How to Make a Zafu
A zafu is a small round cushion that you sit on while meditating. It is typically about 14 inches in diameter and about 8 inches tall. You can stuff the cushion with a dense cotton filling or buckwheat. While you can use a zafu for many meditation positions, it is most common in Zen meditation, called zazen. The purpose of the zafu is to tilt the hips and make the cross-legged meditation position more comfortable for the meditator.
Things You'll Need
- 59-by-6-inch piece of fabric
- 2 11-to-13-inch fabric circles
- Sewing needle
- Thread
- Iron
- Straight pins
- Cushion filling
- Measuring tape
- Fabric pencil
Instructions
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Choose sturdy cloth that won't let you slide when you're meditating, advises Dharma Web. This site, Buddha Mind and Michigan Buddhist all recommend a cotton-polyester blend. Mark your 59-inch piece of fabric to begin pleating. Measure 6 ½ inches from the left side. Make three marks, ¾ inch apart. Measure 3 inches past these marks and make another pleat by making three more marks, again ¾ inches apart. Continue this pattern until you have a total of 14 pleats with the last pleat 3 inches from the right edge of the fabric.
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Fold the pleats by taking each set of three marks and folding the fabric along the third mark in toward the first mark. Pin the pleats with straight pins to keep them in place. Gently iron the fabric to press the pleating. Use low heat if you're using a delicate fabric.
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Pin the strip of pleated fabric together by connecting the left and right edges. You can also sew the fabric's edges but leave a hole so you can insert filling later. You should now have an open circle of pleated fabric that will be the side of your cushion.
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Turn the fabric inside out. Mark the two circles of fabric with four equally separated marks along the edges in the "12:00," "3:00," "6:00" and "9:00" locations. Place a fabric circle on the pleated fabric and pin them together by placing a straight pin in each of the four marks you just made. Repeat this process with the other fabric circle.
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Pin the pleated fabric to the top and bottom circles by placing a straight pin through each pleat. Insert each pin through the pleating, into the circle, and back out through the pleating. Your cushion will look like a small drum, with fabric circles attached to the top and bottom of the pleating. Sew each circle to the pleating by stitching along the pinned edges where the pleated fabric meets the circles.
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Turn the completely sewn cushion inside out so the right side of the fabric is now on the outside. Stuff the cushion with your chosen filling by placing it through the small open hole in the pleating. Fill the cushion with as much filling as possible and hand-stitch the final opening.
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Tips & Warnings
To hide your stitching on the final opening, try covering it with a decorative stitch or embroidery, suggests the website Buddha Mind.
For a taller cushion, make the 59-inch strip of fabric wider than 6 inches.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Todd Warnock/Lifesize/Getty Images
