Welcome back to The Crochet Crowd. I’m your host Mikey. Today I’m gonna show you the EZ Round Pillow and this is using Bernat alize Blanket-EZ yarn. You’re gonna need two balls in order to make this. I’m going to show you exactly what you’re looking at here because you may not see it and some of you are not crochets and knitters but this is really cool pillow and you’re going to learn how us crochets and knitters also to be able to do an increase which is afected in your hats and in anything around when it comes to knit or crochet. When looking at this pillow you’re going to notice that there’s pie shapes. Do you see it? It’s right there. So there’s one 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 and so what happens here, is that when you go to do an increase it’s always on a same stitch. So what happens is that it’s always continually growing out in order to form a circle. So if you’re not a crocheter or knitter you will notice this is done in hats and anything that is involving circles with the yarn arts. You’ll notice that this is pretty consistent. So what I have is that I’ve made a homemade diagram for you to be able to show you this and I’m gonna be taking you through rounds one through ten to completely on-camera to make sure that you’ve got it and so I’m gonna sit back relax. I’m gonna do my EZ knitting. You’re going to, you need to make two of these panels and I will get to that when you’re ready for that but in the meantime, let me show you my daygram, diagram to help you then progress further. When you go to look at the backend schematic of a pattern it could be knit or crochet you’re going to notice that there is a steady increase that happens and in this case what we’re going to do is that we’re gonna start off with 4 loops and then it will turn into 8 and then 16, 24, 32 and 40. So and then it continues all the way until we get to the tenth round and we just are incrementally increasing the entire time. So in red whenever there was an increase meaning two loops into one loop in order to do an increase. I’ve indicated it in red. So once we get beyond round number two you’re going to notice that we’re gonna do an increase and then there’s gonna be one loop by itself and then we’re back into an increase in one by itself. And you continue that same thing going all way round for number three. Number four we still are increasing and we’re always gonna be increasing on the first section of a pie shape that you see all the way through to round ten but then there’s gonna be more individual loops that sit by themselves. So round number four there’s gonna be two then by itself and then an increase so this is called an increase and then there’s uh, Individual’s. So what you have is that a number four there will be two loops that say, that sit by themselves and round number five you’ll have your increase and then there’s three loops that will sit by themselves and you continue along all the way to round number ten. On the side here what I have here is that in rounds one through two that there’s always gonna be an increase of there. So there’s gonna be two stitches into each loop. Then in round number three if you look at it there was an increase so there’s two into the first one and then one sits by itself. So it’s two and one. In number four it’s an increase and then two by itself. So what we have here is that it’s two by itself or two into the same one and then two by itself. This is the way that I write it down for myself behind the scenes. So number five you have two into the first one and then three by itself. So you have two and then three and so number six, seven, eight, nine and ten you have an increase so then in number six it’ll be two and then four by itself and seven, two and five; eight is two and six; nine is two and seven and ten is two and eight. So it’s an easy way to remember if you look at it like this. So if you wanna take a screenshot now is the time to do it in order to get my little chart for you here and I think it’s really quite awesome. So in the meantime we’re gonna get started on our very beginning and I’m gonna show you the Bernat alize Blanket-EZ yarn next. So you’re going to need two balls and one face of the pillow requires one ball on the other face requires the other so therefore you need two and this is Bernat alize Blanket-EZ and this is called Seaport Teals. So you’re going to slide off the ball band and you’re gonna work from the yarn from the outside of the ball and working in. As a preparation for this tutorial, I recommend that you get at least one color of a strand of yarn and then seven of the same color for something else that I’m gonna show you later on. So just get some spare yarn in going to be using that to be able to help you in order to see the increases as you go. So slide off your ball band and I’m gonna show you a round circle first and then we’re going to continue. So here’s a round circle and we’re gonna have to make two of these. Now because this is done in a continuous round you can almost see a clockwise motion going on as you’re doing this as you continue along. The trick is, is to make sure that none of these loops are twisted. So they’re backwards. There’s a few that are twisted in here. This is one of my very first projects I ever tried. I don’t think it’s a deal breaker. It’s variegated yarn, it still looks awesome. So when you look at it from a back perspective like so it looks like almost like a stovetop and we’re going in a complete revolution of like this. So those strands of yarn that I had you do in order to have those, um, in order to keep track you need those strands of yarn in order to keep yourselves in balance with this particular idea. So can you see the actual pie shapes when you look at the real sample like so. It’s