Introduction: Crochet Papasan Chair Nest Cover and Crochet Egg Pillow

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They don't call me OCDmaker for nothing. A lot of Netflix time went into crocheting this papasan chair cover and egg pillow. This is part of my pandemic craft series. I received a free papasan chair with a slightly worn cushion cover. I had a blanket over it, then had the bright idea of turning it into a nest. Thought about sewing a cover in fleece and sewing on rows of fleece fringe to give the appearance of a nest. But then I realized I had a lot of yarn in the closet from past projects and projects that I never started. Figured this could use up some of that old yarn. Then of course, I wound up buying new yarn too, which kind of defeated the purpose, but I have a cool giant nest in my living room now.

I worked mostly with bulky yarn. I wanted to use yarn in a variety of textures in blues and greens. For the center of the nest I used 5 skeins of Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn in Fayetteville Frost, which is actually a super bulky yarn. I also used velvet yarns in different weights, Lion Brand Homespun yarns, and Bernat Blanket yarns. If you wanted to speed up the project, you could go ahead and use Bernat Blanket Big or Bernat Velvet Plus yarns. You'd just need to adjust the instructions to accommodate the bulkier yarns.

For the egg pillow I used Bernat Baby Velvet in Misty Green. I'm going to make a second pillow using Tiny Teal, but ran out of time before the contest deadline. I'm still planning on crocheting a second egg.

Supplies

For the nest:

This is a partial list of the yarns I used. I have yarns so old, I doubt if the manufacturers are still in business, others had lost their labels. This is a patchwork project, so use what you have and then maybe add a couple of new yarns.

Lion Brand Yarns Hometown USA - Fayetteville Frost - 5 skeins

Lion Brand Yarns Homespun - Windsor, Regency, Waterfall, Pesto - I'll say 1 skein each, but some were remnants so less than 1 skein

Bernat Blanket - Velveteal, Light Teal - 1 skein each

Barcelona Roving - Sage - 1 skein

Lion Brand Lion Chenille Sensations - Teal - maybe 3 skeins, I've had this yarn probably 15 years, it's a lighter weight yarn

Fun faux fur yarn - bright blue - I have no idea where I bought this

N/P 10.0 crochet hook

For the egg pillow:

1 yard lightweight fleece fabric approximately 58" wide - enough for 2 pillows

thread

polyester fiber fill

Bernat Baby Velvet - Misty Green - 3 skeins - Will be making second pillow using 3 skeins of Tiny Teal

J crochet hook

Step 1: Start Making Your Nest

Quick note before beginning: The side facing you is the backside, because the loops appear on the backside. I didn't realize when I started crocheting the nest. So in the beginning, the top loops of the DC's should appear on the back not the front. The correction is made in the instructions, but the photos above show the top loops on the front.

The cover is convex to conform to the bowl of the papasan chair. This chair was from CostPlus World Market, but I think papasan chairs are pretty standard dimensions.

Begin by creating a Magic Circle, Ch 1.

Row 1: 12 DC in Magic Circle. Join with Sl St to first DC.

Row 2: Ch 2, * 2 DC in front top loop of DC below, 1 DC in front top loop of next DC, repeat from * around. End with 1 DC in top of Ch 2, 18 DC.

Row 3-5: Repeat Row 2.

Row 6: Ch 2, * 2 DC in front top loop of DC below, 1 DC in front top loop of next 2 DC, repeat from * around. End with 1 DC in top of Ch 2.

Row 7: Ch 2, * 2 DC in front top loop of DC below, 1 DC in front top loop of next 4 DC, repeat from * around. End with 1 DC in top of Ch 2.

Row 8: Repeat Row 7.

Row 9: Ch 2, DC in front top loops of all DC. End with DC in top of Ch 2.

Row 10-14: Repeat Row 9.

Row 15 and 16: Repeat Row 7.

If you are using a super bulky yarn, you should have enough of a base worked so that you can start doing loop stitches. If you need to crochet more rows for the base continue to alternate between Row 7 and Row 9, using the increase row of Row 7 as needed.

Step 2: Locked Loop Stitches and Chain Loop Stitches

I started doing loop stitches on Row 17. It wasn't until I'd crocheted a few rows that I realized that the loops were starting to pull out, as you can see in the photos above. I didn't want to take out rows of work, so I continued but switched to a locked loop stitch. I used the locked loop stitch for the bulkier yarns and for lighter weight yarns, I used a chain loop stitch. Please see the YouTube videos for locked loop and chain loop stitch instructions.

Keep increasing stitches as you create rows, usually I increase 1 every 4th or 6th stitch. As the nest cover progresses, you'll need to try it on for size and increase as needed. If you switch from a super bulky yarn to a bulky yarn, you'll need to make quite a few increase to accommodate the decrease in bulk.

For the row with the fun faux fur yarn, I did a chain loop stitch (8 Ch) with that yarn and SC into the back loop of the row below and then followed it with a DC row into the front loop of the same row, because that yarn would have been impossible to crochet into. Looked great, but a nightmare to find the actual stitches. This way I could get the fuzzy effect without having to try to crochet into the yarn.

