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Balsam Pillows, make them! Gift them!

December 15, 2020

                      

If you have a couple of hours on your hands, how about whipping up a few tiny balsam pillows? I toss mine in my daily carry-all and smell a little bit of forest all day. 

 

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 - fabric, scissors to cut it, ruler to measure it (or go wild and eyeball it)
2 - balsam fir pine needles 
3 - some thread and a needle (sewing machine not totally required, but will get you a lot of pillows much faster)
                               
You're outside on a crisp day taking a deep breath in the sun dappled wood-filled pine forest and it's the best. If you're like me, and wish you could put this feeling in your pocket for later, then this simple project is for you! This little diy balsam pillow makes such a sweet gift, but be sure to make one for yourself, throw it in your sock drawer.

 

1 fabric 

 

Harvest scraps from your scrap pile or even order quilt scraps on etsy. 100% Cotton is nice and quilt weight will let the pine-y aroma flow! You'll want to make sure the weave isn't too loose, or else you might have needles escaping the pillow. If you have a fabric scrap pile, get creative with what's lying around.                                                         

 

2 balsam needles 

 

Not everyone has access to fresh needles, but thankfully you can find them at Paine Products online, and also the Vermont Country Store (go ahead and grab a pair of the coziest socks while you're there). If you have fresh needles, use heavy duty scissors to chop into 1/2" pieces. You should be able to fill two 4" x 4" pillows with one pound of needles :) Using fresh needles will smell great, but keep in mind, they will shrink a bit as they dry- so jam those needles into every nook and cranny of your pillow. 

3 sewing stuff

 

These pillows are pretty easy to customize but we're wanting something square, and on the smaller side so that we can gift a handful of pillows. Cut two squares of fabric to sew together, 5" x 5". Place together right side in and sew three sides together, leaving a couple inches open on your fourth side to pour the balsam needles in to. Put as many needles in there as you can if you want a plump pillow. Hand sew the opening shut on your full pillow and smile. 

 

 

love, hillary 

                 


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