Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover and Mailbox – Free Crochet Pattern

Valentine’s Day Tissue Box

This Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover crochet pattern is designed to fit a standard rectangle tissue/Kleenex box (exact sizing below). It creates a wonderful Valentine’s Day decoration on the days leading up to February 14. Then use an empty tissue box and it instantly becomes a mailbox for Valentine’s Day cards!

It’s a great Valentine’s Day crochet project (or gift idea) for beginners as the pattern only uses simple stitches and the pattern includes everything you need to know to make it.

Use the Table of Contents below to jump to any section of this pattern or keep scrolling down for all the details and the written instructions. 

---

Get the PDF!

Purchase the printer-friendly PDF of this pattern that you can instantly download! It includes everything from this free pattern but you can easily save, print and access it anytime!

---

---

Pattern Details

Skill Level

Easy

Size

This Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover is designed to fit a rectangular Kleenex/tissue box with the following measurements:

• Height: 3.5″
• Length: 9″
• Width: 4.75″
• Tissue opening length: 4.25″

Finished Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover (using the yarn listed below and a H/8 (5.00mm) hook) is: 9.25″ long, 3.5″ high and 5″ wide.

Gauge

4″ x 4″ = 13 sc and 15 rows

Gauge is very important for this pattern to ensure that your finished item fits the tissue box. Need help understanding gauge? Check out my Step by Step Guide to Crochet Gauge.

As I suffer from oh-no-it-doesn’t-fit-a-phobia, I’ve provided measurements throughout the pattern. Please measure along the way!

Materials

Yarn: Any worsted weight (4) yarn.

What I used:

• I used Loops & Threads Impeccable Yarn, Solid. This yarn is medium (4) weight and 100% acrylic. The size is 4.5 oz / 127.5 g. A skein is 285 yd./260m.
• I used the color “Cherry” for the tissue box cover (approx. half a skein), the color “White” for the envelope (approx 10 yards), the color “Arbor Rose” for one of the hearts and light-pink scrap yarn for the other (only a few yards are needed for each heart).

Crochet Hook Size: H/8 (5.00mm) for the tissue box cover and large heart. F/5 (3.75mm) for the envelope and small heart.

Other Materials: Yarn Needle, Scissors, Stitch Marker, Measuring Tape and a Rectangle Kleenex/Tissue Box (l: 9″ x h: 3.5″ x w: 4.75″). To use as mailbox, the tissue box should be empty.

Terminology

This Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover Crochet Pattern is written in English for right-handed crochet using standard US crochet terminology. If you’re more familiar with UK terminology, check out my US to UK Conversion Chart.

Abbreviations

st = stitch
sts = stitches
ch = chain
sc = single crochet
sl st = slip stitch

Pattern Notes

• The top of the Valentine’s Tissue Box Cover is worked flat – turn your work after each row.
• The sides are worked in a continuous round – do not turn your work after each row.
• Ch 1 does not count as a stitch.
• Always start in the same stitch as the chain.

---

Pattern Instructions

Before you begin: to save you from having to fasten off and attach the yarn twice while creating the tissue opening, cut a 6 ft long strand of red yarn from your skein and place it aside for later.

Top

With red colored yarn and a H/8 (5.00 mm) hook, ch 31.

Row 1: In the 2nd ch from hook, sc into back ridge loop. sc into back ridge loops of each ch across. (30 sts)

Row 2: ch 1 and turn. sc in each st across. (30 sts)

After row 2, measure work. Length should be 8.75″. The length will grow to be 9.25″ after a few more rows.

Row 3 – 7: ch 1 and turn. sc in each st across. (30 sts)

After row 7, measure work. It should be 9.25″ long and 2″ wide. If it is much smaller or larger, I recommend starting again with a smaller or larger hook.

Row 8a): ch 1 and turn. sc in next 8 sts. (8 sts)

Row 9a): ch 1 and turn. sc in next 8 sts. (8 sts).

If you set aside a 6ft strand of yarn, you can leave your yarn attached to your skein hanging and pick it back up again on row 10. If you didn’t set aside a strand of yarn, fasten off.

Row 8b): Turn. Your hanging yarn (or where you just fastened-off) should be on the far right. Attach new yarn with a sl st on the 23rd st (leaving a gap of 14 sts). In the same st, sc and sc in next 7 sts. (8 sts).

Row 9b): ch 1 and turn. sc in next 8 sts. (8sts). Fasten off.

