Free Cowhide Pillow Cover Crochet Pattern
Cowhide pillow cover crochet pattern
I am so excited to share this western themed pillow cover crochet pattern with you! This pillow is crocheted in two identical pieces and then stitched together around the edges with a white pillow insert inside. All of the stitches are single crochet, but you will switch colors between white and brown to make the cowhide look.
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Table of Contents
Is this pillow really cowhide?
No, it’s not! But it looks a lot like it, doesn’t it?! This crochet pillow cover is made with DK weight acrylic yarn, and the pillow insert is cotton fabric with polyester stuffing. So for our vegan friends out there, this pillow doesn’t use any animal products at all!
This pillow cover reminds me of my grandparents. They lived in a cabin on a ranch outside of Billings, Montana when I was a kid and had lots of western and Native American themed decor in their home.
This would be a fun way to add a western look to your living room, patio, or bedroom! These would make an excellent housewarming gift, or a set would be awesome for craft fairs or fundraiser auctions.
Where can I get this crochet pillow pattern?
This crochet pillow cover pattern is free right here in this post! Just scroll down for the free version.
If you decide to use the free version, please bookmark this page and come back to it when you work on your project rather than trying to print or screenshot the page. Your time on this page helps me get paid for my work, so thank you!
If you prefer a PDF that is great for downloading and printing, you can purchase one for just a few dollars on Ravelry or Etsy.
Cowhide Pillow, a free pillow cover crochet pattern
By April Garwood of Banana Moon Studio
(C)2024 April Garwood. As with all my patterns, please do not make paper or digital copies for others. Instead, please direct them to my website to get their own. Thank you!
Difficulty Level: Easy
Finished Measurements: About 18 inches square.
Yarn: King Cole Pricewise DK (100% Acrylic; 308 yds; 100 g; yarn weight category: DK/3/Light) 2 skeins each #46 Natural and #37 Taupe. This yarn can be purchased through your local yarn shop.
Crochet Hook: G (4 mm), or size needed to obtain gauge. I recommend Furl’s Resin Streamline crochet hooks. They have a wide-ergonomic handle, are lightweight, and have lots of pretty color options.
Notions: 18 inch pillow insert, tapestry needle.
Gauge: 19 sts x 21 rows = About 4 inches in sc.
Notes
This pattern uses standard US terms. For help with abbreviations, get my free, printable crochet abbreviations list here.
See this tutorial post for help with basic crochet stitches.
For tips to help with color changes, color management, chart reading, and minimizing tangles, see my Tapestry Crochet Tips tutorial post.
How to Change Colors
When changing colors, work the sc before the change to the last yo, yo with the new color, complete the st, and then work the next st in the new color.
How to Handle Colors
You can make “floats” or strands of yarn across the back of your piece between sections of the same color if you would like and just have one strand of each color in use at all times. Just be certain that you aren’t making these floats too tight. Each float will need a little give in it so that your piece can stretch without being pulled tight in spots.
What I preferred to do was wind off small center pull balls of yarn using this method to use as bobbins. Each section of Taupe or Natural had its own bobbin so that I didn’t make many floats across the back. This does tend to cause more tangling, but I found it manageable. When a bobbin runs out, add in a new one in the same way that you would change colors.
Either way, I suggest that when turning between rows, you turn back and forth in opposite directions instead of always turning in the same direction. Alternating directions of your turning causes less tangling.
Pillow Panel (make 2)
With Natural, ch 86.
Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook and each ch across, following chart, or line by line instructions below, for color placement – 85 sts.
Rows 2-94: Ch 1, sc in each st across, using chart, or line by line instructions below, for color placement. Fasten off.
Line by Line Color Instructions
Notes: The arrow at the start of each row indicates the direction for working across the chart. All even-numbered, or RS rows, you will work across the chart from right to left. All odd-numbered, or WS rows, you will work across the chart from left to right.
The name of the yarn color is placed in parentheses, “x number” indicates the number of stitches to work in that color.
