How to Make a Buckwheat Hull & Lavender Bed Pillow or Decorative Pillow

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By AJ Tyne
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Buckwheat hull pillows not only adjust beautifully to your body, helping to align your head, neck, and shoulders properly, but they help keep you cool. Most pillows heat up from your head while you are sleeping -- this happens even when the air conditioning is on. This warmth disturbs your sleep even if you don't consciously notice it. But buckwheat hulls allow air to circulate more freely, keeping your pillow cooler and more comfortable while you sleep -- especially great for summer!
The buckwheat hull pillows are very comfortable to sleep on and really help to ease or avoid head, neck, and shoulder pain. And if you add some lavender you'll have a natural inducement to sleep. Lavender is well known for its relaxing
properties. Whether you want a standard size bed pillow to sleep on (great for neck pain), or a small pillow for you neck while reading or watching TV, these instructions will work. Just adjust for the size and type of fabric for what you want. You don't even have to be able to sew if you follow the no sew instructions. For the smaller pillow you will want to make an inner and an outer cover, so you will be able to easily remove the outer cover for washing.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

buckwheat hulls for the size pillow you want to make
dried lavender or lavender potpourri
fabric for the inner pillow cover and fabric for the outer pillow cover
sewing machine for the sewed version, thread, needle
hook and loop closure strips
fabric glue for the no sew version

Step 1

There are many choices for decorative pillow covers.

Choose a fabric for the inner pillow cover which will hold the buckwheat hulls and lavender. This should be a lightweight, thin material, such as cotton. You could even use a soft, sheer mesh or netting as long as the mesh is tight enough to keep the contents securely inside. Choose the fabric for the outer pillow cover according to your tastes, where you want to use it, and your room decor. I strongly recommend you get fabric that is machine washable. For a sleeping pillow you can just use a regular pillowcase for your outer cover.
There is a link in the resources section so you can shop for fabric online at discounted prices.
Step 2

Buy the buckwheat hulls and lavender. You can get these at health food stores, in craft stores, or online (see resources section below). The hulls should be used for a sleeping pillow to get the best adjustable support for neck and shoulders. If you want a smaller, pillow that can be heated in the microwave, then do NOT use hulls, but you can use whole buckwheat seed, or flax seeds.
Step 3

Decide on the size pillow you want. These instructions are for a simple square or rectangular pillow or sachet. Cut your fabric for the inner pillow cover. It should be about 2 inches bigger (length & width) than the size you want your finished pillow to be. Go ahead and cut the fabric for your outer pillow cover now, too. It should be about the same size as you cut for the inner pillow cover, except to leave about an inch longer for one edge where the opening will be. Be sure to use a good, sharp pair of scissors that have not been used for other materials than fabric. A cordless pair is listed in the resources. Using scissors that you have used around the house will not give you a nice finished edge to work with, and possibly cause your cuts to be
uneven.
Step 4

Lay out the decorative fabric, measure, and cut.

Lay out the inner fabric, wrong sides out. Sew or glue the sides together, leaving one side open. Turn it right side out. You should have a pillowcase when finished (3 sewn sides and one open end).
You can do this with a sewing machine, or for the no sew version use your fabric glue (see resources).
Step 5

Fill the inner cover with your buckwheat hulls and lavender, according to how fat or slim you want the pillow.
Step 6

To close the open end, turn the raw edges in approximately an inch and lay the strip of hooks on one side and the strip of loops on the other side. Then stitch with sewing machine. If you are using the fabric glue, you'll need to glue down the fabric after you turn the raw edge over and then glue the tape with the hooks and the tape with the loops onto your glued hem. By using the hook and loop closing you'll be able to refresh your filling at any time you need to, or wash the inner cover when necessary.
Step 7

Repeat steps 4-6 for the outer fabric, and you are done. For the outer pillow cover, you have the option of simply hemming the open end and leaving it open, like a standard pillow case, or closing it with the velcro, as was done with the inner pillow cover.

Comments

makaksa said

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on 6/30/2009 Great article. I was given one as a gift years ago and had forgotten how much I liked it. I would love to make one.

bossypants said

on 6/25/2009 I purchase one of these some years back and -- what heaven!! How nice to have such comprehensive and easy instructions to follow to make my own! Thank you!