The first step involves acquiring the necessary materials and proper tools. It is best to get everything prepared and set-up before commencing because you become free to progress without unnecessary interruptions.

Now that you have all of the tools and materials, we can jump right into the project. Let's cut the fabric to size. The size of your fabric will be twice the size of the finished eye pillow. A 8" x 10" (20 x 25cm) piece of fabric will create a 4" x 10" (10 x 25cm) eye pillow.

Once you have the fabric cut, fold the fabric in half (along the long dimension). Make sure that the desired side of the fabric is facing inwards. Sew seams on one of the short sides and along the long side. This creates a long and narrow pouch.

Next, flip the pouch inside out so that the seams are hidden within. Fill the pouch with your filler material so that it is relatively full but not bursting at the seams. You can test out different quantities by filling the pouch and temporarily closing the open end with paper or binder clips. Once you have filled the pouch with the desired quantity of filler, fold the flaps of fabric in and sew the open end shut.

To use your eye pillow simply lay down or lean back in a chair and face the ceiling. Gently place the eye pillow across both of your eyes and concentrate on the darkness and gentle pressure afforded by it.

The fabric should be light yet strong. The weave should be relatively tight so that the filler material will not be able to fall out. Silk, lycra, rayon or any other light fabric will work well. You can also try heavier fabrics; they provide the same pressure but seem to lack the ability to cool.

size

We made our eye pillow to be 4" x 10" (10 x 25cm) which sufficiently covers both eyes and gives enough weight to provide the gentle pressure that we were looking for. You could make it a bit larger but we recommend that you avoid making too large an eye pillow because it will probably be too heavy. Too small an eye pillow will fail to cover both eyes and will be very lightweight.

filler

We used rice in our eye pillow, but you can also use flax, buckwheat hulls etc. Make sure that whatever you use does not provide a displeasing smell or release fine powders because this will surely be annoying.

other ideas

You can sew on designs or patches to one side of the eye pillow; we recommend against including additional fabric to the side that will be used against the eyes - this will simply get in the way. You can also add aromatic ingredients into the filler to add to the relaxing experience afforded by an eye pillow.