I am now 3 months pregnant with my second and have decided it is time to add more pillows to get comfortable when I sleep. For my last pregnancy I used a body pillow and some other pillows for support, but this time I wanted to try a maternity pillow, but didn't want to buy one (they cost $40-$100!). After some searching on the internet for a pattern or tutorial, I found
this blog post saying she had made her own. No tutorial or pattern, but a photo that gave me enough inspiration to just try making my own. And since it was hard to find information, I figured I would document how I made mine if others are interested in the process.
First I made a pattern using some large white pieces of paper.
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I had to use two pieces of paper, and taped the overlap every 5-6 inches. |
Then I laid down in the position I most often sleep in while pregnant and had my husband draw my outline (sorry it's hard to see). Then I drew the outline of a pillow (then I drew it again with an extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance) that I thought would best suit me in red and cut it out, adding extra tape to the overlap. I bought 4 yards of $2.99/yard muslin at Joann's with a coupon, and got it for about $7, though I didn't use all of it. I folded the muslin in half the long way and pinned my paper pattern to it, then cut it out. As I unpinned the paper, I pinned the two layers of muslin together every 4-6 inches (with extra pins around the curves). Then I started at the top of the pillow and sewed a 1/2 seam around the whole thing, leaving a 6-7 inch opening at the top. I then turned it inside out and went pillow shopping. I got two pillows for $7 at a thrift store, and used their stuffing for my maternity pillow.
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Finished pillow! |
All that's left is sewing up the hole in the top! Total cost is less than $14! So excited to try it out tonight.