blog but I definitely recommend purchasing her PDF.  It contained several additional photos that helped me with any tricky bits – especially explaining the horns and how they were crocheted into the eyelid.

I really think that advanced or adventurous beginners could tackle this crochet pattern but would ultimately list it as an intermediate design due to the sewing and special stitches.  Would make a fantastic project to try out some of these additional skills though!

You can find the free written pattern instructions for this crochet dragon pattern on Kati’s blog.  Purchase the ad-free PDF on Etsy for all the little extras which are totally worth it!

Supplies

• Big Twist Value yarn, 100% acrylic, worsted weight, 380 yds/6 oz/170 g,; Wine (WINE), 3 balls; Cream (CRM), < 1 ball; Burnt Orange (ORG), < 1 ball; Varsity Gold (GOLD), < 1 ball; Black (BLK), < 1 ball. 
• Red Heart Super Saver yarn, 100% acrylic, worsted weight, 364 yds/7 oz/198 g, Cornmeal (CORN), < 1 ball.
• H (5.00 mm) crochet hook
• G (4.00 mm) crochet hook
• Polyfil stuffing
• 18” x 18” pillow form
• Tapestry needle
• Straight pins
• Stitch markers
• Scissors

Instructions written in English, in US terms, using Craft Yarn Council abbreviations.

Measurements

18” x 18” pillow

You will be using the following skills in this free crochet pattern: Chains (ch), slip stitch (sl st), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), Right side (RS), Wrong side (WS), increases and decreases, mattress stitch sewing.

Check out a complete stitch tutorial for the Suzette Stitch (a fantastic stitch for blankets!).

And, if you love dragons, check out all of Kati’s dragon patterns – so many delightful ones to choose from!

Dragon Claw Clutch Purse free crochet pattern

Vincent the Dragon amigurumi pattern

Toby the Newborn amigurumi Dragon pattern

Fizzle the Baby Dragon amigurumi free crochet pattern

Charlie the Celestial Dragon free crochet pattern

Wonder the Birthday Dragon free crochet pattern

Dragon Easter Basket free crochet pattern

Hatching Dragon Egg free crochet pattern

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