How to Make a Body Pillow

A body pillow is basically a regular pillow that decided to pursue a growth opportuck, or occupy your partner’s half of the bed, it can be surprisingly usefuland even more surprisingly easy to make.

This beginner-friendly project uses two large fabric rectangles, straight seams, and your preferred pillow filling. You can sew a simple permanently closed pillow, create a removable insert, or add a zippered cover that can be tossed into the wash whenever life, pets, snacks, or questionable bedtime decisions leave their mark.

The standard method below produces a rectangular body pillow measuring approximately 20 by 54 inches. You can adjust the dimensions to suit a child’s bed, a reading nook, a pregnancy-support setup, or an unusually tall person who believes ordinary pillows are merely decorative suggestions.

Common body pillow dimensions are approximately 20 by 54 inches. hy Make Your Own Body Pillow?

Store-bought body pillows are convenient, but making one gives you complete control over its size, firmness, fabric, washability, and appearance. You can coordinate it with your bedding, use leftover fabric from another project, or create a personalized gift without paying boutique-home-decor prices.

A homemade body pillow also lets you choose exactly how it feels. Loose polyester fiberfill creates a traditional fluffy pillow. Shredded foam feels heavier and more supportive. A combination of fillings can produce a balance between softness and structure.

Most importantly, a rectangular body pillow is an excellent beginner sewing project. It involves long straight lines rather than complicated curves, darts, buttonholes, or instructions that mysteriously begin with “simply attach the gusset.”

Choose Your Body Pillow Size

Standard Adult Body Pillow

A common finished body pillow size is:

• Width: 20 inches
• Length: 54 inches

With a 1/2-inch seam allowance around the pillow, cut two fabric panels measuring 21 by 55 inches. Once the panels are sewn together, the finished shell will measure approximately 20 by 54 inches.

Custom Sizes

You are not required to obey the standard dimensions. Measure the intended user or sleeping space and choose a size that makes sense.

• Compact body pillow: 16 by 42 inches
• Standard body pillow: 20 by 54 inches
• Extra-long body pillow: 20 by 60 to 72 inches
• Wide lounging pillow: 24 by 54 inches

To calculate your cutting dimensions, add twice your seam allowance to the desired finished width and length. For example, a 24-by-60-inch pillow with a 1/2-inch seam allowance requires two panels measuring 25 by 61 inches.

Materials and Tools

Choosing the Best Fabric

The best body pillow fabric is durable, comfortable against the skin, and compatible with your washing routine. Remember that this is a pillow people may hug for eight hours at a time. A gorgeous fabric that feels like industrial sandpaper is not an upgrade.

Cotton

Quilting cotton, cotton percale, and cotton sheeting are easy to cut, sew, press, and wash. Cotton is an excellent choice for beginners because it stays relatively stable under the presser foot instead of stretching into a new geological formation.

Flannel

Flannel creates a soft, warm body pillow for cold weather. Prewash it carefully because cotton flannel may shrink. It can also produce substantial lint, so clean your sewing machine afterward.

Linen or Linen Blends

Linen feels breathable and develops a relaxed, lived-in texture. A linen-cotton blend is usually easier to sew and less prone to dramatic wrinkling than pure linen.

Upholstery or Home-Decor Fabric

Medium-weight home-decor fabric produces a structured pillow that holds its shape well. It is ideal for a reading nook or decorative bolster, although it may feel warmer and rougher than bedding fabric.

Minky, Fleece, and Stretch Fabrics

These fabrics create wonderfully cuddly pillows, but they can stretch, shift, or shed during construction. Beginners should use plenty of clips, sew slowly, and consider a walking foot. Practice on scraps before committing two yards of fuzzy fabric to the cause.

Prepare the Fabric Before Cutting

Wash and dry the fabric using the same method you plan to use for the completed pillow or cover. Prewashing removes manufacturing residue and allows washable fabric to shrink beforenot afteryou carefully measure and sew it.

Finish the raw cut edges with a zigzag stitch or serger before prewashing if the fabric frays easily. After washing, press the material flat without stretching it.

Prewashing helps account for shrinkage, and unfinished woven edges can be zigzagged or serged before laundering. ow to Make a Body Pillow Step by Step

Step 1: Measure and Mark the Panels

Spread the prewashed fabric on a large table or clean floor. For a finished 20-by-54-inch body pillow, mark two rectangles measuring 21 by 55 inches.

Use a long ruler or carpenter’s square to keep the corners at 90-degree angles. Measure each dimension in several places before drawing the cutting lines. Long pieces of fabric have a remarkable ability to become crooked while looking completely innocent.

Step 2: Cut the Fabric

Cut both panels with sharp fabric scissors or a rotary cutter. If your fabric has stripes, checks, animals, flowers, or any design with an obvious direction, make sure both panels face the same way.

For large repeating patterns, you may need extra fabric to center or match the design across the seams.

