Sewing knot pillows - Instructions for a homemade tube pillow

• Material and preparation
• Sew knot pillows
• Knot cushions
• Quick guide

Have you ever seen a knotted pillow ">

In this tutorial we show you how to sew the pillow by yourself. Finally, we knot the pillow to the so-called monkey fist, which used to be often used in shipping or as a backup when climbing. The great thing is, there are many ways you can do the knot. You can give free rein to your imagination and create an original pillow every time!

Material and preparation

Difficulty level 2/5
suitable for beginners

Material costs 2/5
0.5 m jersey is available for about 6-12 €
500-700g filling cotton costs about 4-6 €

Time required 3/5
1, 5 - 2 h (depending on how fast you stuff the pillow with the filling cotton)

What you need:

• classic sewing machine and / or overlock
• Hose knit (if you do not have a sewing machine) / jersey or other stretchy fabric
• pen
• one big and one small cardboard roll (long stick or wooden spoon)
• Pins or Wonder Clips (Cloth Clips)
• measuring tape
• Scissors or rotary cutter and cutting mat
• Filling cotton, lavender, stone pine wood, .. (just everything you can think of when filling the pillow)

Tip: You can also replace the small cardboard roll eg with a wooden spoon or if the big cardboard roll is longer than wooden spoon we recommend to take a long stick.

The material selection

We need an elastic jersey fabric that adapts nicely to the paperboard roll and does not tear when stuffing. In the knot, the elasticity of the fabric is also important so that the knot sits and holds tight.

So far, we've only seen the design cushion in plain-colored fabrics. For this reason, we opt for a colorful fabric that attracts everyone's attention.

The amount of material

You only need 0.5 m from the elastic jersey to be able to sew a 4-6 m long tube.

The thickness of the cardboard roll determines how wide the hose should be. First we measure the circumference of the paperboard roll with the measuring tape. We transfer the size to the fabric and cut 3 or 4 pieces of the fabric.

Note: The cardboard roll decides how big the pillow will be. With a narrow cardboard roll, eg from the wrapping paper, a small pillow is created.

Sew knot pillows

First, we sew the pieces together - this results in a long strip of fabric.

Next we put the fabric left to left. Sew the sides together to form a tube.

Note: The jersey fabric rolls gladly, so it is more practical now to work with Wonder clips or pins.

Now we have to turn the fabric to the right and stuff it with the cotton wool. We take our big cardboard roll to hand. Now we put the tube through the tube and pull it out on the other side of the cardboard tube. Now pull the hose back and turn it over the tube to the right.

Before we fill the tube, we close the end of the tube with a knot or with a seam. It does not matter which variant you choose. Eventually the hose end will be hidden later.

Note: If you want to sew the tube, remember that the simple grade stitch could break. Therefore, close the hose with an elastic seam.

Next, we stuff the hose with the filling cotton. For this we need a narrow cardboard roll, but it has to be longer than the first one. If you do not have one, you can use a wooden spoon, broomstick or something similar.

Tip: If you want your pillow to smell nice, you can also fill the hose with lavender or pine wood.

When we are done with stoppers, we sew the fabric end or make a knot again.

Note: If you do not have a sewing machine, you can work with the hose knit and stuff the hose with the filling wadding as well.

Knot cushions

We now show you how to tie the pillow to the so-called monkey's fist. We take the finished snake, which is about 4.5 to 6 m long and wrap it twice around your own hand.

Now put the tube back over the middle and wrap it around twice again.

Now two loops have been created and put the hose end through it. From the bottom loop we pull out the hose end. Now we wrap the loop around again.

Now take like the hose ends and hide them in the knot.

Finally, we pull on the loops until the knot is beautifully tight.

You can try another knot - let your creativity run wild! Here we have put together a variety of different nodes for you: Knotenkunde

Quick guide

1. Cut the elastic fabric into 3 pieces after the larger of the cardboard roll
2. Sew 3 pieces together to form the so-called snake
3. Place fabric left to left and sew to make a hose
4. Pull the tube through the cardboard roll and turn the fabric to the right
5. Sew on the fabric end
6. Plug the hose with the filling wadding
7. Sew on the second end of the fabric
8. Knot pillows

Have fun!