Baby's First Pillows

At 15 months, I decided that it was time for my son to get his first pillows.

He already had a blankie that he would keep wrapped around him no matter where he traveled in his bed. He loves his blankie and other than his comfort rag, it was the only thing allowed in his bed at night. Nevertheless, I had to admit, he was getting older and maybe it was time to pimp his bed a little.

I wanted to get him some pillows that fit his personality, but that weren’t too high or fluffy to make them unsafe. Most standard kid pillows are still too big for a child under one. Therefore, I decided to make them myself. The first night I gave Jonas his new pillows, he was so thrilled. I checked on him a few times and no matter where he was in his bed, his head was either on the pillow, or tucked under his arm. Often when he wakes up, he’ll look at his pillow and start babbling about all of the different cars and trucks on it. Now, he can’t go to bed without them anymore!

Since Jonas loves anything with wheels, I used some material I had which was covered in different vehicles, some racecar material, and some neutral material for the back of the pillows. The easiest way to make a pillow is to sew a square or rectangle and then stuff it with polyester backing. Nevertheless, polyester backing can start to clump when it is washed too often. Therefore, I decided to use polyester backing strips (You can buy it in a roll) which I could sew into the sides of the pillow, thus preventing clumping.

Here’s the how to:

1. Cut out two squares or rectangles of material into the size you would like plus a quarter to a half inch on each side. My pillows are 12 x 18 inches. Then cut out polyester backing strips the same size as your pillow. I used 4 layers of backing. Finally, cut out a piece of newspaper also the same size.

2. Layer the items as follows: First lay your two material pieces with the good sides of the material facing each other. Then, add the polyester backing over the material. Finally, lay the newspaper on top. It is much easier to sew over newspaper than polyester backing, which will catch on everything and snag. Now use stick pins all the way around to hold it all together.

3. Finally, sew around your pillow leaving about 6 inches on one side. Turn your pillow right-side-in. Using a needle and thread, sew the 6 inch opening shut. Your pillow is finished! Super easy.