Step 3: Mark the Opening

Choose a section along one long edge and mark a 12- to 16-inch opening. This space must be large enough to turn the shell right side out and add filling.

A tiny opening may look tidy on paper, but trying to force several pounds of fiberfill through it is the sewing equivalent of stuffing a sleeping bag back into its original package.

Step 4: Pin the Panels Together

Place the fabric panels with their right sides facing each other. Align all four edges and secure them with pins or sewing clips every 4 to 6 inches.

Add extra pins near the corners and around the planned opening. Keep all pins perpendicular to the seam so they are easy to remove as you sew.

Step 5: Sew Around the Pillow

Set the sewing machine to a standard straight stitch with a stitch length of approximately 2.5 millimeters. Begin at one side of the marked opening and backstitch for about 1/2 inch.

Sew around the pillow using a consistent 1/2-inch seam allowance. Stop with the needle lowered at each corner, lift the presser foot, rotate the fabric, lower the foot, and continue sewing. Stop at the opposite side of the opening and backstitch again.

A half-inch seam allowance is commonly used in pillow construction and provides enough fabric for a durable seam without creating excessive bulk.

Pillow-making tutorials commonly use a 1/2-inch seam allowance and leave an opening for turning or inserting the form. tep 6: Finish the Raw Edges

For a longer-lasting pillow, finish the seam allowances with a zigzag stitch, overcast stitch, or serger. Do not sew across the stuffing opening.

This step is especially helpful for loosely woven cotton, linen, and fabrics that fray whenever someone merely looks at them with scissors.

Step 7: Trim and Turn

Trim the excess fabric diagonally across each corner, staying a small distance away from the stitches. Removing this bulk helps the corners turn neatly.

Turn the pillow shell right side out through the opening. Gently push out the corners with a point turner, capped pen, chopstick, or blunt knitting needle. Avoid sharp objects that could punch through the stitching.

Step 8: Press the Shell

Press the seams and corners according to the fabric’s care instructions. Fold the raw edges of the opening inward by 1/2 inch and press them so they align with the sewn seam.

Step 9: Add the Filling

Pull polyester fiberfill into small, loose pieces before inserting it. Begin by filling the far corners and short ends, then work toward the center. Push each handful into place before adding more.

A five-pound box of fiberfill gives you room to adjust the loft, although the amount actually used will depend on the pillow dimensions, desired firmness, and density of the product. Stop regularly to hug, squeeze, roll, and test the pillow.

For soft support, leave the filling movable. For a firmer pillow, continue adding small pieces until the shell feels evenly packed. Do not cram large clumps inside because they may create lumps that resemble hidden potatoes.

Fiberfill manufacturers recommend filling the ends first, working toward the center, shaping the pillow, and smoothing the stuffing as it is added. tep 10: Close the Opening

Thread a hand-sewing needle with strong matching thread. Use a ladder stitch, also called an invisible stitch, to close the opening.

1. Hide the thread knot inside the folded seam allowance.
2. Take a small horizontal stitch through one folded edge.
3. Cross directly to the opposite folded edge and take another small stitch.
4. Continue alternating sides until the opening is closed.
5. Pull the thread gently to draw the edges together.
6. Knot the thread securely and bury the tail inside the pillow.

Congratulations: you have made a body pillow and defeated a rectangle.

How to Make a Removable Body Pillow Cover

A removable cover is the most practical option for a pillow used every night. Construct the inner pillow from tightly woven cotton or inexpensive cotton-polyester fabric, then make a decorative outer cover that can be removed for washing.

Measure the finished insert rather than relying only on planned dimensions. A heavily stuffed pillow may become slightly shorter and thicker. Add approximately 1 inch to the measured width and length for two 1/2-inch seam allowances.

Install a 36- to 48-inch nylon coil zipper along one long edge before sewing the remaining sides. A long opening makes it much easier to insert and remove a bulky body pillow. Keep the zipper partially open before sewing the perimeter so the finished cover can be turned right side out.

An envelope closure is possible, but it requires substantial overlapping fabric and can gape when the pillow is squeezed. For a frequently used body pillow, a zipper generally provides a cleaner and more secure result.

Removable covers also simplify care. Pillow manufacturers commonly recommend washing the outer cover separately whenever possible because repeated machine washing may cause loose filling to shift or bunch.

Removable covers are recommended because washing a filled insert can alter the loft or cause bunching. illing Options Compared

Polyester Fiberfill

Polyester fiberfill is affordable, lightweight, washable, widely available, and easy to adjust. It creates the classic soft body-pillow feel and is the easiest option for first-time makers.

Shredded Memory Foam

Shredded foam creates a heavier, firmer pillow with more resistance. Place the foam inside a separate zippered liner because loose foam can be messy and difficult to remove.

