Cyrus turned 11 earlier this year, which meant he moved from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. He loves Boy Scouts and is enjoying it so much.
Because Boy Scouts means camping, we have slowly been getting him some camping gear this year, including a backpack (specifially for camping), and a fantastic tent that my husband found at the thrift store for $4 earlier this year. He already has a sleeping bag. What he doesn’t have is a roll-up camping pillow to take with him.
One of my readers sent me some fabulous Boy Scout fabric scraps that she had leftover from making something for her son. They were small pieces, but just the right size to make a camping pillow.
A camping pillow is small, and somewhat thin, so that it can provide comfort, but still be rolled in a backpack.
Supplies:
fabric
thread
polyfill quilt batting
Tools:
scissors
ruler
sewing machine
needle
I researched sizes of camping pillows, and in the end decided on a 12 by 20 inch pillow. I cut two pieces of fabric, one blue and one green. I cut them 12 3/4″ by 20 3/4″ to allow for seam allowances.
I simply put them right sides together, and machine stitched them together on three sides.
Then I turned the pillow right-side out, and ironed it.
I cut a piece of batting that was the width of the pillow, and 5 times the height. I placed the batting on top of the pillow (to double check the size as I went) and folded it over 5 times.
It doesn’t make a real thick pillow, but that is neccesary in order for it to be able to be rolled.
I put the batting inside the pillow, and folded the open pillow edges inside along the seam allowance. I closed up the pillow with a whip stitch by hand.
Time:
The total time for one pilow was around 30 minutes.
Cost:
This project didn’t cost me anything, as both the fabric and the batting were given to me (the batting came from my mother-in-law’s stash that she shared with me).
The pillows I saw for sale were made with plaid flannel. This project could be made with old flannel sheets, parts of old flannel shirts, the legs of a an old pair of flannel pajamas, or other repuposed fabric (such as old t-shirts). The filling could be the batting from an old bed pillow.
This size and type of pillow is also used as a travel pillow, and would make a good gift for a frequent traveler.
Did you make any gifts today? What did you make?
Would love to find that fabric as I am a scouter. would also make a great curtai.
I have finally decided to start using my stash of fabrics to make a quilt. It is probably going to take a year to make, but I aim to make a block a day. It is a fab pattern which will make what I think is the perfect scrap quilt. I will post it on my blog next week–you have inspired me. 🙂
There were several pieces that she gave me. I think they are long-ago discontinued. They are official Boy Scout ones made by Robert Kaufman. The selvedge has red troop number pieces. There were two others in another style; one being red trefoil, and some yellow achievement words, of which she gave me tiny scraps, but I imagine were the same maker, and another that had squares with the Norman Rockwell Boy Scout images inside (that one is made by Quilting Treasures). Sometimes you can find pieces of discontinued fabrics online here and there; I looked at a couple places and did not see any of them anywhere, but I just looked on Ebay and saw them (not cheap, unfortunately). You may be able to find some pieces that way.
Perfect! My son’s 11th bday is coming up and he’ll need some camping gear of his own as well.
Oh, thank you for the wonderful idea! My 9 year old son will be doing some camping next year and I was planning to buy him a sleeping bag for Christmas. This will be a great addition! I have some flannel in my stash with trees and bears on it 🙂
Yesterday, I made a little skirt for my daughter’s Operation Christmas Child shoebox. I made size 4, and put lace on the bottom to make it longer so the child who receives it will hopefully be able to wear it longer. I got the idea from a friend. She used old curtains to make several skirts for the same purpose. Her great idea was that if the child received clothing, they would have something practical to wear and if the skirts were extra long, they would last as the child grew. I used a scrap from a skirt I made my daughter long ago–the kind of scrap that was too big to throw away, but not big enough to make much……So, it was a real “feel good” moment to think that that scrap can now bless a child overseas. I used a pattern I had and lace from a garage sale years ago. So, all it cost me was a piece of elastic and some time.
I love those headbands and hope to make some for the nieces and my crew here at home.
This is a great idea. My son bridges to Scouts in February, so it’s perfect.
Great idea! Wanted to tell you that your new site is so lovely!
Brenda
I would’ve loved one of those for Girl Scout Camping & regular camp. I always ended up wrapping my jeans around a sneaker to make a pillow! Not so comfy….
Debby
Such a great idea! Thank you so much for the inspiration!
This week I crocheted 3 curly scarves for my kiddos. I am making most things in 4 however once in a while I change to another project and come back to finish up the “other” gifts of the set. I need some time to get my creative juices going so taking a break from one project gives me a moment to reflect.
I made a crayon roll for one of my nieces for Christmas.