Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Handmade Lavender Comfort Pillow

Crafting with lavender...there are endless possibilities. Our latest endeavor came out of necessity and not just want. Our microwaveable comfort pillow developed a hole and before I could patch it up, the hole got bigger, everything spilled out, made a mess on the floor and it was eventually abandoned to the trash. Not to worry, it had been WELL USED! I decided it was time for a new one...with lavender of course.

Over the past few months, I have been collecting some old (worn out) wool sweaters for felting. This means the wool shrinks substantially and looses all thread or stitch definition. Therefore, any wool knitted items that have been felted can be used just like fabric...it won't unravel when cut! In my opinion, felting is a must try for ALL crafters. If you've ever accidentally washed a wool garment in hot water, you've felted. I am including a link with easy instructions on felting from a fellow blogger.


I collected together some of my favorite felted pieces and determined that our comfort pillow needed to be smaller in length and wider at the middle than most...more of a square piece and not so much an eye pillow size.

Once I picked out both a front and back and cut to size, I decided to hand sew this project using some "lavender" yarn I had leftover from a scarf I crocheted this past winter.

I love the way that the felted wool feels and really enjoyed sewing the two pieces together.




Now it was time to fill. I decided to fill with rice instead of dried beans. I also alternated BIG scoops of craft grade lavender buds until our comfort pack was full. Finally, I sewed the "fill hole" on the outside of the comfort pillow. This way, I can easily snip it open and refill when the time comes...in other words when the lavender needs an aromatic boost.

This project was easy and the family loves it!! I just finished the project Monday night and already our comfort pillow is on a bedtime rotation...



I definitely see making many more of these cute things for gifts in the near future. 

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