Free Dragon Eye Pillow Crochet Pattern from Hooked by Kati
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Dragon Eye Pillow | Free Crochet Pattern

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Why not decorate your home with a crochet dragon eye pillow? This free crochet pattern teaches you how to make this 3-dimensional, realistic dragon eye on a textured pillow.

I adore dragons. What’s not to love!?

They are the symbol of strength and wonder — a magical creature that can be both ferocious and loyal, written into the lore of many fantasy worlds.

So of course, my house is decorated with dragon-themed designs. This dragon eye pillow pattern has been in my sketch book for a long time, and this year, I finally finished my project. It was the perfect addition to my Halloween crochet projects!

Dragon Pillow Cover Free crochet pattern from Hooked by Kati

Construction

The crochet pillow is built to fit around an 18″ x 18″ square pillow form. The form is left in the pillow permanently, but if you are using it as a seasonal item, you can always add a zipper or buttons to make it a pillow cover only.

First, you’ll make the eye, then make the eyelids and attach them to the eyeball so you have one large eye piece to attach to the pillow base.

The pillow is full of textures, using bobble stitches, spike stitches, and amigurumi-style horns to create a realistic dragon eye for your home.

The free pattern below (scroll a bit farther) has all of the instructions you need to create your dragon eye pillow.

The Premium Pattern 2.0 is also full of photo tutorials to help you with assembly and placement. It’s the ideal way to work a Hooked by Kati pattern. And with checkboxes for every row, it is easy to track your progress on the pillow bases without having to count your rows with stitch markers.

You can get the Premium Pattern 2.0 on Ravelry or Etsy.

Dragon Eye Pillow | Free Crochet Pattern

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

You Need to Know

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. Be eager to learn and ready to have fun!

For a quick refresher of these basic skills, click here.

You Will Practice Intermediate Techniques:

  • How to add texture to work with folds, spike sts, and bobbles
  • How to use pins to perfectly place and attach parts
  • How to attach parts without sewing
  • How to use amigurumi skills to make home decorations

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) Furls hook
  • G (4.00 mm) Furls hook
  • Polyfil stuffing
  • 18” x 18” pillow form
  • Tapestry needle
  • Straight pins
  • Stitch markers

Measurements

18” x 18” pillow

Gauge

In “(sc, dc) in next st, skip 1” pattern, with H hook

22 sts x 20 rows = 6” x 6”

Pattern Notes

  • Work in continuous rounds. Do not slip stitch unless otherwise specified by the pattern.
  • For best results, use standard decreases, not invisible ones.
  • For best results, assemble parts in order as directed.
  • Weave in attachment ends at very end of project in case pieces require repositioning.

Special Stitches

Spike-st – Spike stitch: Insert hook into st two rows below working st, yarn over, draw up a loop, yarn over, pull through both loops on hook.

Picot – Picot: Ch 3, sl st in 3rd ch from hook.

Bobble-st – Bobble stitch: [Yo, insert hook into st, yo, pull up a loop, yo, pull through 2 loops on hook] 5 times in same st, yo, pull through all 6 loops on hook.

Instructions

Thank you for sticking around and reading my patterns right here on the blog, without copy/pasting. When you stay here to follow patterns, I am compensated for my time and energy. This is a great, free way to support a designer. If you would like to save this for later, press CTRL + D to bookmark the page or click the heart/star on your mobile browser.

Pillow Base

(Make 2)

(check gauge before beginning to ensure an 18” x 18” pillow)

With WINE, using H hook, ch 66.

Row 1: (Sc, dc) in second ch from hook, [skip 1, (sc, dc) in next st] 31 times, skip 1, sc in last st, turn. (65)

Row 2: Ch 1, [(sc, dc) in next st), skip 1] 32 times, sc in last st, turn. (65)

Rows 3-60: Repeat Row 2.

Bind off.

Set aside.

Eyeball

With ORG, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6)

Rnd 2: Inc in each st around. (12)

Rnd 3: [Sc, inc] 6 times. (18)

Rnd 4: [2 sc, inc] 6 times. (24)

Rnd 5: [3 sc, inc] 6 times. (30)

Rnd 6: [4 sc, inc] 6 times. (36)

Rnd 7: [5 sc, inc] 6 times. (42)

Rnd 8: Change to GOLD, [sc, spike-st (see Special Stitches)] 21 times. (42)

Rnd 9: [6 sc, inc] 6 times. (48)

Rnd 10: [7 sc, inc] 6 times. (54)

Rnd 11: [8 sc, inc] 6 times. (60)

Rnd 12: Change to CORN, [sc, spike-st] 30 times. (60)

Rnd 13: [9 sc, inc] 6 times. (66)

Rnd 14: [10 sc, inc] 6 times. (72)

Rnd 15: [11 sc, inc] 6 times. (78)

Rnd 16: [12 sc, inc] 6 times. (84)

Rnd 17: [13 sc, inc] 6 times. (90)

Rnds 18-19: Sc evenly around.

