Simple sewing tutorial for a soothing lavender eye pillow

Learn how to make a lovely and soothing lavender eye pillow with this simple sewing tutorial. I love how this eye pillow adds just that little bit extra to a moment of relaxation. The lavender gives it an extra soothing effect.

Before I became an academic advisor at the university I worked as a psychomotor therapist. As a psychomotor therapist, I worked with adolescents and adults who had somatic symptoms and related disorders. People were suffering from physical complaints like pain, stiffness and fatigue. However, there was no somatic explanation for these physical complaints. I would work with these people to let them understand their symptoms better. To find relief of the symptoms by developing different coping skills and learning how to relax.

Relaxation can be approached from a lot of different techniques. I used a lot of relaxation techniques that are inspired by yoga and mindfulness. This is also why I offered eye pillows as well when I worked as a psychomotor therapist. Because the eye pillows were used by different people, it was important to be able to wash the eye pillows, or at least the outer fabric. This is the main reason why I use a two-part eye pillow in this tutorial.

Eye pillow benefits

An eye pillow is used to shield the eyes from the surrounding light. This can already be very soothing and can help with sleep. Secondly, an eye pillow provides gentle pressure on the eyelids and around the eyes. This gentle pressure stimulates the vagus nerve, activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Sending calming messages to the body and mind.

In addition to the benefits of the light pressure an eye pillow provides, lavender is known for its calming benefits, reducing stress and improving sleep.

How to use

• Lay down and place the eye pillow over your eyes and relax 😀
• Use a soothing lavender eye pillow before sleeping, you will easily drift off to a nice relaxing sleep.
• After a yoga session, you can use the eye pillow for just that little bit of extra relaxation.
• At the bottom of this post, I have included two simple relaxation exercises you can try.

Extra tips

• Use lavender inside for an extra soothing and calming effect.
• If you do not like the smell of lavender you can leave this step out for sure. The gentle pressure provided by the weight of the eye pillow in itself has a calming effect as well.
• The outer layer is removable and washable.
• Because you make these eye pillows yourself, you can decide how much flaxseed you add. Do you prefer a little bit more pressure? You can add a bit more flaxseed to the filling of the eye pillow. However, be aware that the pillow is not stuffed till the edge. You want your eye pillow to feel soft and flexible when you place it over your eyes.

Materials

• Fabric for the outer layer
• Fabric for the eye pillow liner
• Coordinating thread
• Flaxseed. I prefer flaxseed, but you can also use other materials like rice
• Dried lavender (optional)

Tools

• The printed instructions (optional)
• Rotary cutter and cutting mat (you can also use fabric scissors)
• Ruler
• Pins or clips
• Sewing machine

How to sew your soothing eye pillow

• Cut two rectangles (12 cm by 30 cm ) out of the fabric for the outer layer.
• Secondly, cut two rectangles (11 cm by 25 cm) out of the fabric for the liner.
• If you use a rotary cutter, it is really easy to use a ruler to cut straight lines.

How to sew the insert pillow

• Pin the two pieces of the inside layer with the right side together on top of each other.
• Sew the inside layer and leave a small turning hole on one of the short sides. I used a seam allowance of 0,5 cm.

• Clip the corners and totally optional you can trim the edges with pinking shears.
• Turn the fabric right side out.

• Fill your eye pillow with flaxseed and if you like add a tablespoon or three of dried lavender. You can decide for yourself how much flaxseed you want to use for the filling. I have filled mine with a mixture of about 80 grams of flaxseed and 20 grams of dried lavender grams.

• Fill the eye pillow more or less halfway, this will give you a nice flexible eye pillow once closed up.
• Close the turning hole by hand, or close it by topstitching the short side with the sewing machine.

How to sew the outer pillowcase

• Start by folding 0,5 cm over on one of the short edges for each of the fabric pieces. Pin and sew.

• Pin the two pieces together with the right sides of the fabric towards each other. On the side with the opening, fold both layers 4 cm back on top of the fabric (picture on the right).

• Sew the pieces together along the long sides and the bottom, I used 0,5 cm seam allowance. Leave the short side with the envelope opening open.
• Clip the corners, trim the edges with pinking shears (totally optional) and turn the fabric right side out.

