Checkered Ghost Pillow – Free Crochet Pattern

There is something wonderfully satisfying about a crochet project that manages to be both spooky and cozy at the same time. The Checkered Ghost Pillow does exactly that. It brings together a classic Halloween motif — the floating, wide-eyed ghost — with a bold checkerboard background that gives the finished piece a graphic, almost retro quality. Whether you are decorating your home for the fall season or looking for a handmade gift that will genuinely delight someone, this pillow is a project worth settling into. It works up faster than you might expect, looks striking from across the room, and has that satisfying chunky texture that makes crochet home décor so irresistible.

This pattern is completely free and written for crocheters who are comfortable with basic stitches and have some experience reading colorwork charts. If you have made a granny square or worked a simple tapestry crochet project before, you are more than ready for this one. First-timers to colorwork can absolutely give this a go — just read through the notes section carefully before you begin, and you will find that the technique becomes quite intuitive once your hands get going.

Let us walk through everything you need to know: materials, gauge, stitch counts, the full pattern, and some tips for finishing your pillow so it looks professionally made.

Why You Will Love This Pattern

Before we get into the nuts and bolts, it is worth talking about what makes this particular pattern special. Crochet ghost pillows are not new, but the checkerboard element sets this one apart. The alternating black and white (or whatever two colors you choose) squares create a visual rhythm that frames the ghost beautifully without overpowering it. When the ghost is placed slightly off-center or centered against the grid, the result is a design that feels intentional and modern rather than crafty in a dated way.

The pattern uses a combination of tapestry crochet for the ghost motif and a standard single crochet grid for the checkerboard background. This means you are not juggling ten yarn bobbins or managing complex intarsia joins — the construction is clean and manageable, even if you are relatively new to colorwork.

The finished pillow has a satisfying weight to it and holds its shape nicely once stuffed. It is the kind of pillow that looks good propped against a couch cushion, tucked into an armchair, or laid across a bed during the October decorating season.

Materials You Will Need

Gathering your materials before you sit down to crochet makes a significant difference in how smoothly the project flows. Here is what you will need for a finished pillow that measures approximately 16 inches by 16 inches.

For yarn, you will need two colors of medium weight yarn, also known as category 4 or worsted weight. The main color is used for the checkerboard background squares and the outer border of the ghost, and the contrast color fills the opposite squares and creates the ghost’s body. Traditionally this pattern is worked in black and white, and the effect is very strong. However, orange and black makes for a punchy Halloween alternative, and deep purple paired with pale cream gives a more gothic, elegant look. You will need approximately 300 yards of each color, though your exact usage will depend on your tension and hook size.

For your hook, a size 5.0mm (H/8) crochet hook works well with most standard worsted weight yarns. If your tension runs tight, size up to a 5.5mm. If your tension runs loose, try a 4.5mm. Getting gauge right matters more for a pillow than for a garment, since the front panel needs to be a specific size to align with a pillow insert.

You will also need a 16-inch square pillow insert, a yarn needle for weaving in ends, scissors, and a handful of straight pins for blocking if you choose to wet block the finished panels. A few stitch markers are helpful for keeping track of your rows, especially in the checkerboard sections where the color changes can blur together if you lose your place.

Optional but lovely: a few black buttons in varying sizes for the ghost’s eyes, or black felt if you prefer to embroider or glue the face details instead.

Gauge

Working to gauge means your finished pillow front will measure the right size to match your pillow insert, so please take a few minutes to make a swatch before casting on.

With a 5.0mm hook and worsted weight yarn, you should achieve approximately 14 single crochet stitches and 16 rows over a 4-inch by 4-inch square. If your swatch is larger than 4 inches, go down a hook size. If it is smaller, go up a hook size.

Understanding the Colorwork

This pattern uses tapestry crochet for the ghost motif. In tapestry crochet, you carry the unused yarn along inside your stitches as you work, which creates a neat finish on the wrong side and eliminates the need to weave in a large number of ends later. The key is to keep the carried yarn at a consistent tension — not so tight that it puckers your work, and not so loose that it creates unsightly loops.

For the checkerboard sections, you will switch colors at the end of every square rather than carrying both yarns simultaneously. Each square in the checkerboard consists of a block of stitches that can be worked cleanly before you introduce the new color. This is a slightly different technique from the tapestry crochet sections, and you will find that switching between the two feels natural once you understand where each is used in the pattern.