Bind off, leaving long tail for sewing.

Set aside.

Eye Slit

With BLK, using G hook, ch 26.

Row 1: Sc in second ch from hook, 24 sc, turn. (25)

Rnd 2: (worked around Row 1) Do not chain, inc, 11 sc, (dc, picot (see Special Stitches), dc) in next st, 11 sc, inc, do not turn work, rotate so starting ch faces up, working in back of starting ch, inc, 11 sc, (dc, picot, dc) in next st, 11 sc, inc. (56)

Rnd 3: Change to ORG, inc, 13 sc, 3 sc in picot, 13 sc, 2 inc, 13 sc, 3 sc in picot, 13 st, inc, sl st in 1st st to join. (66)

Bind off leaving long tail for sewing.

Set aside.

Small Horn

(Make 1)

With CRM, using G hook, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6)

Rnd 2: [2 sc, inc] twice. (8)

Rnd 3: [3 sc, inc] twice. (10)

Rnd 4: Sc evenly around.

Bind off and weave in ends.

Set aside.

Medium Horns

(Make 2)

With CRM, using G hook, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6)

Rnd 2: [2 sc, inc] twice. (8)

Rnd 3: [3 sc, inc] twice. (10)

Rnd 4: [4 sc, inc] twice. (12)

Rnd 5: Sc evenly around.

Bind off and weave in ends.

Set aside.

Large Horn

(Make 1)

With CRM, using G hook, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6)

Rnd 2: [2 sc, inc] twice. (8)

Rnd 3: [3 sc, inc] twice. (10)

Rnd 4: [4 sc, inc] twice. (12)

Rnd 5: [5 sc, inc] twice. (14)

Rnd 6: [6 sc, inc] twice. (16)

Rnd 7: Sc evenly around.

Bind off and weave in ends.

Set aside.

X-Large Horn

(Make 1)

With CRM, using G hook, ch 2.

Rnd 1: 6 sc in second ch from hook. (6)

Rnd 2: [2 sc, inc] twice. (8)

Rnd 3: [3 sc, inc] twice. (10)

Rnd 4: [4 sc, inc] twice. (12)

Rnd 5: [5 sc, inc] twice. (14)

Rnd 6: [6 sc, inc] twice. (16)

Rnd 7: [7 sc, inc] twice. (18)

Rnd 8: [8 sc, inc] twice. (20)

Rnd 9: Sc evenly around.

Bind off and weave in ends.

Set aside.

Upper Eyelid

With WINE, using G hook, ch 58.

Row 1: Hdc in third ch from hook, 55 hdc. turn. (56)

Row 2: Ch 2 (does not count at st), 56 hdc, turn. (56)

Rows 3-5: Repeat Row 2.

Row 6: Ch 1, fold work in half longways, working through next st and back side of corresponding st of starting ch, 56 sc, turn. (56)

Row 7: Ch 1, sl st 15, [12 sc, inc] 3 times, leave 2 sts unworked, turn. (15 sl st, 42 sts)

Row 8: Ch 1, [3 sc, bobble-st (see Special Stitches)] 10 times, 2 sc, turn. (10 bobbles, 32 scs)

Row 9: Ch 1, [13 sc, inc] 3 times, turn. (45)

Row 10: Ch 1, 15 sc, hold eyeball behind work, RS facing WS of eyelid, working through last rnd of both eyelid and eyeball, 30 sc, turn. (15 sts on eyelid, 30 sts through both layers)

Row 11: Ch 1, [14 sc, inc] 3 times, turn. (48)

Row 12: Ch 1, [3 sc, bobble-st] 9 times, 10 sc, dec, turn. (9 bobbles, 38 scs)

Row 13: Do not chain, dec, 12 sc, inc, [15 sc, inc] twice, turn. (49)

Row 14: Ch 1, sc on eyelid only, hold X-Large Horn RS to RS to eyelid, working through ONE layer of horn and eyelid, 10 sc, sc on eyelid only, hold Large Horn RS to RS to eyelid, working through ONE layer of horn and eyelid, 8 sc, sc on eyelid only, hold Medium Horn RS to RS to eyelid, working through ONE layer of horn and eyelid, 6 sc, sc on eyelid only, hold Medium Horn RS to RS to eyelid, working through ONE layer of horn and eyelid, 6 sc, sc on eyelid only, hold Small Horn RS to RS to eyelid, working through ONE layer of horn and eyelid, 5 sc, 7 sc on eyelid only, dec, turn. (5 horns attached, 48 sts)