Down or Feather Filling

Down and feathers feel soft and moldable, but they require a tightly woven, down-proof shell. Feather quills may eventually work through ordinary cotton fabric, so this option is better suited to experienced makers.

Hybrid Filling

A mixture of fiberfill and shredded foam combines fluffy softness with added structure. Mix the materials thoroughly before inserting them to prevent one end from feeling like a cloud and the other like a sofa cushion.

Common Body Pillow Problems and Fixes

The Pillow Looks Lumpy

Remove some filling, separate it into smaller pieces, and redistribute it gradually. Concentrate on empty areas instead of adding more material everywhere.

The Corners Are Empty

Use a blunt stick to guide small tufts of filling into each corner. You can also taper the corner stitching slightly inward to reduce excess fabric and prevent floppy “dog ears.”

The Seams Pucker

Check the machine tension, replace a dull needle, and avoid pulling the fabric while sewing. Pressing the seams after construction may remove minor puckering.

The Pillow Is Too Firm

Open a small section of the hand-sewn seam and remove filling gradually. Test the pillow after each adjustment. Removing too much at once may transform supportive into tragically floppy.

The Pillow Becomes Flat

Fluff it regularly by squeezing and rolling the filling toward compressed areas. If necessary, reopen the seam and add fresh fiberfill.

Practical Experiences and Lessons From Making a Body Pillow

One of the first things DIY makers notice is that a body pillow requires more workspace than expected. A small sewing table may handle the stitching, but measuring and cutting a 55-inch panel is easier on a dining table, folding craft table, or freshly cleaned floor. The word “cleaned” is important. Fabric seems magnetically attracted to crumbs, pet hair, and the one mysterious sticky spot nobody admits creating.

The second surprise is the amount of filling involved. Loose fiberfill looks enormous in its package, but it compresses dramatically once it enters the pillow. A bag that appears capable of filling a beanbag chair may disappear into one end of a body pillow. Buying a little more than you expect to use prevents an emergency craft-store trip while carrying a half-stuffed fabric tube.

Stuffing technique matters more than stuffing speed. Pushing large chunks through the opening may finish the job quickly, but it often produces hard lumps surrounded by hollow areas. Better results come from pulling the fiber apart, adding small handfuls, and rotating the pillow frequently. Filling the corners and ends first also prevents the classic problem of a fluffy center with sad, empty tips.

Another common lesson is that firmness should be judged in the position where the pillow will actually be used. A body pillow that feels wonderfully soft while held upright may collapse when placed between the knees. A pillow that seems firm on a table may become comfortable once someone leans against it. Testing during the filling process saves the trouble of reopening a beautifully sewn seam five minutes later.

Fabric choice also changes the final feel more than many beginners expect. Quilting cotton is easy to sew, but it may feel crisp until it has been washed several times. Flannel feels instantly cozy but can become warm in summer. Linen blends breathe well and look stylishly relaxed, although “stylishly relaxed” is also a generous description of wrinkles. Upholstery fabric holds a beautiful shape but may be better for lounging than sleeping.

A separate inner pillow and washable outer cover usually prove worthwhile. Constructing both pieces takes longer, but the pillow remains easier to clean and redecorate. Instead of replacing the entire pillow when the bedroom color scheme changes, you can sew a new cover. This also allows seasonal fabrics: cool cotton for summer, brushed flannel for winter, and an aggressively festive print for anyone who believes December requires decorative commitment.

Long seams reward patience. Sewing quickly can cause the layers to shift, especially with slippery or stretchy fabric. Many makers get better results by pinning or clipping more frequently than seems necessary and pausing occasionally to confirm that the raw edges remain aligned. A walking foot can help with fleece, minky, velvet, and other fabrics that enjoy wandering away from each other.

The hand-sewn closing seam is another detail worth doing carefully. A rushed closure may be visible or may separate under pressure. Folding and pressing the seam allowances before stuffing creates a clear guide for the ladder stitch. Strong thread and small, evenly spaced stitches make the repair nearly invisible and durable enough for regular squeezing.

Finally, homemade body pillows rarely look perfectly smooth the instant they are finished. Roll the pillow across a bed, knead the filling, and leave it overnight so the fibers can expand. A removable cover will also help refine the shape. The result does not need factory-perfect corners to be successful. It needs to be comfortable, durable, washable, and capable of surviving enthusiastic hugging.

Conclusion

Learning how to make a body pillow is mostly an exercise in careful measuring, straight sewing, and patient stuffing. Cut two large panels, sew them with the right sides together, turn the shell, distribute the filling evenly, and close the opening with a ladder stitch. For the most practical design, make a separate inner insert and a zippered washable cover.

The project is simple enough for a beginner but customizable enough for an experienced sewist. Change the size, experiment with filling, add piping, embroider a name, combine coordinating fabrics, or create multiple covers. Once you understand the basic rectangle, the possibilities become almost embarrassingly largemuch like the pillow itself.