Guest Author - Fiona Blackwolf

For centuries, sweet smelling herbs have been used to encourage restful sleep and promote dreaming. Today we can draw on those age-old notions to give us respite from the hectic lives we lead. Making a dream pillow is simple even for the novice seamstress. Dream pillows can also be warmed gently in the microwave to aid in relieving headaches. Follow these instructions to make your own herb-filled pillow and drift off into dreamland.

What do I need?

1 Square of cloth approximately 4 inches by 4 inches

1/2 cup of flax seeds or rice

3/4 cup of herbs (see below for list)

1-5 drops of essential oil (usually lavender or vanilla)

Needle and thread, sewing machine, or fusible web


Now what do I do?

Fold the fabric in half so the wrong side is out. On printed fabrics this will be easy to see, but on plain fabrics just use your best judgment. With your needle and thread (or sewing machine) sew along one short side and the open long side of the fabric making sure it is tightly sealed. If you are hand sewing you may want to sew each side twice to make sure there are no gaps where little herbs can slip out. For those of you who aren’t comfortable sewing, you can make the seams using fusible web. This product I awesome! All you do is put a strip of web between the fabric and iron it closed. After this step, you should have a fabric bag with one short end left open. Turn the bag right side out. Fill the bag with the herbs and grain mixture. Don’t fill the bags more than 3/4 full. Fold the edges of the opening into the bag to make a hem. Pinch the bag closed and sew (or fuse) along the edge about 1/8-1/4 inch from the end. Again you may want to double sew this end so that it is closed securely.

Ok, I get the idea but what do I fill it with?

There are a lot of herbs that will work to give you a restful sleep and peaceful dreams. The mixture below gives you some of the most common herbs and oils to fill your pillow with. You can find most of these herbs at your local natural foods store or metaphysical shop. Otherwise there are great sites online to order from such as www.isisbooks.com or www.whisperedprayers.com. If you want more suggestions, check any aromatherapy book. The ingredients I listed below are for helping you sleep. Feel free to make your own blend for such magical purposes as prophetic dreams or prosperity etc.

Grains are added to give weight to the pillow but can also add some level of comfort and can be heated to make a warm soothing pillow. I prefer to use flax seed for two reasons. First, flax seed is small and smooth so there are no lumps to worry about. Second, if you use rice and it gets wet there is danger of it “cooking” should you decide to warm it in the microwave. Either grain will work fine but be cautious if you are using rice.

Ok, here is my basic dream pillow recipe

1/2 c flax seeds
1/2 c lavender or chamomile
1/4 c mixture of rose, jasmine, lavender or chamomile (whichever you didn’t already use) and any other herb you find soothing to smell.
1-5 drops of lavender or vanilla oil

In a mixing bowl stir together all of the herbs and grains. Add the oils one drop at a time until you feel the mixture is fragrant enough. Some oils are stronger than others and you don’t want to overpower yourself!

So there you have it.

I hope you enjoy your new dream pillow. They also make great gifts for mothers, mothers-in-law, sisters, friends or anyone else you know.