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| Sew4Home's famous neck pillow in my "You Just Can't Fix Stupid" fabric... |
I first saw it in 2015, but this popular Sew4Home tutorial was actually introduced as a last minute gift idea a decade ago. With the holiday season just around the corner, I thought I'd bring it to your attention as a surprisingly quick project that's bound to be appreciated by the recipient.
This one is for my hubby, who — since he never reads my blog — will still be surprised when he gets it for Christmas. The fabric is a Spoonflower selection (in lightweight cotton twill) that he and I designed together, with text that says "you just can't fix stupid". By happy circumstance, I had some matching red and black ribbon in my stash.
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| Old microbead roll pillow... |
Although it's not an option to open these up to harvest the microbeads — I truly believe you would have an uncontrollable mess on your hands if you were to attempt it — I still decided to save the pillows (I had two) after they "deflated". They had to be good for something, right?
This turns out to be the perfect way to re-use them.
The shape of this neck pillow is described as a bow tie, but I've always been reminded of a bone whenever I see it.
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| Doesn't this look like a bone? |
The "three point" ends where the pull handles are connected are a bit tricky when you first attempt it, but follow the instructions and you should have no issues. It's a matter of starting and stopping your sewing at precisely the right place as indicated.
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| End view of the three part seam coming together... |
I used polyfil from an old pillow to stuff the pointy ends and then pushed the microbead pillow into the centre.
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| Having a "solid" piece to stuff with makes this part a lot easier to handle... |
The fact that there is fabric around the filling makes it much easier to sew the opening closed.
The original tutorial says that it takes about 30 minutes to make. That might be true on your second and third one. This one took me half a morning, since my cutting, stuffing and hand-sewing skills are on the slow side. I also stopped to ponder over whether to use ribbon or fabric for the pull handles. (I recommend ribbon to reduce the amount of thickness around that three point seam.)
The fabric was one of my purchases during last month's 50% off Spoonflower fat quarters sale. I purchased two, thinking I needed both to accommodate the three required pieces. In yet another happy circumstance, all three were able to fit along the 29" width of the lightweight cotton twill fat quarter.
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| One fat quarter will do the trick if you don't mind the sideways orientation... |
It didn't matter to me that the text ran around the pillow than along its length and I'm sure my other half won't care either.
And the microbeads are now encased in a fabric that won't stretch out over time.
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| Front view... |
Judging by the number of comments attached to this tutorial — almost ninety from the original post in 2009, over ninety on the repost from 2015, and more than seventy on the re-re-post from 2016 — this is a popular item.
My take on its appeal is that it's useful and helpful for many folks. From an airplane travel pillow to a pillow for those who are bed-ridden, this can be appreciated by anyone at any stage of life. The fact that it takes so little time to sew up is a huge bonus. (I'm also adding it to my list of things you can sew up for guys.)
If by some chance you've never seen this before and you're looking for an idea for a handmade gift that won't be tossed into a closet, consider this recommendation my gift to you. ;-)
Since links sometimes turn up dead, please Google sew4home neck pillow to find all three posts of this tutorial. (A PDF template is included.)
What a great idea for your deflated microbead pillows! I had one of those that did not deflate but sprung a leak and it was impossible to sew the fabric without creating another leak. So into the trash it went. But I have made this neck pillow several times and everyone really likes them. In fact my daughter uses hers in her car during work lunch breaks when she needs to grab a quick nap. Definitely worth making and gifting.
ReplyDeleteKathleen -- kakingsbury at verizon dot net
Well done on saving the old pillow from landfill. Looks like a good neck pillow, and would be a good present.
ReplyDeleteI started making these months ago and will use no other pillow to sleep on. Thanks for the new stuffing idea- yes I too have saved all kinds of micro bead pillows, haha it’s good to know I have company in my inability to throw old things out!!! I’ve wanted to make them from old pajama legs with fabric too cute to let go of also... bless you for your inspiration and happy sewing holidays!
ReplyDeleteAw, Marie — thanks for your kind words and happy sewing holidays right back at you!
DeleteThanks also for sharing the tip about using old pajama legs as fabric for these pillows. (That's awesome, and if I had any pajamas, I'd be looking at converting them.) Normally I'm not the type NOT to throw things away, but microbeads don't belong in a landfill, so there you go. Happy to keep using them forever and ever in this fashion if need be.