Row 15: Do not chain, dec, 6 sc, 5 sc on Small Horn only, sc, 6 sc on Medium Horn only, sc, 6 sc on Medium Horn only, sc, 8 sc on Large Horn only, sc, 10 sc on X-Large Horn only, sc, turn. (48)

Row 16: Ch 1, 46 sc, dec. (47)

Bind off leaving VERY long tail for sewing.

Push bobbles out to RS. Lightly stuff horns.

With eyeball facing up, count 12 sts down the left side. Place marker in 12th st. Count 15 sts down right side. Place marker in 15th st.

Lower Eyelid

With WINE, using G hook, ch 50.

Row 1: Hdc in third ch from hook, 47 hdc, turn. (48)

Row 2: Ch 2, 48 hdc, turn.

Rows 3-4: Repeat Row 2.

Row 5: Ch 1, fold work in half longways, working through next st and back side of corresponding st of starting ch, 48 sc, turn. (48)

Row 6: Ch 1, 3 sc, [bobble-st, 3 sc] 11 times, sc, turn. (11 bobbles, 37 scs)

Row 7: Ch 1, 6 sc, hold eyeball behind work, RS facing WS of lower eyelid, aligning sts between markers with lower eyelid, working through both layers, 33 sc, 9 sc on eyelid only, turn. (15 sts on eyelid, 33 sts through both layers)

Row 8: Ch 1, sc, [bobble-st, 3 sc] 6 times, bobble-st, sc, sl st, turn. (7 bobbles, 20 sc, 1 sl st)

Row 9: Do not chain, skip slipped st from previous row, sl st, 26 sc, turn. (26 sc, 1 sl st)

Row 10: Ch 1, 25 sc, sl st. (25 sc, 1 sl st)

Bind off and weave in ends.

Push bobbles out to RS.

Attaching Eye to Pillow

Lay eyeball and lids on one pillow base, angling the left side down slightly. Pin in place. Use long tail of Upper Eyelid to sew around top edge of eyelid to the pillow base. Leave folded hdc edge unattached to pillow.

With long strand of WINE, starting at last st of Upper Eyelid, sew to base along the back side edges of both the Upper and Lower eyelid and around the Lower Eyelid. Leave folded hdc edge unattached to pillow.

With the sewing tail of the eyeball, sew the right side of the eyeball to the pillow base.

Stuff the eyeball lightly.

With a strand of CORN, sew the left side of the eyeball to the pillow base.

Pin eye slit into place, vertically on the eyeball in relation to the pillow, each end under the eyelids. Slit will not be in alignment with eyelids, but it will be vertically in line on the pillow.

Use ORG tail to sew eye slit to eyeball.

Weave in all ends.

Pillow Assembly

Pin unworked pillow base to RS of pillow base (eyeball between the pieces). Using a strand of WINE, sc through both layers of edges on three sides, leaving bottom edge of the pillow open. Turn pillow inside out. Insert pillow form. Sc bottom edge to close.

Bind off and weave in all ends.

Not ready to start? Save this pattern for later!

Dragon Pillow Cover Free crochet pattern from Hooked by Kati

All finished? Share your artwork by posting a picture in the Gallery!!

Post comments and pictures on social media with the hashtag #hookedbykati, or tag me @hookedbykati. You can also post pictures on the Facebook Page, or in the Hooked by Kati Crochet Community Facebook Group.

You may sell products made by this pattern, but please link back to hookedbykati.com or credit Hooked by Kati on the craft fair tag. Do not copy this pattern for distribution or sale; that’s not nice and also illegal.

If you run into a snag, drop me a line! I respond quickly and will help any way I can to clarify any confusion or challenging stitches.

Find more free patterns like this at allfreecrochet.com.

I hope you love your crochet dragon eye pillow!

Here are a few more free dragon crochet patterns you might like:

CHARLIE THE CELESTIAL DRAGON

TOBY THE NEWBORD DRAGON

VINCENT THE DRAGON

DRAGON SCALE CLUTCH (OR PENCIL POUCH)

Yarn on, 

Kati

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25 Comments

  1. loved this pattern. if you want the eye to go to the left join the work in front or the eye will go the wrong way. i could not figure out how to put the top of the eye on. maybe a free picture showing? i am new to reading patterns so it may be just me. thank you for the pattern awesome

  2. Thank you Kati for this beautiful pattern! It was so much fun to make,and the instructions were very clear. Great job,I’m sure my 34 years old son will appreciate his Christmas present!

