Travel Neck Pillow ♥ Crochet Pattern

I first crocheted this travel neck pillow as part of my Blogmas “12 Days of DIY” series back in 2015. Who remembers those days? I’m typing this in 2025, ten years later, and my crochet skills have improved a lot since then! I have updated this crochet pattern to fit my newer crochet pattern format, but if you have any questions, leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

If you’re like me, traveling can be rough on the body. I often travel with a pillow and blanket when I travel to make this process a bit more comfortable. The neck can be especially tiresome, which makes a travel neck pillow a travel essential!

When I first designed this pattern, I used a thick yarn and a larger hook to make this neck pillow extra comfy. However, if you want something more sturdy, switch to a smaller hook and use a worsted-weight yarn. You also don’t have to use as many colors as I did, I just used them because I had them! haha

If you crochet this project, you can post it on Ravelry or tag me @mooeyscrochet so that I can see your creation. If you would like to support me in making this crochet pattern available for free, you can send me a Ko-fi. Check out all of my free crochet patterns here and my shop to see my original crocheted items.

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you make a purchase with the links I provide, I may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.

Supplies
– Worsted-weight or bulky yarn (I used bulky yarn)
– I-K/5.5-6.50 mm crochet hook (my favorite hook)
– Slanted tapestry needle (I use these)
– Polyfil stuffing
– Scissors

Aberrations
ch(s) – chains
st(s) – stitch(es)
slst – slip stitch (same as join)
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc – double crochet
flo – front loop only
blo – back loop only
cc – color change
dec – decrease (same as sc2tog) (single two st together)
inc – increase (make 2sc in a single st)
RS – right side/front side
WS – wrong side/back side
(x_) – repeat (_) amount of times
[x_] – repeat everything inside the [_] times amount of times

Crochet Level
Intermediate

Pattern Notes
The pattern is written in US terms
If you have any problems with this pattern, feel free to contact me so I can help you

LEGS OF NECK PILLOW (MAKE 2)
With your choice of hook and yarn
Round 1: magic circle, dc 12 sts into ring, join to 1st. Total = 12 sts
Round 2: ch 2, [2dc into each st](x12) join to 1st st. Total = 24 sts
Round 3: ch 2, [dc 2 sts, 2dc in next st](x6) join to 1st st. Total = 30 sts
Rounds 4-13: ch 2, dc 30 sts, join to 1st st. Toral = 30 sts
Cut off, and make the second leg of the neck pillow

Don’t cut off the second pillow leg. Connect the two pillow legs by performing a 10 st ch, slst to the last st from the first leg you made. Dc around the first leg and once you reach the 10 st ch, dc 10 sts. You are going to be performing 10 dc sts on each side of this ch, 20 sts total. Dc around the 2nd pillow leg. Once you are finished with this, you should have a total of 80 sts, 30 sts from both legs, and 20 sts from the 10 st ch.

Round 14-15: ch 2, dc 80 sts, join to 1st st. Toral = 80 sts
Round 16: [dec, dc 14 sts](x5). Total = 75 sts
Round 17: ch 2, dc 75 sts, join to 1st st. Toral = 75 sts
Round 18: [dec, dc 12 sts](x5). Total = 70 sts
Start adding polyfil stuffing and keep adding as you crochet the following
Round 19: ch 2, dc 70 sts, join to 1st st. Toral = 70 st
Round 20: [dec, dc 4 sts](x10). Total = 60 sts
Round 21: ch 2, dc 60 sts, join to 1st st. Toral = 60 st
Round 22: [dec, dc 1 sts](x20). Total = 40 sts
Round 23: [dec, dc 2 sts](x10). Total = 30 sts
Cut off and leave a long tail for sewing

ASSEMBLY
Stuff until you reach the top. Weave the needle in and out every st until you reach where you began. Pull lightly. Stuff more, you are going to want to stuff more than you realize. Finally, sew the rest of the pillow shut with your needle. Snip yarn and weave loose yarn ends.

TIP: When you are stuffing the legs, gently roll them to make sure that you get every nook and cranny. You are also forming the shape of the leg by making it appear more rounded.

Do you travel with a pillow?

read one of these next!

20 Comments

  9. I don't understand where I'm decreasing, at the beginning of the leg and then end with 3 decrease at the same spot? Or on either side of the 10 ch that joins them? It doesn't specify and I can't tell by the picture.

    Reply

    1. Sorry for the late response! Make three Dec 3 sts (2tog dec sts) at the beginning of the row, double crochet the sts, make three Dec 3 sts (2tog dec sts) again. Hope that helps! ♥

      Reply

    2. Hi, thank you for the pattern, would you mind telling me how much yarn did you used and maybe which one? I don’t have thick yarn and would like to know how many balls to get. Thanks

      Reply

      1. I don’t remember the name of the yarn but I think it was from KnitPicks. I didn’t use a whole skein of yarn for this project (plus I used 3 different colors) but if you were only using one color for the whole pillow I would suggest using 1-2 skeins of yarn depending on how tight or loose you crochet. If you don’t have thick yarn you can always double up on the yarn you have. Hope this helps! ♥

        Reply

  15. I had to move my stitch marker to where the sl st to the last stitch of the row on leg 1. Is this where I should have the stitch marker? If so, where do the DEC 3 go normally? On the inside or outer edges of the neck pillow?

    Reply

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