Sunny Days Floor Pillow: A Free Crochet Pattern You’ll Want to Make Again and Again

There’s something deeply satisfying about a project that looks impressive but comes together faster than you’d expect. The Sunny Days Floor Pillow pattern by Brittany Myers is exactly that kind of make — a cheerful, oversized floor cushion that brings warmth and texture to any room, and one that works up beautifully whether you’re a confident beginner or a seasoned crocheter looking for a relaxing weekend project.

In this post, we’re diving deep into everything you need to know about this pattern: what makes it special, how to set yourself up for success, yarn and hook recommendations, tips for getting your tension just right, and ideas for styling your finished pillow at home. Whether you’re already familiar with Brittany Myers’s designs or you’re discovering her work for the first time, you’re in for a treat.

Who Is Brittany Myers?

Before we get into the pattern itself, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the designer behind it. Brittany Myers is a crochet designer known for creating patterns that strike the perfect balance between visual appeal and accessibility. Her designs tend to lean into clean geometry, satisfying stitch repetition, and that wonderful quality where the finished object looks far more complicated than it actually is to make.

The Sunny Days Floor Pillow fits squarely within that design philosophy. It has the kind of cheerful, sunny personality suggested by its name — think warm yellows, golden tones, and a texture that catches the light in a way that makes you want to reach out and touch it. It’s the sort of piece that earns compliments from guests who assume you must have bought it somewhere special, not crocheted it yourself on your couch over a weekend.

What Is the Sunny Days Floor Pillow?

The Sunny Days Floor Pillow is a large, round crochet cushion designed to be used on the floor — as a meditation cushion, a reading companion, a footrest, or simply a cheerful decorative element in a cozy corner of your home. Its generous size makes it practical as well as pretty, and the construction method ensures it holds its shape well over time.

The pattern uses a combination of stitches that create a radiating, sun-like design from the center outward. This gives the finished pillow that characteristic “sunny” look that inspired its name, with the texture fanning out in gentle waves or spokes depending on the stitch pattern used in a given round. The effect is striking without being fussy, which is one of the reasons so many crocheters find themselves returning to this pattern more than once — either to make additional pillows or to gift them.

The pillow is worked in the round from the center, which means you can see your progress building beautifully from the very first few rows. For crocheters who enjoy instant gratification and visual momentum, this construction method is deeply satisfying.

Materials You’ll Need

Getting your materials right before you start is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for a smooth crochet experience. Here’s what you’ll generally want to have on hand for the Sunny Days Floor Pillow.

Yarn: The pattern calls for a bulky or super bulky yarn, which is part of what makes this project work up so quickly. A good quality cotton or cotton-blend yarn in a warm yellow or golden tone is the classic choice for the “sunny” colorway, but this pattern is wonderfully versatile. Many makers have used cream, terracotta, sage green, dusty rose, or even a rich mustard to beautiful effect. If you want to stick close to the original spirit of the design, reach for something in the golden-yellow family. If you want to personalize it, almost any color in a bulky weight will look gorgeous.

Look for a yarn with some texture or halo if you want added warmth and coziness, or go for a smooth, tightly spun cotton if you prefer a cleaner stitch definition that really shows off the pattern’s geometry.

Hook: With bulky yarn, you’ll typically be working with a hook in the 6mm to 9mm range, depending on your tension and the specific yarn you’ve chosen. Always check the pattern’s recommended hook size and, more importantly, make sure you work a swatch to check your gauge before diving in. With a project this size, being off on gauge can mean the difference between a floor pillow that fits your intended pillow form and one that doesn’t quite work.

Pillow Insert or Stuffing: Because this is a floor pillow, you’ll need a substantial insert. A round pillow form — typically 18 to 24 inches in diameter depending on the finished size you’re working toward — works perfectly. Alternatively, you can use polyfill stuffing, which gives you more control over the firmness and allows you to overstuff slightly for that plump, inviting look. If you’re using a round insert, make sure to have it on hand before you finish the pillow so you can try the fit as you assemble.

Yarn Needle and Scissors: These are the basics you’ll need for finishing, weaving in ends, and seaming the front and back pieces together if the pattern uses a two-piece construction.

Understanding the Construction

One of the most appealing aspects of the Sunny Days Floor Pillow is its construction. The pillow is worked in the round, beginning with a magic ring at the center. If you’ve never worked with a magic ring before, this pattern is actually a great opportunity to learn — it creates a seamless, tight center that looks polished and professional.

From the magic ring, the pattern expands outward through a series of increase rounds. These are rounds where you’re adding stitches at regular intervals to keep the work flat and circular. This is the same basic principle used in flat crochet circles, and once you understand the rhythm of it, the increases become almost automatic.

As the circle grows, the pattern introduces the decorative stitch work that gives the pillow its distinctive texture. Depending on the specific round you’re on, you might be working clusters, shells, puff stitches, or a combination of these. Each of these stitch types creates a slightly different visual effect, and together they produce that radiating, sun-burst quality that makes the finished pillow so eye-catching.

Most versions of this pattern call for making two identical circles — one for the front and one for the back — which are then joined together with the pillow insert inside. The joining round can itself be decorative, with a neat single crochet or slip stitch seam, or you might work a simple whipstitch with your yarn needle for a more subtle finish.