harder to see it when it comes to a variegated yarn like this but you can actually see the size of this pillow is really quite substantial. So there’s a pie, pie, pie. See, do you see them? They’re really quite awesome. So what I had is that I had Daniel to do his in a solid color so that you can see that as well. So here’s Daniel’s example here. They’re both exactly the same size because the loop determines the actual size of it. It’s not your hands or the way that you pull it through it’s the loop itself and you can see the pie shapes are more evident on a solid piece here. Now what I’d like to show you is sometimes you can and get really carried away and you can accidentally leave loops not used in the back. So if that happens to you, it’s not a deal breaker it will still keep its balance. However, I really strongly recommend that you don’t allow that to happen. So Daniel allowed it happened a couple of times. What you can do to if this is happening to you you can just take a crochet hook and just kinda tuck it in so that it’s out of the, out of the way. But this is the inside of the pillow anyway, and it’s not, it’s never gonna be seen anyway. So it’s really kind of not a deal breaker at all. But what will happen is that if you do drop a loop like so you will get it a little bit of an extra gap in the actual pillow face. So that’s something that you wanna kinda avoid. So if, if push comes to shove avoid this and and uh, and if you do have that happening if you just fold it up into the next loop it’ll close off that, that section as well. So let’s continue then. We need to create our round circle first, and then we’re going to start ones going round by round. So let’s begin our first round. So we need to create the round circle first. So you need to count the first four loops and you notice I got my scissors in my hand because I know what I’m doing. So what you need to do is that there’s no starting strand to work with so you need to cut that to make that happen. So this is the same strand that’s going up and down, but it’s tacked right at the bottom to create the loop. So what you wanna do is turn it upside down like it’s a horseshoe shape and I want you to glide the scissors up underneath in directly into the middle and you are gonna cut the yarn that is holding that loop together. That doesn’t release any other loops only this one. You were going to use this yarn tail then to tie a circle. So what you wanna do is that you wanna count out four loops. So 1, 2, 3 and 4 and I want you to tie this strand here in between the 4th and the 5th to create a circle. So just wanna tie it up. Now you’re gonna think yourself you’re gonna see a hole in the right in the middle of it, you’re not because this is a really thick yarn. So what you wanna do is just tie that up. So 1, 2, 3 and 4. So tie it and let this straggler, the loose end fall towards the back. If you need a crochet hook in order to help you now’s the time to be able to implement that into your project as well. So I might just do that for myself and just kind of tie things together. And what you have when you get that all said and done, there should be four of these loops. So this here is already leading to the yarn ball. So that’s not included. So these are your four very center pieces that you would like to be able to start with. So just I’m gonna fix this a little bit better and then I’ll be right back and we’ll start round number one. Now once you have fixed it in just get rid of any extra long tail. That will be out of your way so that you don’t need to worry about it and then turn it back over. So make sure that tail stays on the back side of your project at all times. So what I need you to do is that I need you to actually figure out the last stitch. So what we’re going to do is that we’re gonna rotate in a counterclockwise position and this will be, see where the working strand is, so my first stitch would be right here. And what I want to do is that I want to put this strand here around the fourth loop and this will indicate to me when I have done an actual circle around. So when I hit that I’m going to stitch into it but that is my last one and I keep moving that up. The other white ones that I have in place I’m not ready for yet. So to get started what I want to do is that I wanna place two loops into each one of these four. So to do that what you want to do, is that because I’m gonna go in this motion I want the strand to be coming from that side. So stack them together. Now stack the second one so this is the working one. So stack them together so that the first one is behind the second one and push both of them through the loop from the back side to the front. So that is two loops now into one. See how it just naturally wants to open up on itself. So that’s what you want. So again stacking the first one and the second one. So the second one is in front and go into the next loop and you’re gonna do all four loops like that. Now I originally stacked the first one to be in front and I just net, it just it’s better and it’s easier to stack the first one so it’s behind. See and it just naturally wants to open up. So you’re coming into the very last stitch here, so stacking, make sure you get every loop. Stack it and then push in from behind. So you’re always gonna work from the behind coming forward. Now this is the very last stitch and I can tell because that’s where it’s indicated in red. So what I want to do is that I wanna allow these to open back up. See how it naturally, see even if I go this way, it just wants to go the other way. It’s keeping itself in order. So I’m want to release this one and put it on to the second one of that last round. And that’ll indicate to me next time that this is my last stitch. So this is round