How to Fill a Homemade Pillow

Stuff any size or shape pillow with loose polyfill.

Craft and fabric stores sell polyfill pillow inserts premade to fit into homemade pillow sleeves, but odd-shaped covers can’t accommodate these forms. Loose, non-clumping polyfill, also called polyester fiberfill, is the best option for filling nonstandard homemade pillows. Polyfill is hypoallergenic and flame retardant, making it a better choice than down or foam filling.

Things You'll Need

• Loose polyfill
• Straight pins

Instructions

1. Sew up all the edges of the homemade pillow on the wrong side of the fabric, leaving several inches of one edge unstitched. Pull the inside fabric through this hole to turn the pillow cover right side out.

2. Stuff a generous amount of loose polyfill into the pillow cover, working it into all the corners. Use more or less polyfill depending on your preferences, keeping in mind that the material will settle over time and lose some of its firmness. Leave one-half inch of space at the edge of the pillow cover to accommodate the seam.

3. Pin the unsewn edge of the fabric with straight pins.

4. Stitch the rest of the pillow by hand, using a basic stitch such as a whip stitch.

References

• Sew 4 Home; Understanding Pillow Inserts; June 2009
• The Handmade Home; How to Make a Patchwork Pillow; March 2011

Resources

• Cyberseams: How to Sew by Hand -- Basic Stitches