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← Row 1 [RS]: (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 41, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 7
→ Row 2: (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 21, (Natural) x 41, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 7, (Taupe)
← Row 3: (Taupe), (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 41, (Taupe) x 21, (Natural) x 6
→ Row 4: (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 41, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 5: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe), (Natural), (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 46, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 6
→ Row 6: (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 20, (Natural) x 48, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 5
← Row 7: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 46, (Taupe) x 22, (Natural) x 3
→ Row 8: (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 23, (Natural) x 47, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 5
← Row 9: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe), (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural)
→ Row 10: (Natural), (Taupe) x 26, (Natural) x 20, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe), (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 11: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 28
→ Row 12: (Taupe) x 28, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe), (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 5
← Row 13: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 13, (Natural) x 16, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural), (Taupe) x 2, (Natural)
→ Row 14: (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 22, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 15, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 15: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 15, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 10
→ Row 16: (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 14, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe), (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 16, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 17: (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural), (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 15, (Taupe) x 15, (Natural) x 12, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 14
→ Row 18: (Natural) x 28, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 12, (Taupe) x 13, (Natural), (Taupe), (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural), (Taupe) x 2
← Row 19: (Taupe), (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 15, (Taupe) x 12, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 29
→ Row 20: (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 16, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 2
← Row 21: (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 15, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 22, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 4
→ Row 22: (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe), (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 5
← Row 23: (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 16, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 2
→ Row 24: (Natural), (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 6, (Taupe), (Natural) x 33, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 4
← Row 25: (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 2
→ Row 26: (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 4
← Row 27: (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 14, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 40
→ Row 28: (Natural) x 40, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 5
← Row 29: (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 12, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 39
→ Row 30: (Natural) x 22, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural), (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 19
← Row 31: (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 12
→ Row 32: (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 17
← Row 33: (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe), (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 12
→ Row 34: (Natural) x 12, (Taupe), (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 14
← Row 35: (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 21
→ Row 36: (Natural) x 22, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 21, (Natural) x 10
← Row 37: (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 23, (Natural) x 22, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 23
→ Row 38: (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 22, (Natural) x 8
← Row 39: (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 20, (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 23
→ Row 40: (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 8
← Row 41: (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 26, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural), (Taupe), (Natural) x 26
→ Row 42: (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 27, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 8
← Row 43: (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 27, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 14
→ Row 44: (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural), (Taupe), (Natural) x 2, (Taupe), (Natural), (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 28, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 8
← Row 45: (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 30, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural), (Taupe) x 13, (Natural) x 13
→ Row 46: (Taupe), (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural), (Taupe) x 16, (Natural) x 29, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 9
← Row 47: (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 23, (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 2
→ Row 48: (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 24, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 9
← Row 49: (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 3
→ Row 50: (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 9, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 16, (Natural) x 10
← Row 51: (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 16, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe)
→ Row 52: (Taupe), (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 14, (Natural) x 11
← Row 53: (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural), (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 5
→ Row 54: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 26, (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 6, (Taupe), (Natural) x 13
← Row 55: (Natural) x 20, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 26, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 7
→ Row 56: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 7
← Row 57: (Natural) x 7, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 38, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 7
→ Row 58: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 8, (Taupe) x 22, (Natural) x 38, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 6
← Row 59: (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 7
→ Row 60: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 20, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 5
← Row 61: (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 8
→ Row 62: (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 18, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 6
← Row 63: (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 22, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 8
→ Row 64: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 11, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural), (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 23, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 6
← Row 65: (Natural) x 6, (Taupe), (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 14, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural), (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 7
→ Row 66: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 13, (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 20, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 30
← Row 67: (Natural) x 31, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 22, (Taupe), (Natural) x 15, (Taupe) x 7
→ Row 68: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 38, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 29, (Taupe), (Natural)
← Row 69: (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 29, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 6
→ Row 70: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 27, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 71: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 27, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 40, (Taupe) x 6
→ Row 72: (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 39, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 28, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 73: (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 30, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 42, (Taupe) x 6
→ Row 74: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 76, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 75: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 40, (Taupe), (Natural), (Taupe), (Natural) x 32, (Taupe) x 6
→ Row 76: (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 32, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe), (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 27, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 77: (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 12, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 6, (Natural) x 32, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural)
→ Row 78: (Natural) x 36, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 16, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 5
← Row 79: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 17, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 7, (Natural) x 33, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural)
→ Row 80: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 33, (Taupe) x 25, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 4
← Row 81: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 19, (Taupe) x 19, (Natural) x 38, (Taupe) x 5
→ Row 82: (Taupe) x 5, (Natural) x 36, (Taupe) x 21, (Natural) x 20, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 83: (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 23, (Natural) x 37, (Taupe) x 4
→ Row 84: (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 37, (Taupe) x 23, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 85: (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 24, (Natural) x 41
→ Row 86: (Natural) x 36, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 3, (Natural), (Taupe) x 20, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 3
← Row 87: (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 17, (Taupe) x 20, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe), (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 2, (Natural) x 36
→ Row 88: (Natural) x 30, (Taupe), (Natural), (Taupe) x 3, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe), (Natural) x 5, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural), (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 18, (Taupe)
← Row 89: (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 9, (Natural), (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 6, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 27
→ Row 90: (Natural) x 26, (Taupe) x 12, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 8, (Natural), (Taupe) x 3, (Natural), (Taupe) x 9, (Natural) x 21
← Row 91: (Natural) x 21, (Taupe) x 13, (Natural), (Taupe) x 8, (Natural) x 3, (Taupe) x 14, (Natural) x 25
→ Row 92: (Natural) x 24, (Taupe) x 15, (Natural), (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 12, (Taupe), (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 4, (Natural) x 2
← Row 93: (Natural), (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 2, (Taupe) x 13, (Natural) x 25
→ Row 94: (Natural) x 25, (Taupe) x 13, (Natural), (Taupe) x 11, (Natural) x 4, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural) x 10, (Taupe) x 10, (Natural)
Assembly
If you want to weave in the ends of each of the pillow panels, do so now. I did not weave in mine. They are just loose inside the pillow. This is less secure, but I chose not to. I left each of my ends around 6 inches long. If you want to be sure that your stitches do not come loose, weave in the ends.
Rnd 1: With WS together, and working through both layers, join with sc at bottom right corner, working up right side, *[sc in next 9 row ends, skip next row end] 9 times, sc in remaining 4 row ends, 1 additional sc in corner, turn piece 90 degrees, sc in each st across next side**, 1 additional sc in corner, turn piece 90 degrees, repeat from * to **, join to first st with sl st – 344 sts.
Weave in ends from edging. Finished.
Chart
And that finishes this pillow cover crochet pattern. I would love to see your finished or in-process pillows! You can share photos on Instagram and tag me, or you can join my Facebook group and share them there.
Happy crocheting!
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