How to Make a Curved Neck Pillow

Neck pillows can be made in a range of soft fabrics, including cotton and flannel.

Neck pillows are horseshoe-shaped pillows designed to fill the space under the head and around the neck. The most common style of neck pillow features a depression where the head lies and extra support under the neck. Because neck pillows help keep the neck in alignment with the spine, they're often used by people with neck pain to alleviate discomfort while sleeping or reclining. In addition, neck pillows are used by travelers to facilitate sleeping and increase comfort during long periods of time spent sitting on an airplane, or in a car or bus. This type of pillow, also called a cervical pillow or orthopedic pillow, can be made from a variety of fabrics.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine
• Fabric
• Batting
• Scissors
• Hand sewing needle
• Thread

Instructions

1. Draw a horseshoe-shape pattern on a piece of paper to use as your pattern. Make the pattern about 10 1/2 inches tall and 15 inches wide for a child's pillow or slightly larger for an adult pillow. Cut out the pattern, making all of the corners curved.

2. Lay the pillow pattern on top of a piece of fabric and cut out two pieces. Choose a fabric that will feel soft on your neck, such as cotton, flannel, fleece, faux-suede or microfiber.

3. Use a sewing machine to sew the two right sides of the cutout fabric pieces together. Leave an opening approximately two inches long to allow turning the pillow right side out.

4. Trim the fabric close to the seam so that the pillow fabric will lay flat after you turn the fabric right side out.

5. Turn the fabric right side out and stuff the pillow with batting (cotton wadding prepared in sheets for use in pillows, quilts and other hand-sewn items). Fill the pillow until it's plump but not overly firm.

6. Tuck in the seam allowance at the opening and hand-stitch it closed using a thread that matches the fabric.

Tips & Warnings

• To increase the softness of your neck pillow, wash the fabric before you cut out your pattern.

• Consider using a stain-resistant fabric for a neck pillow that will be used frequently.

• Don't overstuff your neck pillow with batting. Overstuffing could cause the pillow to feel hard and cause neck discomfort.

References

• Make It and Love It: Neck Pillow
• Sew4Home: Last Minute Gift Pillows: Relaxing Neck Pillow
• Spine Health: Different Types of Pillows