Finishing your soothing lavender eye pillow

• Put the inner pillow inside the outer pillow case and your soothing lavender eye pillow is finished.

Exercises for relaxation

Obviously, these eye pillows are best used in relaxation exercises while lying down. You can just lay down, place the eye pillow over your eyes and relax. Sometimes your mind can keep on wandering away during relaxation, especially when you feel stressed. However, there are also some extra exercises you can do while laying down to help relax even more.

Slow mindful breathing

If your mind keeps wandering away while relaxing with the eye pillow over your eyes, you can bring your attention towards your breath. Feel the air flowing in through the nose on an inhale and slowly release your breath through your mouth on an exhale. Every time you realise your mind has wandered away, thank yourself for being aware and bring your attention back to your breath.

Connect to and feel your body

While laying down on your back bring your attention to the back of your body. Start at your head and feel where your head is touching the ground/floor/matrass. Slowly continue and shift your attention towards your neck that is most probably not touching the ground. Bring your attention towards your shoulders and upper back which are touching the ground. Slowly continue towards your heels.

Once you have reached your feet, bring your attention towards the whole back of the body and try to visualize where your body is touching the ground and where it is not touching the ground. You could imaging that you are laying on a bed of really soft sand and what indentation your body would make in this soft sand.

How to make a soothing lavender eye pillow

Yield: Lavender Eye Pillow

Print

Materials

• Fabric for the outer layer
• Fabric for the liner
• Coordinating thread
• Flaxseed. I prefer flaxseed, but you can also use rice
• Dried lavender (optional)

Tools

• Rotary cutter and cutting mat (you can also use fabric scissors)
• Ruler
• Pins or clips
• Sewing machine
• The printed instructions (optional)

Instructions

Preparation

1. Cut two rectangles (12 cm by 30 cm ) out of the fabric for the outer layer.
2. Cut two rectangles (11 cm by 25 cm) out of the fabric for the liner.
3. If you use a rotary cutter, it is really easy to use a ruler to cut straight lines.

Sew the eye pillow liner

1. Pin the two pieces of the inside layer with the right side together on top of each other.
2. Sew the inside layer and leave a small turning hole on one of the short sides. I used a seam allowance of 0,5 cm.
3. Clip the corners and totally optional you can trim the edges with pinking shears.
4. Turn the fabric right side out.

Filling the eye pillow liner

1. Fill your eye pillow with flaxseed and if you like add a tablespoon or three of dried lavender. You can decide for yourself how much flaxseed you want to use for the filling. I have filled mine with a mixture of about 80 grams of flaxseed and 20 grams of dried lavender grams.
2. Fill the eye pillow more or less halfway, this will give you a nice flexible eye pillow once closed up.
3. Close the turning hole by hand, or close it by topstitching the short side with the sewing machine.

Sew the outer pillowcase

1. Start by folding 0,5 cm over on one of the short edges for each of the fabric pieces. Pin and sew.
2. Pin the two pieces together with the right sides of the fabric towards each other. On the side with the opening, fold both layers 4 cm back on top of the fabric (picture on the right).
3. Sew the pieces together along the long sides and the bottom, I used 0,5 cm seam allowance. Leave the short side with the envelope opening open.
4. Clip the corners, trim the edges with pinking shears (totally optional) and turn the fabric right side out.

Final step

1. Put the inner pillow inside the outer pillowcase and your soothing lavender eye pillow is finished.

Notes

• Use lavender inside for an extra soothing effect.
• If you do not like the smell of lavender you can leave this step out for sure.
• The outer layer is removable and washable.
• Use the eye pillow before sleeping, you will easily drift off to a nice relaxing sleep.
• Use the eye pillow after a yoga session for just that little bit of extra relaxation.
• Because you make these eye pillows yourself, you can decide how much flaxseed you add. Do you prefer a little bit more pressure, than you can offcourse add a bit more. Be aware that the pillow is not stuffed till the edge, because you want your eye pillow to feel soft and flexible.

Other simple sewing tutorials

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• Soft Washable Facial Rounds

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