A word about color dominance: when working colorwork crochet, the yarn that is held below the other tends to appear slightly more prominent in the finished fabric. For consistency, always hold your background color below and your contrast color above whenever you are carrying both. This small habit makes a real difference in how even your finished checkerboard looks.

The Pattern

Foundation

Begin with your main color. Chain 57. This gives you a foundation for 56 stitches across, which creates a 14-square-wide checkerboard grid where each square is 4 stitches wide. (You will add border stitches later, so do not worry about those now.)

Row 1: Single crochet in the second chain from the hook and in each chain across. You should have 56 single crochet stitches. Chain 1, turn.

Checkerboard Background (Rows 2 through 12)

The checkerboard is built in blocks of 4 stitches and 4 rows. Alternate your main color and your contrast color every 4 stitches across each row, and shift the color pattern by one block at the start of each new set of 4 rows. This creates the offset checkerboard effect.

Rows 2 through 5: Work 4 stitches in your main color, then 4 stitches in your contrast color. Repeat this across the row. When you reach the end, chain 1 and turn. Work back across in the same color pattern, carrying the unused yarn inside your stitches. Repeat for all 4 rows.

Rows 6 through 9: Shift the color block. Begin with 4 stitches in your contrast color, then 4 stitches in your main color. Repeat across. Work 4 rows in this arrangement.

Rows 10 through 13: Return to the original arrangement — main color first, then contrast color. Work 4 rows.

At the end of row 13, you have completed the top section of the checkerboard background, above where the ghost motif will sit.

Ghost Motif (Rows 14 through 38)

The ghost is worked using a chart. The chart is a 56-stitch-wide, 25-row-tall grid. The ghost body occupies the center of the chart, spanning roughly 28 stitches at its widest point and tapering toward the bottom into the characteristic wavy hem that gives a ghost its classic silhouette. The eyes are worked in your main color against the contrast-color ghost body.

For those who prefer written instructions over a chart, here is a row-by-row summary of the key colorwork rows. All background stitches continue in the checkerboard pattern as established. Ghost body stitches are worked in your contrast color.

Row 14: Work 14 stitches in checkerboard pattern, then 28 stitches in contrast color for the beginning of the ghost’s body, then 14 stitches in checkerboard pattern.

Rows 15 through 20: Maintain 14 stitches of checkerboard on each side. The center 28 stitches continue in your contrast color. This establishes the ghost’s wide rectangular body.

Row 21: The ghost’s shoulder curve begins. Work 16 stitches in checkerboard, 24 stitches in contrast, 16 stitches in checkerboard.

Rows 22 through 24: Continue the shoulder taper. Work 18 stitches in checkerboard, 20 stitches in contrast, 18 stitches in checkerboard.

Row 25: Begin the ghost’s head dome. Work 16 stitches in checkerboard, 24 stitches in contrast, 16 stitches in checkerboard.

Rows 26 through 29: Expand slightly for the top of the head. Work 14 stitches in checkerboard, 28 stitches in contrast, 14 stitches in checkerboard.

Row 30: The head begins to narrow. Work 17 stitches in checkerboard, 22 stitches in contrast, 17 stitches in checkerboard.

Rows 31 through 32: Continue narrowing. Work 20 stitches in checkerboard, 16 stitches in contrast, 20 stitches in checkerboard.

Row 33: The very top of the head. Work 24 stitches in checkerboard, 8 stitches in contrast, 24 stitches in checkerboard.

Row 34: Return now toward the body, working the eyes. Work 14 stitches in checkerboard, 6 stitches in contrast, 3 stitches in main color (left eye), 10 stitches in contrast, 3 stitches in main color (right eye), 6 stitches in contrast, 14 stitches in checkerboard.

Rows 35 through 36: Repeat row 34’s eye pattern for a second and third row of eye height.

Rows 37 through 38: Return to solid body. Work 14 stitches in checkerboard, 28 stitches in contrast, 14 stitches in checkerboard.

Ghost Hem (Rows 39 through 43)

The wavy bottom of the ghost is created with a simple scalloped decrease. Work short sections of contrast color separated by narrow gaps of background color to create the impression that the ghost’s hem is fluttering.

Row 39: Work 14 stitches in checkerboard, then alternate 5 stitches contrast / 2 stitches checkerboard across the center 28 stitches, then 14 stitches in checkerboard.

