A Simple to Make Travel Pillow

Like most travelers, I purchased a travel pillow. You know the variety – soft, black fabric stuffed with a filling. The little pillow fits around your neck, allowing you to rest while traveling. That’s all well and good, until the filling starts making my head itch! I don’t know exactly what’s inside of those pillows, but it’s not really conducive to rest. Aside from the itchy factor, it’s too full to allow your head to feel comfortable.

With all the travel we’ve been doing, I knew I had to do something to allow myself to be more comfortable in the car or airplane. Looking at the travel pillows, I realized that it would be simple to create one myself.

I have recently purchased a Coop pillow for my bed (that I love!!!). It came with an extra bag of filling so you can adjust it to your comfort level. I didn’t need it for my bed pillow, so I knew it would be the perfect filling for my travel pillow. Here’s how I made mine:

• I found a soft fabric. It’s a stretchy jersey material.
• I folded the right sides of the fabric together and then placed my travel pillow on top and cut out the needed shape.

• I filled the pillow with the stuffing, then hand stitched the opening shut.
• I stitched all the way around, but left an opening to insert the filling.

As an after-thought, I added the tabs with a snap so I could place it around the suitcase handle for easy transport in the airport.

I absolutely love my new travel accessory! I’ve always been a car sleeper – I think the rocking motion of the car just puts me to sleep! This new pillow has made our trips so much nicer – well at least for me! My sweet husband is still the steady driver who is seldom ever in the passenger seat (by his choice!).

If the store-bought variety travel pillows bother you like they did me, I’d so encourage you to make your own! You can find pillow filling in the fabric department of most stores where you would purchase your material.

Happy travels!