number one and what we have is that we put two loops into each one. And so after you are done just pull up on the loops making sure they’re settling into place. Make sure they’re not twisted upside down and you’ll see if they are you can tell and making sure that they’re already through your next round. So, where is your next stitch? It’s the one right after the last one. So let’s continue that into round number two. So let’s continue to round number two. We’re going to take two loops again and make sure, so do you see how you can see if they’re twisted or not? If you follow the strand it’ll go up and then back down and then over. So if it was like this, you can see that it’s got a twist. So just stack them without a twist and go into your very first, now do you see what’s happened? I’ve accidentally got the wrong ones in my hand. So this is a great problem to show you. So what I have is that this is actually the first loop and that was other one was the second. It’s easy to do that. So just keep your eyes open and and your [chuckles] your mind open as well and just continue to pull through two loops. You’re just gonna move to the next two and put two loops into each one of these going all the way around for round number two. See? Once you get used to this product, you will understand the spacing of these loops which makes it a lot easier. Now what you want to do is make sure that when you’re putting two loops through that you don’t accidentally have them so that one is inside and tucked in the other. You wanna make sure that they’re kind of free from each other even though that you’re grouping them in sets of two as you bring them through. So do you see why the, the first strand has been marked with or the last strand has been marked with red? It’s very easy because you’re working in a continuous round to not understand when you’ve gone all the way around. So that’s why you’ve done that. It’s not just because it’s red yarn and it’s pretty it’s there for a purpose. So after this round what I’m gonna do for you is that we’re going to, I’m just gonna tell you the instruction I’ll show you what to do and then the video will, I would do the work behind the camera and then you will then come back and continue along in the tutorial. So this is the very last one I can tell because it’s got the, the marker and again, the last one which is right here is the new one to indicate the last one and you wanna keep moving that up. So once you get a round done the best thing is to do is to lay it down and tug on these loops and you will be able to tell if that there’s any weird twisting going on or if something looks out of place. So let’s begin round number three. So it has two slash one. So the first one that you start with has two loops and you’re going to put two into the first loop. Then the next one is the one. So it’s one by itself. So the next loop goes into the next one by itself. Okay, so then we have another increase again, so it’s gonna be two and the next one is one. So please do that all the way around for round number three. So it’s two and one. So I’m coming up to my last one on round number three and so it’s just one by itself and that’s only because I’m keeping it count because the one before it had two into the same one. So move this stitch marker now. This is called the stitch marker if I haven’t referred to it as that which I don’t think I have. So this is, move that stitch marker up and therefore that’s your new last, last one. So what I wanted to do, it gets easier if you do what I’m about to show you that’s completely optional and it’s not as hard to lose count if you start marking your pie shapes. Remember we have eight pies. So I’m, all I’m just doing now is just stretching out my stitches making sure that there’s no weird twists going on and what I wanna do is that I wanna mark my five pie shapes, so let’s do that next. So what I wanna do is that we know that the pie shapes and I wanna keep this red one as my last one. So I’m not gonna mess with that. So this indicates to me that this is the starting of a new pie and you see that there’s two and then one and then two and one. So what I want to do is after the two and one I want you to use something else and I want you to drag a stitch marker through here. And this is kind of like the line on the graph that I showed you and it’s right in between, see that there’s two and one. So here’s another two and one and so what I want to do is that I wanna drag another yarn strand through there and I wanna indicate my pie shapes to keep myself in balance so I can see what, when, whenever I see it. And if you do this, you don’t have to obsessively count because you can trust in yourself. So going in between the groups to indicate your pie shape and as you pass by them what you can just do is just move up these lines in order to continue it. So two and one. Now Daniel didn’t lose count as much as I did so whenever you have a tool that is like this cost you nothing to do whenever you have a tool like that like a trick then you wanna use your tricks in order to make it easier for yourself. So if you’re watching TV, you can actually start relying on yourself through any kind of visual aids to make sure that you’re not screwing it up in any way. So I’m continually going around and then this is my last one I believe. So start round number four, catching the next loop and then the first one is gonna get two into it and then the next two in a row are gonna be one each. So 1 and 2 are one by itself. Okay, so the repeat pattern for round number four is that the next one is gonna have two and you can indicate see what the, that the pie shape is starting again. So you can tell that so, so there’s two into that one and then the next two are by themselves. Please do