Row 40: Taper the contrast sections. Work 14 stitches in checkerboard, then alternate 4 stitches contrast / 3 stitches checkerboard across the center, then 14 stitches in checkerboard.

Rows 41 through 43: Continue tapering until the contrast color waves resolve entirely into the background checkerboard pattern.

Lower Checkerboard Background (Rows 44 through 56)

Return to the standard checkerboard pattern, continuing in the same color-block offset established before the ghost motif. Work 13 rows. At the end of row 56, fasten off and weave in ends.

The Back Panel

The back panel of this pillow is worked in a simple single crochet grid using your main color. Chain 57 and single crochet across 56 stitches for 56 rows, or until the back panel matches the height of the front panel. Fasten off.

Alternatively, if you prefer an envelope-style back (which makes removing and replacing the pillow insert easier), work two panels each measuring approximately 16 inches by 10 inches. Overlap them at the center and whipstitch the overlapping edges lightly together before joining the front and back.

Joining the Front and Back Panels

Place your front and back panels together with wrong sides facing each other. Using your main color and a yarn needle, whipstitch around three sides of the pillow, inserting your pillow form and then closing the fourth side. Alternatively, you can work a single crochet join along the edges for a decorative border effect. The single crochet join creates a raised ridge along the seam that looks intentional and adds a nice finishing touch.

Finishing Touches

Weave in all remaining ends securely. If you chose buttons for the ghost’s eyes rather than crocheting them, sew them on now using your yarn needle and a length of contrast yarn. Make sure buttons are attached firmly, especially if this pillow will be used in a household with young children, in which case you might prefer to embroider the eyes using a satin stitch or simply rely on the colorwork eyes built into the pattern.

Wet blocking the front panel before assembly can make a significant difference in the overall finish. Soak the panel in cool water, gently squeeze out the excess moisture, pin it to your measurements on a foam blocking mat, and allow it to dry completely. This evens out any tension inconsistencies and opens up the stitches so the checkerboard looks crisp and the ghost motif reads clearly.

Customization Ideas

One of the best things about a pattern like this is how many directions you can take it. The checkerboard background can be worked in any two colors, which means you can easily shift the seasonal mood of the pillow. Black and orange reads as Halloween. Black and cream is more year-round gothic chic. Deep red and black feels festive for a fall tableau that works from September through November. Pale blue and white with a white ghost gives a wintery, almost icy look.

You can also scale the pattern up or down by changing your yarn weight and hook size. Working in a bulky yarn with a larger hook will give you a much bigger, bolder pillow more quickly. Dropping to a DK or sport weight yarn gives you a finer fabric with more stitch definition, though it will take more time.

If you want to make a set of Halloween throw pillows, consider pairing this ghost design with a companion checkerboard pillow featuring a simple jack-o’-lantern face, a spider and web motif, or the word BOO spelled out in block letters across the checkerboard grid. A matching set looks beautiful arranged on a bed or sofa.

Skill Level and Time Commitment

This pattern sits comfortably at an intermediate level. Beginners who are comfortable with single crochet and have tried at least one colorwork project can tackle it with some patience. Experienced crocheters will find it a pleasant, relaxing project that moves along steadily. Most people working at a moderate pace complete the front panel in four to six hours, and the back panel adds another two to three. If you set aside a weekend afternoon for each session, you can have a finished pillow by Monday morning.

A Few Final Tips

Always count your stitches at the end of each row, especially during the colorwork sections. It is much easier to catch a missed stitch or an accidental increase when you notice it immediately rather than ten rows later.

Keep your yarn organized using bobbins or small balls wound separately for each color. Letting the two yarns twist around each other as you work is one of the quickest ways to make an otherwise enjoyable project feel frustrating.

When you carry yarn inside your stitches during tapestry crochet sections, insert your hook through the stitch and lay the carried yarn across the top of the previous row before drawing through. This traps it cleanly and keeps the back of your work looking tidy.

Finally, enjoy the process. The Checkered Ghost Pillow is the kind of pattern that rewards a slow, attentive approach. Each row builds on the last, and there is a genuine moment of satisfaction when the ghost begins to emerge from the grid of squares around it. That moment, when the motif suddenly becomes recognizable and the whole design clicks into place, is one of the most enjoyable things about colorwork crochet, and this pillow delivers it beautifully.

Happy crocheting, and may your ghost be perfectly ghostly.