Tips for Getting the Best Results

Even a well-written pattern benefits from a few extra tips, especially when you’re working on something as large and visible as a floor pillow. Here are some things that experienced makers of this pattern recommend.

Swatch and check your gauge seriously. It sounds tedious, but with a project this size, gauge matters. Work a small swatch with your chosen yarn and hook, measure it carefully, and compare it to the pattern’s gauge. If your swatch is too small, go up a hook size. If it’s too large, go down. This one step can save you hours of frustration later.

Use stitch markers generously. Because this pattern is worked in the round, it can be easy to lose track of where you are, especially as the rounds get longer and the stitch counts increase. Place a stitch marker at the beginning of each round and move it up as you go. You might also want to place markers at the increase points within a round so you can quickly verify you’re adding stitches in the right places.

Count your stitches at the end of every round. This might feel slow, but it’s worth it. If you make an error — an accidental increase or decrease — catching it at the end of the round means you only have to frog back one round rather than several. The stitch counts given in the pattern are your best friend.

Block your finished pieces before assembly. If you’re working with a yarn that responds well to blocking, taking the time to wet block or steam block your front and back circles before you seam them together can make a significant difference in the finished appearance. Blocking evens out the stitches, opens up the texture, and helps the piece hold its circular shape beautifully.

Don’t rush the seaming. The way you join your front and back pieces will be visible on the pillow’s edge, so take your time here. Work with a consistent tension, and if you’re using a crochet join, make sure your hook insertions are even and spaced properly.

Yarn Color Ideas and Variations

One of the best things about a pattern like this is how dramatically different it can look depending on your yarn choice. While the original Sunny Days colorway leans into warm, golden yellows that really do evoke sunshine and warmth, here are some other directions you might take this pattern.

A terracotta or burnt orange version gives the pillow a more earthy, bohemian feel — perfect for a living room with warm wood tones and woven textiles. A sage green or olive version feels fresh and botanical, especially lovely in a plant-filled sunroom or bedroom. A cream or natural cotton version keeps things neutral and pairs beautifully with almost any interior aesthetic. You could also try a two-tone approach, using one color for the front and a contrasting color for the back, which creates a fun reversible effect.

If you’re feeling adventurous, the pattern’s stitch structure lends itself well to color changes within a single piece. Switching colors every few rounds creates a striped, rainbow, or gradient effect that can be stunning. Just be prepared to manage more yarn ends to weave in.

Styling Your Finished Floor Pillow

Once your pillow is complete, the fun continues with deciding how to use and style it in your home. Here are some ideas that work particularly well with a piece like this.

Floor pillows have a long, beautiful history in interior design across many cultures, and they’re currently having a very well-deserved moment in contemporary home styling. In a reading nook or meditation corner, a large round floor pillow becomes the anchor of the whole space — pair it with a soft throw blanket, a low side table, and a good lamp, and you have an instant cozy sanctuary.

In a children’s room, a handmade floor pillow in bright, cheerful colors becomes a beloved piece of furniture that grows with the child. It’s practical for story time, playtime, and those long stretches of coloring or puzzle-making that happen at floor level.

In a living room, several floor pillows in complementary colors can create a casual, welcoming seating area — the kind of space that invites people to settle in and stay a while. Stacked beside a sofa or arranged around a low coffee table, they add texture, color, and personality.

The Sunny Days Floor Pillow is also a wonderful gift. It has enough visual impact to feel truly special and considered, but the construction is sturdy enough to hold up to real daily use. Made in colors chosen specifically for the recipient, it becomes a deeply personal, handmade keepsake.

Why Crocheters Keep Coming Back to This Pattern

It’s worth thinking about what makes a crochet pattern genuinely reusable — what makes someone finish a project and immediately want to start another one. The Sunny Days Floor Pillow has several qualities that put it in that category.

First, the finished object is genuinely useful. It’s not just decorative; it actually gets used, which means the maker sees and interacts with it regularly and feels that satisfaction of having made something that functions in their daily life.

Second, the pattern is enjoyable to work. The stitch repetition hits that sweet spot where it’s complex enough to stay interesting but predictable enough that you can eventually work it while watching television or listening to a podcast. The radiating construction gives you a sense of progress that’s almost hypnotic.

Third, it’s versatile enough that making multiple versions doesn’t feel repetitive. Each new colorway feels like a genuinely new project, and you can give them as gifts, keep them in different rooms, or donate them to places that appreciate handmade goods.

Finally, patterns by designers like Brittany Myers tend to be well-written and clearly tested, which means you spend your time actually crocheting rather than puzzling over ambiguous instructions. That’s a quality worth appreciating.

Final Thoughts

The Sunny Days Floor Pillow by Brittany Myers is the kind of crochet project that earns a permanent place in your pattern library. It’s satisfying to make, beautiful to display, genuinely practical to use, and generous enough in spirit to give away. Whether you’re making it in classic sunny yellow or experimenting with your own color story, the finished pillow is bound to bring warmth and texture to whatever space it lands in.

If you haven’t yet tried Brittany Myers’s designs, this is a wonderful place to start. The pattern rewards your time and attention with a finished piece you’ll be genuinely proud of — and that, at the end of the day, is exactly what great crochet design should do.

Grab your bulkiest yarn, your favorite large hook, and a good playlist, and get started. Sunny days are ahead.