Familiar with flax seeds? This high-fiber food can be ground down to a meal and used in recipes or the seed can be roasted and added to dishes for a subtle earthy crunch. Aside from consuming them as part of a healthy diet, these versatile seeds are the perfect ingredient for making do-it-yourself aromatherapy pillows. Here’s how.
Flax seeds are light and gentle and, due to their oily nature, you can warm them repeatedly without producing a cooked or burnt smell if you decide to heat your pillow. You can also chill your pillow to help with aches, pains and fevers. Also, these aromatherapy pillows make great handmade gifts for the aromatherapy lovers in your life!
Materials:
- Fabric – not too heavy, not too stiff
- Flax seeds – exact amount depends on the size and shape of the pillow you make
- Your favorite soothing dried herbs or essential oils – try floral scents, such as lavender or rose
Directions:
- Cut fabric to the proper sizes. You can make a standard rectangular pillow (6 x 18 inches) or make a U-shape pillow to fit like a cuff around the back of your neck. It’s best to leave an extra half an inch in the fabric to allow room for the seam.
- Sew fabric together into desired shape, using half-inch seam allowance on each side. Remember to keep one short edge open so you can fill the pillow.
- Invert the fabric so the seams are on the inside.
- Depending on the amount of dried herbs you want to include, fill the pillow roughly 2/3 or 3/4 of the way with flax seed. (If you’re using only essential oils, then you can fill it ¾ of the way.) You want to leave enough wiggle room for the seeds to move around, conform to your neck or drape easily over your body.
- Add dried herbs or splashes of essential oils. You want enough to make it fragrant, but not too much that’s overwhelming. Keep in mind that the smell will intensify when heated.
- Sew the last end shut.
- To heat your pillow, microwave it for 30 seconds, give it a quick shake, and then use 30-second intervals to warm it to your desired temperature. Alternatively, if you’d like to cool it, just pop it in the freezer for a few minutes.
Tip: You can also make a no-sew (or minimal sewing) version by using an old tube sock! For the no-sew version, just fill the sock with the same proportion of ingredients, then tie the end shut.