Go Away Pillow Free Crochet Pattern: The Perfectly Passive-Aggressive Home Decor You Didn’t Know You Needed
If you’ve ever wanted your home decor to do a little of the talking for you, this Go Away Pillow is about to become your new favorite project. Bold, fun, and just a little bit cheeky, this crochet pillow pattern is the kind of thing that makes people laugh the moment they walk through your door — and then quietly appreciate the sentiment. Whether you’re a seasoned crocheter looking for a quick weekend project or a beginner ready to try something with a little personality, this free crochet pattern walks you through everything you need to know to create your own Go Away Pillow from start to finish.
Let’s get into it.
Why a Go Away Pillow?
Home decor that makes people smile is always worth the effort. Throw pillows in particular have a way of setting the tone for a room without requiring a major renovation or a large budget. A simple phrase pillow can communicate your personality, your sense of humor, and your aesthetic all at once.
The “Go Away” pillow has become a beloved project in the crochet community for a few reasons. First, it’s genuinely funny. There’s something disarming about a cozy, handmade pillow with a blunt message on it. Second, it’s versatile — it works on a bed, a couch, a reading nook, or even as a gift for that introverted friend who will absolutely lose their mind over it. Third, it’s a fantastic project for practicing crochet lettering and tapestry crochet techniques, which opens up a whole new world of pattern-making possibilities.
And let’s be real — sometimes you just need a pillow that says what you’re feeling.
What You’ll Need
Before you sit down to start crocheting, gathering your materials ahead of time will save you a lot of back-and-forth trips to your craft bag. Here’s everything you need for this project.
Yarn: You’ll want a medium weight yarn, also called worsted weight or size 4 yarn. For this pillow, you’ll need two colors — one for the background and one for the letters. Classic choices are a light neutral background (cream, white, or a soft gray) with dark lettering (black, deep charcoal, or navy), but you can absolutely customize this to match your existing decor. Plan on roughly 200 to 250 yards of your main color and about 75 to 100 yards of your contrast color.
Hook: A 5.0 mm (size H/8) crochet hook works well with most worsted weight yarns, but always check the label on your specific yarn and adjust if needed. A slightly tighter gauge will give you a more defined letter structure, which is helpful for text-based pillow designs.
Pillow insert: A 16-inch square pillow insert is ideal for this pattern. You can find these at most craft stores, big box retailers, or online. Alternatively, you can stuff the pillow directly with polyfill, which gives you a bit more control over the firmness.
Tapestry needle: You’ll need this for weaving in ends and for seaming the two pillow panels together if you choose to use a mattress stitch or whip stitch seam.
Scissors
Stitch markers (optional but helpful): These will help you keep your place, especially when you’re working the color changes for the lettering.
Gauge and Sizing
Gauge: 14 stitches and 16 rows = 4 inches in single crochet with a 5.0 mm hook and worsted weight yarn.
Finished Size: Approximately 16 inches x 16 inches (to fit a standard 16-inch pillow insert).
Gauge matters more than people sometimes realize when it comes to pillow covers. Since you need the finished piece to fit snugly over a pillow insert, being off by even a stitch or two per inch can result in a cover that’s too loose and saggy or too tight to fit over the insert at all. Take a few minutes to crochet a small swatch before starting the full piece, and adjust your hook size up or down accordingly.
Understanding Tapestry Crochet for This Pattern
The letters in this pillow are created using a tapestry crochet technique, which is a method of carrying a secondary yarn color along the back of your work and crocheting over it as you go. This keeps the back of your fabric tidy and eliminates the need to cut and rejoin your contrast yarn every time a new letter begins.
If you’ve never tried tapestry crochet before, this pillow is a wonderful introduction. Here’s a brief overview of how it works.
When you reach a stitch where the contrast color begins, you’ll drop your main color yarn, pick up your contrast color, and complete that single crochet with the new color. The yarn you’re not actively using rests along the top of the previous row and gets covered by the stitches of the current row. You alternate between colors as indicated by the chart, carrying the unused color the entire way across.
A couple of tips that will make your tapestry experience smoother: Keep your tension on the carried yarn even and not too tight, or your fabric will pucker. Pull both strands gently before each color change to keep everything neat. And when you’re done, give your finished piece a light blocking — it makes an enormous difference in how crisp the letters look.
The Pattern
Abbreviations
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
st(s) = stitch(es)
MC = main color (background)
CC = contrast color (letters)
sl st = slip stitch
Front Panel
Foundation: With MC, ch 57.
Row 1: Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. (56 sc) Ch 1, turn.
Rows 2–8: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn. (56 sc)
Row 9 (Begin Letters): This is where you’ll start following the letter chart. See the chart section below for the row-by-row color placement. Work across each row in sc, switching between MC and CC as indicated. Always ch 1 and turn at the end of each row.
Continue following the chart through Row 52.
Rows 53–60: Sc in each st across with MC only. Ch 1, turn.
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Back Panel
Foundation: With MC, ch 57.
Row 1: Sc in second ch from hook and in each ch across. (56 sc) Ch 1, turn.
