These little bowtie-shaped neck pillows are nice for propping up your noggin when you watch TV in bed or supporting your neck while sleeping. They're easy to create despite the complex-looking shape. A thoughtful gift that takes only about 30 minutes to make.

I've made countless neck pillows as gifts, and use one myself every night. If you like warm and cozy, use flannel. If you're like me and like a cool, crisp pillow, stick with a quality 100% cotton fashion fabric.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome DC4030)

Fabric and Other Supplies

• ½ yard of 45" wide fashion weight cotton fabric or cotton flannel. I made one from Aqua Garden Trellis/Flights of Fancy collection, a Paula Prass design from Michael Miller, and one from Duck Egg Acanthus/Belle collection, an Amy Butler design from Rowan.
• 2 feet of 7/8" satin or grosgrain ribbon per pillow.
• Bag of Poly-fil to stuff pillow
• All-purpose thread
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Hand sewing needle
• Straight pins

Getting Started

1. It's best of you pre-shrink your fabric before cutting.
2. Download and print four copies of the neck pillow pattern. Cut out and tape together the four shapes to make one bowtie-shaped pattern piece.
   
3. Using your assembled pattern, cut three pieces. I fold my fabric into thirds so I can cut all three pieces at once.
4. You'll see an * on either end of your pattern piece. Once you have your 3 pieces cut, and while they are all still pinned together, cut the tiniest little V-shaped clip, about 1/8" in depth and width. This marks the spot where you stop stitching and attach the center of your ribbon handles. While you can use a marking pencil, I found this V-clip easier to spot while sewing.
   

At Your Sewing Machine

1. Pin two of your three pieces of cut fabric right sides together along one side from one V-clip to the opposite V-clip. Using a 3/8” seam allowance, stitch from the precise center point of the V on one side to precisely that point on the opposite side. One side remains open. Because of the narrow seam allowance and the curves, sew slowly to assure your stitching line is smooth and accurate.  
   NOTE: This pillow is essentially a chubby triangle, which is helpful to keep in mind as you are assembling – remember you need three sides to create the correct dimension.
2. Loop your ribbon to form a handle and pin on center of each V-clip with the loop facing inside.
   
3. Stitch your second seam from V-clip to opposite V-clip to include half of the ribbon as shown below.
   
4. Pin your remaining open seam as shown:
   
5. Stitch from one V-clip to about the center of the pillow. Leave open a 4" gap in the seam. This is where you will stuff your pillow with Polyfil. Then, finish stitching to the opposite V-clip. Be sure to backstitch (back-tack) at both sides of the opening to keep the seam from coming open during the turning and stuffing process.
   
6. Turn your pillow right side out, and stuff the shape until pleasingly plump but not so rock hard that it's uncomfortable.
   
7. Tuck in the seam allowance at the opening and slip stitch closed.

Contributors

Aqua Garden Trellis/Flights of Fancy fabric courtesy Michael Miller Fabrics.

Other machines suitable for this project include the Bernina aurora 450 and the Pfaff expression 2.0.

Comments (10)

Shirley said:

	... Thanks for this! I made a neck pillow for my mom and She loves it! She uses it when she is lying down watching TV and said it's very comfy!
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February 08, 2010
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Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

	... Hi Shirley .... I'm so glad you made one for your mom. They were originally designed for a very special mom. Keep up the good work!
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February 09, 2010
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Patricia Ann said:

... After deciding to make this as a Father's Day gift, I made one yesterday for myself as a test. It turned out so cute and the idea for using the V cut for attaching the ribbon was easier than I thought it would be. I have two questions. What is the length of the long straight line on one of the pattern pieces? I'm not sure my printer did it right - mine measured 8 3/4 inches. You said you have made a lot of these, what brand and type of fiberfill do you find works the best. Thanks for your website. I look forward to your emails everyday.

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June 11, 2010
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alicia.thommas said:

... Hi Patricia Ann. That measurement is exactly 8-3/4" so your printer is accurate. I use Fairfield Poly-fil® for these pillows. Any of their polyester fiberfills work fine and their Bamboo Fiber is another soft silky option. The key is don't overstuff it and make it too hard. I personally like Fairfield's Soft Touch® Pol-fil Supreme Fiberfill that is very silky and is perfect for this kind of small pillow. These neck pillows are very easy to make and people really like them. I'm sure your dad will love his. Great gift!

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June 11, 2010
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Karlene said:

... Hi there Patricia Thanks you for the stunning neck pillow pattern , just want to check , when I open the pdf , the size of the pattern opens up on 66% size , must I leave it on that size , as I am not sure if it needs to be at 100% , a bit of a blonde , I am a sewing nut , but no good on PC;s & IT things ... Cant wait to make a few for us , as we both a bad necks. Cant wait to get started with my pillows , been looking all day for a fab pattern , thanks a stack , love it

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June 24, 2010
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Liz Johnson, Editor, Sew4Home said:

	... Hi Karlene, you do need to print the pattern at full size do not "scale it" or "shrink to page". Print it four times, cut out all four pieces, butt them together (don't overlap them) and tape to form your final "bone" shape. As shown in the picture above, two will be right side up and two will be upside down. Have fun
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June 24, 2010
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This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it said:

	... This is my second attempt at making this pillow. The part that confuses me is when I put the loops on the v notches and lay them to the inside am I supposed to sew another seam over the first one before I pin the third piece? I get to step three, and when I look at the diagram it looks like there are 3 pieces already being connected. Please help, what am I doing wrong? Thank you, Joanie
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June 25, 2010
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alicia.thommas said:

... Hi Joanhardee! I'm glad you asked for help. Let me see if I can be clearer without drawing on a napkin. I suspect you are missing the first step where you sew two pieces together along ONE side from V-clip to V-clip. It may be confusing because there is no photo of that step. That seam must be sewn BEFORE you insert the ribbon loop, which is the state you are in the photo with Step 2. What is on the bottom in Step 2 is the first two pieces sewn together. In the middle is the ribbon loop and on the top is the 3rd piece of fabric. Once you have done that, it will look like the photo in Step 3. I changed the wording of step 4 just a tad to be clearer there, but I don't think that's were you had trouble. Be sure to let me know if that didn't answer your question. I'll happily try again.

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June 25, 2010
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Patricia Ann said:

	... Hi Alicia, Thanks for answering my questions about size and stuffing. I used Fairfield Supreme Fiberfill and it turned out light and fluffy. It was a big hit on Father's Day. In fact, I got several orders for Christmas presents!!!
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June 30, 2010
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alicia.thommas said:

	... Hi Patricia Ann, I'm so glad your neck pillow was a Father's Day success!! It's always nice to get your Christmas orders in early Thanks for letting me know. -- Best, Alicia
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June 30, 2010
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