I didn't do any decrease stitches to create a cupping effect around the bottom. I had switched to a lighter weight yarn, so it naturally shrunk a bit to enclose the cushion.

Going back to the first pulled stitches from doing the loop stitch and not the locked loop stitch, I knotted a loop and SC into each group of 2 yarn threads of the pulled loops around, then on the next row crocheted a locked loop stitch. But you're not going to do that because you're going to do a locked loop stitch from the start.

Step 3: The Egg Pillow, the Base

Open out your fleece fabric and fold along the selvage edge so that the folded fabric measures 1/2 yard by 58". You'll need 4 fabric pieces 10" x 26". You can see I started with a pattern 12" x 26", which resulted in an egg that was fig shaped. Find the 5" middle line and arch down 10" on both sides to the edge and 8" up from the bottom to the edge. Round out the sides. Cut one pattern piece on the fold on the middle line at the photo shows. That way you can get 3 cut pieces. Sew pieces together and leave an opening in the middle when joining the last seam. Stuff with polyester fiber fill and hand stitch closed.

Step 4: The Egg Pillow, Crocheted Cover

I started out with a smaller crochet hook, but then switched to the size J. I used a safety pin to mark the beginning/end of the rows. Start at the top of the egg and work down. Try the cover on the egg as you go and make any adjustments needed. Around Row 80 or so put the cover over the egg and crochet remaining rows with the cover on. Sometimes it's hard to see the stitches and I'm sure I missed a few. I'm not an Amigurumi crocheter, so it's not exact. Just try to make sure what you're crocheting is egg-shaped and you'll be fine.

Begin by creating a Magic Circle, Ch 1.

Row 1: 6 SC in Magic Circle.

Row 2: * 2 SC in each SC below, repeat from * around.

Row 3: * 1 SC, 2 SC in SC below, repeat from * around.

Row 4: * 1 SC, 2 SC in SC below, repeat from * around.

Row 5: * 3 SC, 2 SC in SC below, repeat from * around.

Row 6: * 2 SC, 2 SC in SC below, repeat from * around.

Row 7: 5 SC, * 2 SC in SC below, 6 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 8: 6 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 7 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 9: 7 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 8 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 10-12: SC in each SC.

Row 13: 8 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 9 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 14: SC in each SC.

Row 15: 9 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 10 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 16: SC in each SC.

Row 17: 10 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 11 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 18: 11 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 12 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 19: 12 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 13 SC, repeat from * around;

Row 20: 13 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 14 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 21: 14 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 15 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 22: 15 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 16 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 23: 16 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 17 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 24: 17 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 18 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 25: 18 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 19 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 26: SC in each SC.

Row 27: 19 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 20 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 28: Repeat Row 26.

Row 29: Repeat Row 26.

Row 30: 20 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 21 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 31-33: Repeat Row 26.

Row 34: 10 SC, * 2 SC in SC below, 20 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 35: Repeat Row 26.

Row 36: Repeat Row 26.

Row 37: 20 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 21 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 38 and 39: Repeat Row 26.

Row 40: 10 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 21 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 41 and 42: Repeat Row 26.

Row 43: 21 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 22 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 44 and 45: Repeat Row 26.

Row 46: 11 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 23 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 47 and 48: Repeat Row 26.

Row 49: 22 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 24 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 50-52: Repeat Row 26.

Row 53: 12 SC, *2 SC in SC below, 25 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 54-59: Repeat Row 26.

Row 60: *25 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 61-66: Repeat Row 26.

Row 67: 13 SC, *SC 2 together, 24 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 68 - 70: Repeat Row 26.

Row 71: *23 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 72-74: Repeat Row 26.

Row 75: 12 SC, *SC 2 together, SC 22, repeat from * around.

Row 76 and 77: Repeat Row 26.

Row 78: *22 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 79-81: Repeat Row 26.

At about this point I put the cover over the egg and worked the remaining rows with the egg cover on the pillow. I didn't want to get the rows too small to stuff in the pillow.

Row 82: *19 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 83: 9 SC, *SC 2 together, 18 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 84: *17 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 85: 8 SC, *SC 2 together, 16 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 86: *15 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 87: 7 SC, *SC 2 together, 14 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 88: *13 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 89: 6 SC, *SC 2 together, 13 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 90: *12 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 91: 5 SC, *SC 2 together, 11 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 92: *10 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 93: 4 SC, * SC 2 together, 9 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 94: *8 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 95: 3 SC, *SC 2 together, 7 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 96: *6 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 97: 2 SC, *SC 2 together, 5 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 98: *4 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 99: 1 SC, *SC 2 together, 3 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 100: *2 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 101: 1 SC, *SC 2 together, 2 SC, repeat from * around.

Row 102 and 103: *2 SC, SC 2 together, repeat from * around.

Row 104: 1 SC, SC 2 together.


End yarn, pull through remaining ST and pull, tie off, use crochet hook to hide yarn end under rows of stitches.

Step 5: Enjoy Your New Nest

This is the perfect spot for Netflix binging. The egg pillow is very comforting. I hope it brings you as much pleasure as it has given my cats.