Sewing Project: Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case

Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter

The Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case is a quick sewing project that makes a great gift. You can pair it with essential oils or spa goodies to make a self-care gift for a hard-working friend, sister, or mom!

This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation (at no added cost to you) if you make a purchase using these links. My sewing machine sponsor is Baby Lock. Additional materials for this post were generously provided by Fiskars.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you may know that I was plagued by back problems for years after getting an injury. Back pain is never fun, but back pain combined with commuting on the New York City subways during rush hour is really an experience in endurance. I was miserable and depressed and in pain and that makes for a very crabby and unfun person. Eventually, someone referred me to Jenny Hall, a Licensed Massage Therapist who is also a practitioner of Rolfing® Structural Integration, SourcePoint Therapy and Visceral Manipulation. (By the way, if you are in New York City and are dealing with any health issues that massage or rolfing could help, I highly highly highly recommend Jenny!) During her massage therapy sessions, Jenny provides me with a weighted flaxseed eye pillow when I turn over on my back. It helps block out the light and the weight is relaxing. She often adds an essential oil for a bit of aromatherapy.

Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - Marie smiling with eye pillow and resting

I got to thinking about making something similar as part of the Little Gifts Sew Along. A Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow is something you could use at home when you feel tired but restless to help you fall asleep. You can also heat or freeze flaxseeds if you would like to use the eye pillow as a tiny ice pack or hot pad. (An Oregon Cottage has a really helpful blog post about the benefits of using flaxseed for warming pillows here, including her own sewing pattern for a larger pillow with gift tags!)

Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - case with eye pillow and flap

And, of course you could add some essential oils on the outside of the pillow for relaxation. But knowing me, and how I like different scents for different moods, I started to imagine a not very pleasant odor of a billion mixed essential oils coming off of my Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow. That wasn’t very appealing, so I added a little Case to the pattern. You can remove AND WASH the Case, without getting the flaxseeds wet. I thought that was a useful improvement on my first idea!

For a gift version of the Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, you might even include several different Cases so the recipient could still use the eye pillow while they have one of the Cases in the wash. Plus, you can show off more fabric from your stash that way!

This is the sixth pattern in the Little Gifts Sew Along. Are you just hearing about the Little Gifts Sew Along? Get all the details here.

  • You can join in by sewing the projects as you have time.
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  • By the end of the SAL, you’ll have up to 25 handmade gifts.
  • Use the button below on social media. Right click (on desktop) or tap and hold (on mobile) to save.
Little Gifts Sew Along 2019 with Underground Crafter

Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case

Sewing Project by Underground Crafter

Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter

The Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case is a quick-to-sew project that can be gifted to a hard-working friend, mom, or sister, along with some essential oils or spa goodies. This is the sixth of 25 free sewing projects by 12 bloggers in the Little Gifts Sew Along.

Finished Size

  • Eye Pillow: 7.5” (19 cm) x 3.5” (9 cm).
  • Case: 8” (20.5 cm) x 4” (10 cm) when folded closed.

Tools

Materials

Fat Quarter Shop Quilting Fabrics and Supplies
  • 100% cotton fabric.
    • You can make a pillow and a case from one fat quarter, or mix and match. I used pieces from two batik fat quarters for my version. Tip: If using two fabrics, use the darker fabric for the Case.
    • You will need one 8.5” x 8” (21.5 cm x 20.5 cm) piece of fabric for each Eye Pillow and one 20” x 5” (51 cm x 13 cm) piece of fabric for each Case.
  • Cotton thread.
  • Whole flaxseeds (not ground!). I used about half of a 16 oz (454 g) bag for one Eye Pillow.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - supplies

Instructions

Prepare fabric

  • Iron your fabric.
  • Measure and cut fabric pieces for Eye Pillow and Case (see measurements above in Materials).

Make Eye Pillow

  • Fold the 8.5” x 8” (21.5 cm x 20.5 cm) piece of fabric in half along the long edge so that the right sides of the fabric are facing.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow tutorial 1
  • Sew a 1/2″ seam along the short side, then along the long side. Sew approximately 0.5” (1.5 cm) past the seam on the next short side, leaving about 2.5” (6.5 cm) unseamed.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow tutorial 2
  • Turn Eye Pillow right side out.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow tutorial 3
  • Pour the flaxseeds into the Eye Pillow. My flaxseeds came in a resealable pouch, and I sealed it most of the way so I could use the pouch like a funnel. Then, I leaned the Eye Pillow against a glass while I poured to keep it from tipping over.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - pouring flaxseeds into eye pillow
  • Do not stuff the Eye Pillow completely with flaxseeds. You want the Eye Pillow to have some give, not to be rock hard.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow tutorial 4
  • Your unseamed edge should be folding inwards with an approximately 1/2″ fold on each side. Pin it into position, and then sew along that last edge with a 1/4″ seam. I actually did two seams side by side because no one really wants flaxseeds to start falling out of this Eye Pillow! Also, it was pretty.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow tutorial 5

Make Case

  • Set aside your Eye Pillow and pick up the larger piece of fabric.
  • With your fabric marker or pen, draw a line on the wrong side of the fabric across the short side approximately 4” (10 cm) from one end.
  • Fold over both short edges on the larger piece of fabric from the right side to the wrong side to make 0.5” (1.5 cm) hems. Sew each edge hem with a 1/4″ seam.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - case tutorial 1
  • Fold one seamed edge over on the wrong side (with the right sides facing) so that it reaches the marked line.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - case tutorial 2
  • Sew a 1/2″ seam from hemmed edge to fold on one long side. Repeat on the other side.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - case tutorial 3
  • Turn the Case right side out.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - case tutorial 4
  • Sew a 1/4″ seam from the fold to the hemmed edge.
Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case, free sewing tutorial by Underground Crafter - eye pillow with case against wood background
  • Insert the Eye Pillow (with the seam side first) into the Case. Eye Pillow should fit snugly inside of Case. Enjoy!

The Weighted Flaxseed Eye Pillow with Case is also featured on AllFreeSewing.com. Sign up for their free newsletter to get free patterns sent to you daily!

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