homemade wool-stuffed pillows on a budget

While I was pregnant with my daughter three years ago, I began learning about how many toxins and harmful chemicals we're exposed to through the items we use every day. I was especially concerned about fire retardants used on foam products such as mattresses and pillows. (More about these fire retardants at Environmental Working Group's website here.) I started to feel overwhelmed by the effort and expense required to avoid all these chemicals, and finally settled on a moderate approach in which I'd work on one thing at a time and accept that in our modern world, it's impossible to be entirely toxin-free.

One thing I've wanted to change for a long time is our pillow situation. I love the idea of wool for bedding--it is naturally fire retardant, a perfect insulator, and naturally dust mite, mold, and mildew resistant. But for us, wool bedding is also prohibitively expensive. So I did some research to see if I could make an affordable wool-stuffed pillow myself. I think I've found a very acceptable solution and wanted to share it with you!

Here are my materials:

I used Woolgatherer Carding Mill as the source for the cleaned and carded wool.  They use wool from regionally raised sheep, encourage sustainable practices, and avoid use of chemicals in processing. By contacting the mill directly, and buying in bulk (at least 8 lbs of wool) I was able to get "scrap" wool for only $4.50/lb.  Since each standard pillow uses about 2 lbs of wool, that seemed just about perfect for the four pillows I was hoping to make. With shipping, the total for 9.5 lbs of wool came to $57.50. I used my 40% off Fabric Depot coupon to purchase 2.5 yards of organic cotton ($18), and 4 zippers ($7).

I used one of our current pillows as a template and cut two rectangles 20"x28" (enough for 1/2 inch seams all around). Then I followed this wonderful tutorial, at Prudent Baby, to sew a zipper pillow cover. (I had never sewn a zipper before, and this tutorial walked me through each step perfectly). I bought 18" zippers, but would recommend using a slightly smaller size for a perfect fit. You could also just sew up all four sides, but I thought the zipper would make it easier to stuff and would provide the option to remove the wool and fluff it up as needed.

Now for the fun part--working with this delightfully soft and fluffy wool! The scrap wool comes in pieces of various sizes, not in a long perfect bat. So in order to avoid too many lumps and bumps, I experimented with different stuffing techniques. If anyone has experience with this, I'd love to hear how you do it!

What worked best for me was to use a large-ish piece as an outer wrapping, then roll up smaller pieces inside, like a sushi roll. I made the roll roughly the size of the pillow case, then squeezed it tight and pulled the case over it. Another option is to pull off smallish pieces and stuff them in one at a time, arranging as you go to keep the bulk even throughout the pillow.

Doesn't it just look dreamy? Surely it will inspire good dreams? Healthy brain cells, anyway.

And there you have it--a lovely puffy toxin-free pillow, put together by a complete novice, for about $20. Quite a savings when compared to the $50-$100 required to purchase one pre-made. My husband has been sleeping on this one and really likes it--just the right balance between soft and firm, and very supportive, without noticeable lumps. 

I used this same process for making a throw pillow for the couch a few months ago, and it has held up well--very minimal condensing of the wool. Over time, I imagine the wool will become condensed, but hopefully by removing the wool and fluffing it up, it will return to it's original springiness. If not, another benefit to wool is that it is compostable, so when it has served its purpose, it may be returned to the earth without contaminating it.

Please let me know if you give this a try--I'd love to hear how it works for you!