How to Make a Bolstor or Neck Pillow

To make a bolster or neck pillow, you can roll up a piece of sheet foam or batting into a tube shape and cover it with a piece of fabric. By putting drawstrings on the ends of the fabric, you can easily remove the cover when you want to wash it or replace it with another type or color of material. Make sure to wash, dry and iron your fabric before sewing the bolster cover.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet foam or batting
• Fabric
• Matching thread
• Ribbon or cord
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Sewing machine
• Safety pin

Instructions

Construction

1. Cut a piece of sheet foam or batting the width you want the bolster. Roll up the foam or batting into a tube shape. If you want the pillow thicker, add additional layers of foam or batting until the bolster is the size you want.

2. Tie pieces of ribbon or cording around the ends of the foam or batting, or use large rubber bands, to temporarily hold it in place.

3. Measure the bolster from the center of one end to the center of the other end. Add 2 inches to this measurement. This will be the length of the fabric.

4. Measure the thickness of the bolster by wrapping a measuring tape around it, or by wrapping a piece of ribbon or cord around it and then measuring the ribbon. Add 2 1/2 inches to this measurement. This will be the width of the fabric.

5. Cut a rectangle of fabric in the length and width you just determined.

Sew the Bolster Pillow Cover

1. Fold each long edge of the fabric over 1/2-inch toward the wrong side. Iron the folds, then stitch them in place.

2. Fold each short end of the fabric over 1/4-inch toward the wrong side. Iron the folds flat, then fold each short end over another 3/4-inch and press them again.

3. Stitch along each fold as close to the inner edge as possible. These will be the casings for the drawstrings.

4. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and pin the long edges together. Sew the long edges of the fabric together, without sewing the drawstring casings closed. Then turn the bolster cover right side out.

5. Cut two drawstrings from ribbon or cord, each long enough to go through the casings with about 12 inches to spare.

6. Attach a safety pin to the end of one piece of cord or ribbon. Insert the safety pin into the end of the casing, and push it through the casing until there are equal amounts of ribbon or cord on both sides of the casing. Insert the other drawstring in the other casing the same way.

Tips & Warnings

• Once you're ready to put the cover on the bolster, you can remove the cords or rubber bands from the foam or batting as you slide the fabric cover over the pillow to hold it in place. Pull the drawstrings to close the ends of the cover, and tie the loose ends of the drawstrings into bows.

• Use caution when working with scissors, irons, pins and sewing machines.