1 Up Pillow Pattern

I am finally done with the 1 Up Pillow! After seeing this blanket on a different blog, I decided that I wanted to try my own Nintendo project. Now my pillow is not nearly as epic as the blanket, but I am still very proud of it.

Making this pillow is a lot easier than it looks. The entire pillow is done using a single crochet stitch and following a graph of the picture. Older Nintendo games translate really well to graph paper, because the graphics were made with very few pixels. Single crochet stitches are very square and sit right on top of each other so each pixel is a stitch. 

Here is the graph that I made for this pillow: It is 33 rows tall with 31 stitches in each row.

Using a 5.5mm hook with worsted weight acrylic yarn, my pillow came out to be 22X15 inches. 

Gauge isn't really important to this project, as long as you use a hook size that goes well with the yarn you are using. If you would like to make a pillow that is a different size or more square than rectangular, then you can figure out the number of rows and stitches you need by figuring out the gauge of a test swatch. 

Since the pillow can have more rows or stitches than the graph, there is an easy way to figure out where in your project you should start following the graph. 

Once you know how many rows high you would like your pillow (mine is 63), take that number and subtract the number of rows in the graph. Then take that number and divide by two. This number will tell you how many rows are before and after the graph. 

63 pillow rows - 33 graph rows = 30 rows/2 = 15 rows above and below the graph 

The same is done for the stitches:

81 pillow stitches - 31 graph stitches = 50 stitches/2 = 25 stitches before and after the graph

Now that you have your numbers written down, the rest is easy.

To change the colors, you will work the last single crochet of the first color until 2 loops remain on the hook. Then you will yarn over with the second color and draw it through the loop. Carry the unused color behind your design so that you can pick it up when you are switching back to it. Don't worry that the back of the project looks a little messy.

Once your pillow is finished, this will be hidden inside the pillow. Here is a video that I found helpful in explaining how to do this. 

The following pattern is written using my numbers, but you can customize it to your own needs. Just remember that when making your foundation chain, it needs to be your desired number of stitches (81 for me) plus 1 stitch. 

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Front:

With blue, chain 82. 

Row 1: sc in the second ch from the hook working into the back bump of the chain, sc in each ch across. Turn (81 st)

Rows 2 - 15: Ch 1, sc in each st across (81 st)

Row 16: Ch 1, sc in the first 25 stitches, put a stitch marker into the 25th st. sc in the next 32 stitches place a stitch marker in the 32nd stitch. (the 31 stitches in between the stitch markers are the first row of the graph). Continue to sc in the rest of the  st until you reach the end of the row (81 st)

Rows 17 - 48: Ch1, sc in each ch across following the graph for color changes (remember that the graph starts and ends in between the stitch markers that you left in the previous row)

Rows 49 - 63:  Ch 1, sc in each st across (81 st), fasten off

Back: Using brown ch 82

Row 1: sc in the second ch from the hook working into the back bump of the chain, sc in each ch across. Turn (81 st)

Rows 2 - 63: Ch 1, sc in each st across (81 st) do not fasten off 

Now place the brown side against the back of the blue side so that the picture is facing out. 

Single crochet through both the blue and brown halves in order to attach (side 1). When you get to the end of the row, chain 1 and crochet down the side of the pillow passing through both the brown and the blue halves (side 2). When you get to the end, chain 1 and sc again across the row passing through both the brown and blue halves (side 3). 

Now that three of the sides are attached, begin to stuff your pillow. Chain 1 and single crochet along the last side to close the pillow. finish stuffing while you work (side 4).

When you reach the end, your pillow should be completely closed. To ensure that your pillow will not come apart, sl st into the first 5 st of side 1. 

Fasten off, leaving a tail. 

Weave the tail into the brown side of your work and hide the end inside the pillow. 

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As this is the first pattern I have ever written, I would love any feedback that you might offer. If you find any errors, please let me know and I will make corrections. 

Also, it is fine to use this pattern to make projects for both sale and personal use. 

Please do not sell this pattern as your own. If you would like to share this pattern with a friend, feel free to send them a link to this blog post.