It’s tricky to find a good napping spot when there’s 114,000 acres of lava at El Malpais. And even when you find one, the sleeping area is…well…rock solid. Lava isn’t known to be very comfortable. That is unless you crochet a lava pillow for yourself!

Bumpy edges mimic the rough and blocky texture of ‘a‘ā lava (pronounced AH-ah), which forms on the edges of lava flows where hot rock cooled quickly while it moved forward. The middle, ridged section of the pillow mimics pāhoehoe (pronounced puh-HOY-hoy), which is more common in the middle of lava flows were hot rock flowed slower and folded against itself.

When both features are crocheted, they make a home-sized lava flow and a punny version of a different lava feature: pillow basalt! Make your own lava pillow to add some geology to your home decor!

Materials

• Hook: Any size you like! Lava flows come in all shapes and sizes. A 5 mm/US H hook was used for the pictured project.
• Yarn used: Any acrylic/mixed fiber blend, with 12 sc and 15 rows gauge. Pictured project is Red Heart Super Saver Ombre, Anthracite, 10 oz.
• Filling: fiber fill, (clean) old socks and other fabric, a pre-existing pillow
• This pattern is written using United States stitches and abbreviations.