Want to meditate and do more yoga in the new year? Learn how easy (and inexpensive) it is to make your own zafu meditation pillows. Get started!! Follow the easy, illustrated instructions at FineCraftGuild.com and make your own zafus! OM!!!!
What’s a Zafu?
A zafu meditation pillow is a firm, high cushion that is specially designed for seated meditation and certain types of yoga. Call it meditation pillow, meditation seat or meditation cushion …, the official term is ‘zafu’. Or zafus for plural.
How to Make Your Own Zafu Meditation pillow
Free Sewing Tutorial with Instructions to make zafus *!
Materials Needed to make your own Zafu Meditation Pillow
Fabric
It’s best to use organic cotton fabric
The Best Filling for Zafu Meditation Pillows
You’ll need Kapok fiber for your pillow filling (or buckwheat hulls for a firmer seat. Click this orange image to order your kapok now:
BE SURE TO use our exclusive Carolina Morning discount code of 0012310. YOU will get 5% off your first order if you do. Plus, they give us a little kick-back too. We both win. Thank you for using our Carolina Morning discount code.
Free Step-by-step Tutorial to make your own Zafu Meditation Pillow
- STEP 1. Pleat the length of cloth. There should be fourteen 3/4 inch pleats, 3 inches apart.
How To Pleat
a) Beginning 6-1 /2 inches from the left edge of the length, make three marks, 3/4 inch apart, thus marking out the first pleat:
Three inches after the first set of pleat markings, make the second set, as indicated above. Continue doing this till you have 14 pleats. When you finish, the last pleat marking should be 3 inches from the right edge. (If you wish to have narrower pleats, of course, simply increase the number of pleats.)
b) Next, iron the pleats and pin them. They should all be folded and ironed in toward the left-hand side. For each set of pleat markings, fold the third in toward the first as shown, and then pin as shown at below:
- STEP 2. Now, having completed the first step, take the right edge of the pleated strip cloth and pin it to the left end of the strip, 3-1/4 inches from the left edge:
- STEP 3. Mark each circle of cloth at four equidistant points. Turn pleated length of cloth inside out. Pin each circle to the pleated strip, one circle to the top edge and one to the bottom edge, at each of the four points:
Those would be great to have sitting around for game night! Great tute! Thanks for posting … I’ve added a link. Check it out and add a few links of your own!
Hi, I want to make a zafu for my husband – does anyone know roughly how much kapok I will need (by weight) to fill it if I’m using this pattern?
Thanks
I don’t know, but I am asking around for you and will let you know when a smart person answers me with what you need to know. Meanwhile, I have 2 considerations for you:
1. Kapok is light weight, and it expands when warm, say, when in the sun. So, you will want to consider that.
2. I know that Kapok is a healthy material, so it is ‘approved’ ha ha …. but seriously, I’d like you/all readers to consider making a recycled materials center, such as old clothing, towels, or similar.
My uncle is impossible to find gifts for. He spends 4 hours a day meditating. This is perfect!! Thanks so much for the idea!
where can i find a paper pattern for a zabuton and a zafu? with a pattern I can digitize it and make them to the size I need. thank you
My pleats are all 3/4″ deep. Each pleat is 3″ from the next. I got 12 pleats out of 59 “, not 14.
I had to enlarge pleats, not ease the fabric, in order to fit the pleated strip to an 11″ circle.
QUESTION: With this pattern, will buckwheat hulls stay inside, not spill out of the slit?
In step one, marking out the pleats, im having trouble ending up with 14 pleats and with 3 imces on the right side. Does it say start with “six and one half inches” from the left or does it say start “six to one, half inches from the left. I always end up with 12 pleats and less than two inches on the right. My cloth is 60 & 1/4 inches long. When you do the math, this makes sense. 59 – 6&(1/2) = 52&(1/2) divied by (3 inches + (2*(3/4))) <12. Maybe i am understanding this completely wrong. Someone please explain? Thank you!
In step one, marking out the pleats, im having trouble ending up with 14 pleats and with 3 imces on the right side. Does it say start with “six and one half inches” from the left or does it say start “six to one, half inches from the left. I always end up with 12 pleats and less than two inches on the right. My cloth is ~60 inches long. When you do the math, this makes sense. 59 – 6&(1/2) = 52&(1/2) divied by (3 inches + (2*(3/4))) <12. Maybe i am understanding this completely wrong. Someone please explain? Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this tutorial—these are not very easy to locate online!
I have featured this on my blog post, 7 Tips for Creating a Sacred Space in Your Home, and have linked back to your page.
This is awesome!!! Thank you for sharing this tutorial. It looks easy very easy, i wonder if it’s really easy to make when in real situation.
Anyhow, i really love to meditate with cushions underneath because it gives me comfort and relaxation. Thus, making me concentrate with my meditation and achieve mindfullness and enlightenment at the end of the day.