  3. Loving this pattern!!!! I’m am modifying the eyeball because I’m using some DK yarn already in my stash and a smaller hook so my gauge is all out of whack on the eyeball section. What is the approximate diameter of the eyeball when it is ready to attach to the eyelid sections?

  4. I’m really enjoying the dragon Eye pillow. I’m stuck on row 9 of the lower eyelid. do I sc over the bobble or behind I’d so I counts as 1 stitch.
    thanks
    val

    1. that’s the color yarn to use if you’re using the same yarn as the pattern. you can look under the supplies to see the key. 🙂

  5. I’m most of the way finished with the eyeball and realized it didn’t specify the size of hook for this section. The pillow is the H hook, so I continued into the eyeball using that hook. The rest of the pattern specifies the G hook for each section. What hook should be used for the eye?

  6. perfect pattern. 18 x18 is too small for me. I plan on using a large basic walmart pillow as the base and a basic cover using your pattern. Then use my glow in the dark yarn for the eye. I’m also thinking of using the really big bed pillows (the ones that go across the entire headboard) and use the extra space for two eyes. I mean a left eye is a right eye upside down so it should work… right?

  7. At some point I got something backwords on the top lid I think. Didn’t realize until nearly finished when I looked at the picture because mine didn’t look quite right.

    1. It must be something to do with the name – I did the same! I think it was the RS/WS of the eyelid vs eyeball – I got it the wrong way round and ended up with the long tail of the upper eyelid on the top right. But it wasn’t too bad to get right and so pleased I changed it.

      1. Would you be able to mention how you fixed your upper eyelid? I’m running into the same issue and can’t seem to fix it. Thank you!

        1. Heya, thought I would reply cause I fixed it for myself. I had the Bobble-st on the wrong side. The easiest way to finish the bobble-st pushes it to the WS so then you start thinking the WS is the RS. If you have attached the top eyelid backwards, push the bobble-st to the other side and try again.

  8. Hi Kati,

    I must say first, I love your patterns. I’ve done Vincent, and am now working on Dragon Eye Pillow. My question is I just finished the X-lg horn and did last sc of 20 in rd 9 then bind off and weave in ends. Set aside.
    But then the next sentence says “Cut yarn. Thread needle through front loop of remaining 6 stitches. Pull tight to close. Leave a long tail for sewing.”
    I’m confused on the last part. Remaining 6 stitches? Can you help please ? Am I supposed to close the horn? but only 6 stitches?

    Thank you for any help.
    Linda Williams

  9. You’re logo had me curious, this pattern and the dragons got me wishing I had more amigurumi skills. Something to work for. And yes, Dragon really IS my last name, says so on all five different forms of my birth certificate.

  10. The details on this pillow are incredible. Thanks for sharing. I don’t know to whom I’ll give it, but I think I need to make one of these. It is just awesome.

  11. Absolutely love this pattern. I’m almost done just in time for my son for Christmas. Not sure if I messed something up but my eye is going to be the opposite direction of your picture. XL horn is on my left looking at it on mine. Still going to be awesome and I know my son will love it. Thanks for sharing your hard work with us.

  12. Just finished making this pillow for my brother, he had seen this and hired me to make it for him as a present for his girlfriend! He loves it. I had a blast making it, and I found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow. Thank you Kati for sharing this pattern free, and for allowing people to sell items made by your pattern even though it’s free!

  13. Loving the pattern!

    Suggestions:
    1. The upper eyelid was a bit confusing. It talks about RS and WS but doesnt indicate which is the RS of the eyelid. Maybe mention popping the bobble stitches out in that row rather than later.
    2. I believe row 16 of the upper eyelid ends with one less stitch than mentioned.

    Other than that everything is perfect so far! I’m sure my husband will love this as a gift.

    P.S. If you’re ever looking for pattern testers I’d love to work with you 🙂

    1. Thank you so much for explaining how to do the upper eyelid! I was having a lot of difficulty trying to figure it out, but your comment was exremely helpful!

  14. Love the dragon eye pillow, putting on my to do list. Wonder how this would look as a crocheted bag? I have done the cross over dragon bag, but I think the Dragon eye as a bag would be neat as well.

  15. Thank you so much for this lovely pillow pattern. I’m going to be making a set of these for my son for Christmas. I do hope that you come out with more things like this in the very near future.

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