Rows 2–60: Sc in each st across. Ch 1, turn.
Fasten off and weave in ends.
The Letter Chart
Because this is a text-based design, the letters are mapped out on a grid chart where each square represents one single crochet stitch. The text “GO AWAY” is centered horizontally across the pillow front, with each letter block spaced evenly to create a clean, balanced look.
For the purposes of this written pattern, use the following stitch counts to position your letters on a 56-stitch-wide panel. The letters begin at Row 9 and the tallest letters extend through Row 52, giving you a letter height of approximately 44 rows.
The simplest way to work this pattern is to download or draw out a pixel-style grid on graph paper where each square represents one stitch. Map out your letters using a blocky, pixel font. Each letter in “GO AWAY” can be designed on a grid that is roughly 7 stitches wide and 12 rows tall, with 2–3 stitch gaps between letters.
If you’d prefer to skip drawing your own chart, you can find free pixel alphabet charts on Pinterest, Ravelry, or by searching “crochet pixel letter chart” online. Print one out, mark your stitch counts, and follow it row by row as you crochet.
Working from a chart does require a bit of patience at first, but once you find your rhythm, it becomes second nature.
Assembly
Once both panels are complete and all your ends are woven in, it’s time to assemble the pillow.
Hold the front and back panels together with wrong sides facing each other. Using your tapestry needle and a length of MC yarn, join the panels along three sides using a whip stitch or mattress stitch. Keep your seam stitches evenly spaced and your tension consistent for a tidy finish.
Before closing the fourth side, insert your pillow form. Give it a little shake to distribute the fill evenly inside the corners. Then seam the final side closed in the same manner.
If you’d prefer a pillow cover you can remove and wash separately from the insert, leave the fourth side open and instead add a simple single crochet button loop closure, a row of buttons and corresponding slip stitch buttonholes, or even a zipper sewn along the opening. Any of these methods will give you a removable, washable cover.
Finishing Touches
Blocking is your best friend when it comes to crochet lettering. After assembly, lightly spray or steam block the pillow front to open up the stitches, smooth out any tension differences between your color changes, and sharpen the definition of the letters. You don’t need any special equipment — a spray bottle of water and a clean towel work perfectly. Lay the pillow flat, mist it lightly, smooth the fabric with your hands, and let it dry completely before displaying it.
Customization Ideas
One of the best things about this pattern is how easily it adapts to different phrases, color schemes, and styles. Once you understand the basic structure — a double-panel pillow worked in tapestry crochet from a grid chart — you can swap in virtually any text you like.
Some popular variations include “Come Back Later,” “Not Today,” “Leave Me Alone,” “Nope,” or a simple “Do Not Disturb.” If you want to lean into the humor even more, you could work a smaller design on one side and reserve the full “GO AWAY” for the other, giving it a flip-able cover for company versus no-company moods.
You can also adjust the size of the pillow by simply increasing or decreasing your starting chain and adjusting the row count proportionally. A longer rectangular pillow with the same message works beautifully as a lumbar pillow, for example.
For yarn color, don’t be afraid to experiment. A deep burgundy background with cream lettering feels earthy and sophisticated. A black background with neon orange or yellow letters gives you a Halloween-ready version that’s perfectly on brand. A soft sage green with white text looks fresh and modern in a boho-style living room. The phrase is cheeky no matter what colors you choose, so have fun with it.
Skill Level and Time Commitment
This pattern is suitable for confident beginners and intermediate crocheters. You’ll need to know how to chain, work single crochet, change colors cleanly, and work from a grid chart. If tapestry crochet is new to you, there’s a small learning curve on the first few rows of letters, but it comes together quickly.
In terms of time, most crocheters complete this pillow in one long weekend of relaxed crocheting — roughly 6 to 10 hours total, depending on your pace and how often you reference the chart. The back panel works up quickly since it’s solid color all the way through, and once you get your letter chart memorized or well-marked, the front panel moves faster than you’d expect.
Care Instructions
Because this pillow is made from worsted weight acrylic or wool blend yarn (depending on what you’ve chosen), care will vary slightly. Most acrylic yarns are machine washable on a gentle cycle and can be tumble dried on low. Wool or wool-blend yarns should typically be hand washed in cool water and laid flat to dry to avoid felting or shrinking.
Always check the label on your specific yarn for the manufacturer’s care recommendations, and consider this when choosing your materials — especially if this pillow is destined as a gift or will see a lot of use.
A Few Final Notes
This pattern is provided free for personal use. If you make and sell finished items from this pattern, please do so in small quantities and credit the original pattern source. If you share photos of your finished pillow online, the crochet community would love to see it — tag your work and share it in crochet groups or on your social platforms so others can find inspiration from your version.
Crochet text pillows are one of those projects that feel genuinely satisfying to finish. You end up with something functional, funny, and entirely handmade — which somehow makes the message land even better. There’s something wonderfully warm about a pillow that took hours of love and care to make, only to announce to all your houseguests that they should, in fact, go away.
That’s the beauty of it.
Happy crocheting, and may your living room always reflect exactly how much company you’re in the mood for.
