Debbie Wolfe
Do your kids ever seem to grow out of clothes in a matter of months? Although I have a network of recipients among my siblings and friends, from time to time my children find it difficult to part with certain items of clothing. Since we do a lot of road trips, I decided to put one of my son's favorite (too small for him) sweatshirts to good use and pack a travel pillow to keep him comfortable on long drives.
Debbie Wolfe
Print and cut out two copies of the travel pillow template (get the free printout above) and glue them together. Lay the 1s back to back to form a U-shaped pillow template (see step 5 below).
Debbie Wolfe
Cut just below the seam line, remove the hood from a hoodie.
Debbie Wolfe
Cut out the front area where the hood is attached.
Debbie Wolfe
Cut the seam from the bottom of the hood.
Debbie Wolfe
Place the pillow template on the front of the sweatshirt over the logo or design. I wanted the pockets to be part of the pillow, so I made sure a good portion of the bottom of the template was above the pocket. Pin template down. Cut the front and back layers of the sweatshirt around the pattern, creating two pieces.
In order for the template to form the "U" shape, you will need to flip one side of the template over and then tape it down.
Debbie Wolfe
Lay the top of the cushion fabric (with the pocket) up quite a bit. Fold the hood in half and lie down. Place the cover on top of the cushion, aligning the center of the back of the cover to the center of the inside curve of the top of the cover.
Debbie Wolfe
Open the hood and attach the bottom of it to the inside curve of the cushion piece. Sew along the pinned edge, securing the hood to the top cushion piece.
Debbie Wolfe
Tuck the top of the hood under itself.
Debbie Wolfe
Place the bottom cushion piece (right side down) on top and pin in place. Sew a 1/2-inch seam allowance around the cushion, making sure not to sew the hood. As I sewed around the cushion, I periodically lifted the seam to make sure the hood was out of the way. Leave a two-inch opening at the top of the cushion.
Debbie Wolfe
Turn the pillow to the right and fill it with polyester fiberfill.
Debbie Wolfe
Use a whip to close the opening at the top closed.
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe
The hooded neck pillow has small pockets on both sides of the hood that are large enough to hold a cell phone or earphones, perfect for travel!
Aren't you preparing one of these pillows for yourself or your family? They make great inexpensive gifts for your travel-loving friends.