Row 10: Turn. Pick up yarn you left hanging (or attach yarn with a sl st where you fastened off after row 9a). ch 1 and sc in current st and in next 7 sts (8 sc in total). ch 14. skip over gap and sc in each of the 8 sts made in row 9b). (8 sc, 14 chains, 8 sc)

Row 11: ch 1 and turn. sc in next 8 sts. sc into back ridge loops of next 14 chain sts. sc in next 8 sts. (30 sts)

Row 12 – 17: ch 1 and turn. sc in each st across. (30 sts)

Measure work: it should measure 9.25″ long and 4.5″ wide.

Row 18: ch 1. Do not turn.

Sc evenly around:

• working down the side, sc into each row (into the gaps) for a total of 16 sc (16 sts)
• working across bottom, sc in each ch across (30 sts)
• working up the opposite side, sc into each row (into the gaps) for a total of 16 sc (16 sts)
• working across the top, sc in each st across (30 sts)

Do not fasten off.

Sides

Notes About the Sides:

• The sides of the tissue box cover are worked in continuous rounds.
• Do not turn your work after each round.
• Each round has 92 sts.
• Place stitch marker on your first sc of each round.
• Always skip over the ch 1 made in the previous round (do not sc into ch).

Round 19: ch 1. sc in back loops only (the loops furthest away from you) of each st around. Sl st into both loops of 1st sc to join. (92 sts)

Round 20: ch 1. Working in both loops from now on, sc in each st around. Sl st into 1st sc to join. (92 sts)

Round 21 – 33: ch 1. sc in each st around. sl st into 1st sc to join. (92 sts).

Measure work: side should measure 3.25″ high.

Round 34: ch 1. Do not turn. Instead of crocheting from right to left, start working from left to right. Working in the stitch to your right (the st not attached to the chain), reverse single crochet/crab stitch*. Reverse single crochet/crab stitch in each stitch around. Sl st into 1st st to join. Fasten off and weave in all loose ends.

How to Reverse Single Crochet/Crab Stitch

Crab stitch is single crochet in reverse meaning you insert hook to the st to the right of your active st (instead of the st to your left). With your hook inserted into the st on your right (from front to back as you normally single crochet), yarn over, pull through yarn (2 loops on hook), yarn over and pull through the 2 loops.

Heart Hook Home has a great video tutorial on how to do this stitch (starting at 0:55) here.

Envelope

With an F/5 (3.75mm) hook and white yarn, ch 13.

Row 1: In the 2nd ch from hook, sc into back ridge loop (Interweave has a great diagram of where the back ridge loop is here). sc into back ridge loops of each ch across. (12 sts)

Row 2 – 8: ch 1 and turn. sc in each st across (12 sts).

Fasten off. Leave one long tail (approx 24″) to use to attach to tissue box and weave in the other loose end.

Envelope should measure 3″ long x 2″ high.

Finishing

With black yarn threaded on your yarn needle, insert needle from back to front through the right top corner st. Insert needle from front to back into the middle of the top of row 2. Weave in the yarn into the back of a nearby st. Insert needle from back to front through the same stitch you made in the middle of the top of row 2. Insert needle from front to back of the left top corner st. Weave in loose ends.

Attach envelope to the tissue box.

Crochet Hearts

You can use different hook sizes to make the hearts different sizes. I used an H/8 (5.00mm) hook for the large hearts (the white and light pink hearts seen in the photos) and an F/5 (3.75mm) hook for the small heart (the hot pink heart). The instructions for both sizes are the same.

How to Crochet Hearts

• Make a magic circle.
• Ch 2.
• Triple crochet x 3 into magic ring. (If you need help with this triple crochet stitch, here’s a Video Tutorial from All Free Crochet).
• Sl st into magic ring.
• Triple crochet x 3 into magic ring.
• Half double crochet x 2 into magic ring.
• Triple crochet into magic ring.
• Half double crochet x 2 into magic ring.
• Pull magic ring tight.
• Sl st into 2nd ch of 1st triple crochet st to join.
• Fasten off leaving a 12″ tail. Leave the 12″ tail to attach to tissue box and weave in the other end.

Make as many hearts as you’d like and decorate your Valentine’s Tissue box cover / mailbox! I only attached a few hearts but I think it would like great covered from top to bottom in hearts.

I hope you enjoyed creating this pattern. Happy Valentine’s Day!

---

---