Lavender is a well-loved scent in our house, especially at bedtime. Research suggests it may be useful for treating anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia, so I say bring on the lavender!
We keep lavender eye pillows beside our bed to mellow us out before we drift off to sleep. In addition to their soothing scent, the flax seed and buckwheat hull filling provides gentle pressure to tired eyes. I whipped a bunch of these up using fabric scraps and ingredients from my local bulk food store. They also make great host and teacher gifts, and are perfect to pass on to overnight house guests. Read on for the how-to.
Here's what you'll need:
Step 1: Cut your fabric. For each pillow, you’ll need one front piece and one back piece. I like my eye pillows nice and big so I cut my 2 pieces 4.5 inches x 11 inches.
Step 2: Lay your 2 rectangular fabric pieces on top of each other (if there’s a clear front and back to your fabric, lay the pieces right sides together). Pin together.
Step 3: Sew around the edges with a running stitch or your sewing machine, staying a 1/2 inch away from the edge. Leave a 2 inch wide opening unstitched (this is where you’ll fill up your eye pillow) along one of the short edges. If you’re using a machine, don’t forget to back stitch at the beginning and end to secure your stitches. Trim the 4 corners of your rectangle.
Step 4: Turn your pillow right side out through the opening. Use chopsticks or a knitting needle to gently push out the corners.
Step 5: Fill up your pillow. Mix the lavender, flax and buckwheat in a bowl. Make a funnel by shaping a piece of paper into a cone then pour your filling mix in. I filled mine about 3/4 full.
Step 6: Close up your opening using an invisible stitch or sew along the edge with your sewing machine.
That's it- you're done! Test out your new eye pillow by snuggling up with your favourite quilt and having a nice long nap. (Pssst. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our newsletter here and receive more great content right to your inbox.)
Original inspiration for lavender eye pillows from Denyse Schmidt's 2005 book Quilts. Thank you Denyse!
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This month I was featured in an article by Chatelaine Magazine on bringing punch needle into your home décor. The article touches on the current trend of punch needle, its history, and profiles a number of talented punch needle artists selling patterns, supplies, and finished work. Writer Iris Benaroia interviewed me for the article and included a great little write-up of me and my work. I love the quote she included of me describing punch needle as “the least frustrating craft I’ve ever tried”. Perfectly summed up!
Today I’m sharing a free pattern with you: my punch needle grapefruit! This is one of the first things I made with my punch needle and is a great project for beginners.
When you’re done punching your grapefruit you could turn it into a stuffie like I did (‘cause who doesn’t need a plush grapefruit to snuggle with?) or fill in the background and turn it into a wall-hanging.