that all the way around for round number four. I’m coming up to the last pie section in round number four. The next one is two into the same one and then the final two are one by itself and then I’m back on the red stitch marker so that indicates, that’s the last stitch so once that is done I wanna move that stitch marker up. So just taking it off I’m just putting it through that one again. So don’t lose track of that one. So we’re gonna move on to round number five next. Round number five is uh, there all, I’m gonna say they’re all an easy round because they really truly are. So the last one when we did is that we put two into the same one and then two by itself so in round number five, it’s two into the first one and then three by itself. So let’s just immediately start. Make sure that you turn it over once in a while to make sure that you don’t see any loops that are hanging out of the back because if they are hanging out of the back, it means that you accidentally skipped them. So you’ll have to frog or take it apart in order to get yourself back up. So the first one is two into the first one and then the next three are one by itself and I’m using the white stitch markers to indicate where the new pie starts. Do you see that, it’s right here. Okay, so there is the two that you see so the first one is gonna get two for the increase because it’s a new pie shape and then the next three in a row are gonna be one by itself. Please do that all the way around for round number five. So just finished up round number five. Don’t forget that after each round you should tug on your loops to make sure that they are not twisting in any way and if they are twisting just turn it okay, so just make sure that they look like they’re lying flat. The ones that you may question are the ones that are have two into the same one and please do that all the way around. So we’re halfway done as far as the amount of rounds that we need to do so far because it’s only ten rounds and we’re now just completed round number five. So if you go and just start tugging as you get it, you see it’s looking better and better because you’re taking the slack that these are, that these are need or using in order to get it to take its shape. Let’s begin round number six. The first one will be two into the same one like we always are going to do throughout this whole thing, put two into the same one and in number six there’s going to be four loops that sit by itself. So the next four so 1, 2, 3 and 4. Then you see that you got the two there again so that means it’s a new pie shape. If you follow that line up that you put the stitch marker in you can see it’s a new pie shape as well. So it’s a double confirmation and you are just going to put two in the first one and then the next four by itself. Again don’t forget to once an oil check to make sure that there’s no loops on the back that you have skipped. So, I, I keep forgetting to check that and I’m doing that live on camera so I never know if I’m gonna turn it around and forget something. So four in a row is going to be it. So once you get used to this pattern you’re going to notice that when you can actually see when there’s an increase. Can you see when there’s an increase? Absolutely! Do you see that? See these two, see how they’re coming out of the same hole? That’s an increase. So you can really almost stop counting, probably wouldn’t recommend it but if you feel confident enough you can do it and so there should be four in a row. So 1, 2, 3 and 4 and then you’re back on the increase again in order to continue. So do this for then for round number six, two into the same and then four by itself. So just ended round number six. I’m just tugging on all my loops to make sure that there’s nothing weird going on. It gives you an opportunity to really kind of admire your work if you’ve never crocheted or knit before, you know you’re pretty much doing the same thing. It’s more knitting than anything and what you’re doing is you’re doing it without the assistance of needles and it’s really quite awesome. I’m not a strong knitter myself and so when I can do this and have the knitting look is actually makes me really quite happy. So by allowing you to just stretch these out it really gives it the look that you need to keep yourself organized. So originally when I was doing this, I wasn’t doing that and then it was getting confused on which loops to use. Let’s move along then to round number seven. I’ve already moved up my stitch marker from the last round. Number seven is two and five. So it’s two into the first 1 and then five by itself. So there’s two and then the next five or by itself so 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Okay, and then you can follow the pie shape up see, and that’s where the two is anyway, and you restart. So it’s two and then five all over again. So please do that all the way around for round number seven. Three more rounds to go. Number seven has just been finished. I stretched out all the loops and now I’m good to go. and there is my last one. So the first one is gonna be two into the first loop that you have and then the next six are gonna be by themselves. So let’s count those it together. So 1, and if you’re looking for indications of the increase, you don’t need to count so much. So that was 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and then the increase is next I can see it, can you see it? See how there’s two coming out of the same one. It’s like bunny ears. So then that’s the increase so put two together to do the first one and then the next six are by themselves. So please do that all the way around for round number eight. Okay, let’s go on to round number nine. I’ve already pulled out my loops. So everything sitting quite nicely so