Lavender and Chamomile Eye Pillow

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreMomentsWithExcedrin #CollectiveBias

With 3 boys under the age of 12 and a dog who’s a complete and total lunatic, it shouldn’t come as that big of a shock that I get headaches from time to time. Unfortunately for me, a lot of times they’re migraines. Which, if you’ve ever had one, you’ll know: they suck. Really, really badly. I always thought they were just a really bad headache until I got one. Then I knew.

I was officially diagnosed with migraines about 8 or 9 years ago. I will never forget the day I was diagnosed. Dave was out of town, so I was home by myself with David and Connor, who were about 3 and 1 at the time. I started to feel nauseous, sensitive to light and sound, and a throbbing pain in the left side of my head. Everything was fuzzy, and I started forgetting words. It was terrifying.

Since then, I get migraines every now and then {I know I’m lucky, I have a couple of friends who get them weekly, if not more frequently}. They still suck, btw. But I have gotten to the point now where I can usually feel one coming on and I know how to head it off at the pass. As soon as I feel like one is on its way, I immediately take an Excedrin® Migraine and I go lie down in a dark room with a lavender and chamomile eye pillow {which I will show you how to make in a minute — they are super easy!}.

I have tried pretty much every headache remedy out there, including several different over-the-counter medicines, but this routine is the only thing that works. Excedrin® Migraine really works fast, which can save a whole lot of drama — both for me and my whole family. And, it’s readily available at Walmart, so I can pick it up whenever I’m there doing some shopping. {You can find it right with the other pain relievers.}

I have started taking my Excedrin® Migraine with me wherever I go, because I never know when a migraine will hit. Last summer, we were in Ocean City, NJ for our annual vacation and we were planning to go to the boardwalk one evening to have some pizza {can I get a “What, What!” for Manco & Manco??} and ride the rides. Early in the afternoon I started getting a migraine, so the boys were extremely upset that we weren’t going to be able to go. I did my little routine, took a little nap with my eye pillow and by dinnertime I was good to go.

Ok, so enough blathering on about me and my headache woes, let’s get onto the fun part: making something!

If you’ve never had an eye pillow, you don’t know what you’re missing. This one can be heated in the microwave or placed in the freezer, and there is something so relaxing and lovely about lying down with it placed on your eyes. Even if you’re not suffering from a headache, you are going to love this bad boy. My eye pillow is filled with flaxseed, which retains heat better than rice or other grains, lavender and chamomile, both of which have relaxing properties and are thought to help in an aromatherapy sense with headaches.

And they’re super easy to make. I created a slipcover for mine, just because I thought it might get a little manky and need to be washed from time to time, but if you don’t want to do this extra step, feel free to skip that part.

Start off by choosing your fabric. I used cotton fabric for the inner layer and a super-soft polyester for the outer layer. If you’re a beginner sewer, I’d recommend using cotton for both layers, though, because this wasn’t the easiest fabric to work with. Make sure to wash and dry the fabric first, especially if you are using cotton. If you skip this step, your slipcover could shrink when you wash it and then your eye pillow might not fit back in it and you’d be sad. So trust me, even though I’m all about a shortcut, you want to wash and dry your fabric first.

Let’s start with the inner bag first:

Cut your fabric into a square 9″ wide x 10″ long.

Fold it in half so that the right sides of the fabric are together.

Sew a seam across one short end and the long end, leaving the other short end open, backstitching at the beginning and the end.

Clip the corner to eliminate extra bulk inside the pillow and turn it right-side out. Fill the pillow with about 3/4 cup of flax seed and about 1/4 cup each of dried lavender and chamomile. I got the flaxseed at Walmart, and the lavender and chamomile at a local natural foods store, but you can also get them online.

Once you have your pillow full {not FULL full, you only want to fill it about 2/3 of the way, because you want some room in there for everything to move around and flatten out}, fold the ends in about 1/2 inch and pin closed. Then sew shut, being sure to backstitch at both ends. If you want to be really cautious, you can always sew a second seam next to the first one to make absolutely sure that nothing’s going to come out of there.

If you don’t want a slipcover, no biggie, you can just stop here. But if you do, then you need to cut your other fabric into 3 pieces:

1 front piece: 5″ x 10″
2 back pieces: 5″ x 6″ each

You’ll notice that this is the same technique I used in this pillow cover. It’s super easy, and you don’t need to use a zipper, which is a huge bonus in my opinion {zippers scare me}.

To start, fold in one short side of each of your back pieces about 1/2″ in toward the wrong side of your fabric and iron flat. {If your fabric has a distinct up-and-down pattern, fold in the top of one side and the bottom of the other so one part of your back piece isn’t upside-down when it’s all sewn together.} Sew each of these seams down.

Place your front panel on your workspace with the right side of the fabric facing you. Then place your first back panel face down on top, with the seam you just sewed toward the middle of the top piece. Place your second back panel on top of that, again with the seam toward the middle. You’ll see that the two back pieces will overlap where you sewed those seams.

Now just sew around the entire outside of the panels, backstitching at the beginning and end.

Turn your slipcover right side out, slip your inner bag inside, and you, my friend, have just made yourself an eye pillow!

To heat, place inner bag in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, and then shake. Place back in microwave and heat in 10-20 second intervals until it reaches your desired temperature. You can also cool the pillow in the freezer to help with aches and pains, fever, stings and bruises.

For more information on Excedrin® products, visit any of the below links or check them out on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram:

More Moments with Excedrin
Excedrin® Extra Strength
Excedrin® Migraine
Excedrin® Tension Headache
Excedrin® PM Headache

Now you tell me: do you get migraines or other bad headaches? What routine works for you?

*Among OTC medicine for migraines. Symphony Health Solutions, 2016. Consult your doctor if you think you are suffering from migraines.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Among others, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”