Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow: new pattern!



It’s pompom season, isn’t it? Am I the only one seeing them everywhere? Hats, blankets, shawls… I am subscribed to quite a few interior blogs and pompoms are looking at me from everywhere. And I just LOVE pompom pillows. Why not to design one myself, I thought the other day? And… Here it is! My Sakura Cabled Mandala pillow.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

Add this pattern to your Ravelry Queue

It’s been long ago since I released a mandala pattern last time, and I felt a bit guilty. Recently I’ve taken another designing road and started to look more into crochet garments. And my mandala ideas seemed to be very sad, and stuck behind the closed door. No way I could leave them there alone. So I picked up one of the ideas waiting for quite long.

The idea was to crochet two cabled mandalas in one or several colors, simple but with lots of texture. And turn them into a round pillow, or poof, decorated with pompoms.

Sakura Mandala pattern is now available HERE on Ravelry and HERE on Etsy with 25% discount for pattern release. The price you see is final and no codes are needed. This offer is valid through Monday, December 17th, 2018. And then the pattern will be listed at a full price.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

To my great pleasure Sakura Mandala turned out exactly how I imagined it. I chose to make it with two shades of SoftFun yarn* by Scheepjes - colors 2510, 2625, 2622 and  2530 (check your local Scheepjes store). But I bet it will look wonderful just in one color.

SoftFun yarn is DK weight and with 3.5mm hook my mandala was approx. 52cm/20.5in large across. A nice size for a trivet, or doily. And with finer yarn and smaller hook it could make a wonderful seat pillow, or stool cover. Possibilities are endless.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

If you search for other ideas of how to use crochet mandalas, please check THIS blog post. Maria, one of the testers who helped me with the pattern, made a beautiful bag. You can see other finished projects HERE on Ravelry.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

Predicting your questions – no, Sakura pillow is not a very difficult pattern. It’s made in classical crochet cabling technique. The stitches are simple, but sometimes it’s a bit tricky to understand where to place them. Lots of pictures are to help you. And, as always, a print friendly version of the pattern without pictures (for experienced crocheters) is available for download.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

Sakura pillow can be put together in several ways. You can just crochet two mandalas together along the edge with slip stitches or single crochet stitches, and stuff it as-you-go.

However I prefer to insert zip so that pillow cover is easy to wash. I usually sew zip by hand using large yarn needle and the same yarn as for the last round of the mandala.

With Sakura Pillow I went even further – I lined it with fabric (and I am pretty proud of myself!). I had Christmas themed fabric from Ikea, which I bought back in 2015. And it looked like a nice match for Sakura pillow.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

To line my pillow case I simply cut two circles of fabric in approx. the same size as blocked crocheted mandala (well, a bit bigger with some ease for the seam). Then I joined my mandalas with flat “zip” method leaving approx. 40-45cm opening for zip. And then I sewed fabric circles with the same opening (fabric circles were facing each other with the right side). Then I inserted fabric cover into a crocheted one and sewed zip into the opening by hand, placing it between fabric and crochet.

That’s it!

I couldn’t find exactly matching pillow form, so I bought one from Ikea – 65cm large. I frogged one of the seams and took almost half stuffing out, as I didn’t want my pillow to be stuffed too hard. Then I sewed pillow’s side again, reducing its size to approx. 56cm. I pulled all 4 corners inside shaping the pillow into a kind of a round, and put it into my ready Sakura pillowcase.

By the way, using a square pillow as a form was not my idea but Esther’s who was helping me to test the pattern. Isn’t her own Sakura Pillow adorable?
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

And here is a golden version of Sakura pillow made by Sandra.
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

When the pillow cover was finished I decorated it with small pompoms along the seam. In total they are 24 pompoms! And they made all the difference :)
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

I am very happy with my Sakura Pillow, and I think it makes a very modern a fresh accessory for my living room. Just need to buy a new sofa now, haha!
Sakura Cabled Mandala Pillow_crochet pattern by www.lillabjorncrochet.com

Sakura Mandala pattern is now available HERE on Ravelry and HERE on Etsy with 25% discount for pattern release. The price you see is final and no codes are needed. This offer is valid through Monday, December 17th, 2018.

See you soon!

Subscribe to a newsletter not to miss a single post. You can also follow me on FacebookPinterest and Instagram.



You may also like:

21 comments

  1. LOVE ❤️ LOVE ❤️ LOVE!
    Your patterns are always so beautifully designed and just what I want to make. Thank you Tatsiana for sharing your craft!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Can you tell me the color names you used? Just bought pattern - absolutely stunning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ahh, have I forgotten to include the colors? I was probably too enthusiastic about the release :) the yarn is SoftFun by Scheepjes and colors: 2510 + 2625 for one mandala, and 2622 + 2530 for another one.

      Delete
  3. NO not another must do pattern! How on earth do yo find the time? My ravellry 'queue' now reads LillaBjorn, LillaBjorn, LillaBjorn! I can't keep up!! Love them all! Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so sorry!! I promise not to release any new patterns till the end of this year :)

      Delete
  4. I love your designs! I've started this pattern and I'm having trouble on row 5. After the FPdc's, where does the next DC come in? Is the the first empty stitch behind the FPdc? My stitch count won't come out right on this row. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a bit tricky to judge without seeing pictures. Can you please e-mail me your progress picture?

      Delete
  5. Thank you, I think I figured it out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello! Now I'm stuck on row 19. I'm confused about step 3- FPdc around same stitch. Is that on the DC made in step 2? On your photo it's hard to tell exactly where the arrow is pointing. That FPdc around same St comes again in step 11.
    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure what you mean by "step 3". But generally when instructions say to make FPdc around same st - it means you should make FPdc around same st from previous round. If this is the source of your confusion... Otherwise, please, send me a progress picture. Thanks! :)

      Delete
  7. Thanks, that clears it up. I'm used to seeing "in previous round" on those stitches. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You made a fabulous pieces of art. Thanks for the share, looking forward to see more of your artwork. Keep up the posts! I especially am loving the circle with the simple mandala.

    ReplyDelete
  9. First, thank you for your amazing patterns! I am on round 21 and confused. The directions read "Ch2, *dc on top of the same st as second leg of previous FPdc2tog" but there hasn't been an FPdc2tog since row 18. Thanks for any help you can offer.

    ReplyDelete
  10. you are making FPdc2tog's on Rnd 21. When making very first dc of this round - please, refer to the note in the beginning of Rnd 21. The very first dc is made in same FPdc as join. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Question about stitch count. I bought this pattern on Ravelry. In round 22, there are 252 stitches, so 21 stitches in each repeat of 12. Then round 23 says total of 240 stitches, so 20 per repeat. Are we going down in stitch count? Then round 24 says total of 276 stitches, so 23 per repeat. Now we are increasing from 20 to 23 stitches per repeat? Thanks for your help, I love the pattern, just want to be sure I am reading this right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, increasing and decreasing can take place :) Please, follow the pattern as written. It should work.

      Delete
  12. No puedo hacer compras al exterior y me encantaria hacerlo.
    podria pagar con wester union?
    Isa
    GRacias

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunatly, at the moment I can accept any other payments rather than via Etsy, Ravelry and Loveknitting

      Delete
  13. Hello,

    Would I be able to purchase this pillow already made? I do not know how to knit or crochet
    thank you

    ReplyDelete

© LillaBjörn's Crochet World. Design by MangoBlogs.