number nine the first two are grouped. That’s your increase and then in number nine the next seven are then by themselves. So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 and my increase should be the next one which it is. See how you see the bunny ears coming out of the same one so then that’s gonna be two into the first one again and then seven. Please do that all the way around for round number nine. Finally, I’m on my last round. So this is round number ten. So we’re obviously gonna put two into the first one and then next eight in a row are each going to be by themselves. So let’s begin round number ten. The first one is gonna be two and then the next eight are going to be on their own. So, please do that all the way around. So let’s just count these out. So we have 1 and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 and then the next one if the counting is right should be an increase once again. So I’m looking for the bunny ears, which is next that you see, So again, there will be two into the first one and then eight by itself. Please join me at the end of this round. We’ll have further instructions on what to do because this is your last round. So now I’m all the way complete. I have my ten rounds and so you want to just cut your yarn several loops away from the very end of the last stitch over here. So what I would probably recommend is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. I would probably cut the 5th, in between the 5th and the 6th on this one here and cut it and just put this aside. So now what you need to do then is you need to do a second one of these but do not fasten off this yarn at all. And so what I’m going to do is I’m gonna bring back my other samples that I have and I’m going to show you how to be able to put the two of these faces together. So please do a second one of these. Just put this aside. Keep the loops out where they should be. Just make sure you go around it and just tug on your loops making sure they’re all good and then I will see you next as we put these together with its friend that you need to make now. So now we have two examples here. I’ve done them off-camera. I showed you these in the very beginning. So there is this Daniel’s purple one. This is my sample one that I did and so what you wanna do is that you wanna put the the wrong side that you see on the inside of the pillow so that when you flip them up like this, this is the good side and the good side. We don’t need to put our pillow form in right, right away because the fact is that we gotta get ourselves started. So what I need you to do is that I need you to put the yarn, remember I had you cut one of them. So that, that’s the one that’s gonna stay on top and what you can just do is just leave it as is okay, and then just tuck it in the pillow. Now for tutorial reasons I wanna pull this sample apart and show you another tutorial in the future. So all I’m just gonna do is I’m just gonna put this inside. Okay, so pretend that’s gone. I know totally cheating right? So I wanna use this yarn for something else. So what you can just do is that right where you’ve left off if you’ve got any stitch markers left in you can just take those out. Okay, and essentially what you wanna, so what you’re going to do is that you’re going to take the next available loop that’s, that you have here and you’re gonna go through the purple, through one loop and you’re going to go through the one that pretty much closely matches this one here. Then you’re going to go to the next loop available to you on the working strand and go through the next loop on the purple and then the next loop on the top. But before you go any further, so you have two loops available to you. I want you to feed these loops. So feed this one into this one here and pull and you’re essentially attaching them together. So let’s just review again. So you just come to the working strand, come to the next loop that is on that is part of the, so take the next loop that’s available on the working strand go through the purple section and then go through the next loop available on the top like that and then take the existing one that’s already there and push it through and pull. Okay, so take the next strand here on the working strand go into the next loop on the purple. Okay, come to the next one on the top and then all you’re just gonna do is take that existing one push it through and pull over. Let me show you one more time. So the working strand to the purple, to the top make sure you get the right one and then once that’s through feed that through the one that’s already there and keep on going around. So as you get more than halfway what you wanna do is that you wanna insert your pillow form. So you can just head off on over to Joann. I got the wrong size here but this is from Joann and you take off the wrapper obviously and you’re gonna put it inside and then as you’re coming around you’re going to secure this pillow on the interior of this and you can see that you can get a really cool look. Once you get all the way back around you’re going to cut the loops open in order to have it so at the very end you just cut the loops open and then you’re going to use the straggler then to weave it in with the darning needle and we have other tutorials available on how to do that. So this is a really neat concept. So remember how I cut the loops when I first started here to make the ring? You may wanna cut two or three loops and then use that to be able to fasten that in to make it look really amazing at the end. So this is how you would create a pillow and this is a really neat idea and you can see that it’s a lot of fun. So until next time I’m Mikey on behalf of The Crochet Crowd. We’ll see you again real soon. Bye, bye 👋 [music playing]