Travel in style part 2: How to make a cover for an inflatable neck cushion

For those, like me, who happen to always take more stuff than they need on vacation, avoiding bulk is of importance, especially when travelling by train or plane. Therefore I love those inflatable neck cushions, that fold up neatly into almost nothing when unused. I do not like the material they are made of, eventhough many try to make them more soft and less plasticky. Therefore I will make a cotton cover for my inflatable neck cushion that matches my eye mask (click here for the tutorial). If you want something softer, use fleece or whatever other fabric you prefer. If you don't need to worry about bulk and prefer to make a custom fit neck cushion from scratch, the tutorial will be online in the coming days.

 

This is what you need:
inflatable neck cushion
cotton fabric

Measure your neck cushion (inflated) as shown in the pictures below.

Measure the length of the outside of the cushion (above) and the circumference of the cushion at the thickest part (below).

Cut a piece of your outside measure plus 10cm x your circumference plus 2 cm from your fabric. My cushion measures 80 cm (outside) and 34 cm (circumference), therefore I to cut a 90 x 36 cm rectangle from my fabric.

Additionally cut a 4cm x circumference of your cushione plus 15cm strip (mine measures 4x50 cm).

Iron the rectangle in half lengthwise, wrong side out. Close one short side and the long side of the rectangle with a simple straight stitch leaving only the last 2 cm of the long side open, to obtain a long tube.

Now turn the remaining raw edge inside for about 1.5cm and sew it in place with a straight stitch close to the raw edge.

The last 2cms of the long seam remained open and therefore there will be a small opening where the two raw eges meet inside the tunnel you just created.

This is where the ribbon will go to close the opening.
To prepare the ribbon take the long strip you cut from your fabric and iron both raw edges towards the inside so that they meet in the middle.

Then fold the strip in half lengthwise and iron it so that the raw eges are hidden inside the strip.
Close the strip sewing along the open edge.

Now use a security pin to insert the strip into the tunnel you created earlier.

Fix the ends of the string with simple knots.

Put the cover on the inflatable cushion making sure that the opening is as close to the valve as possible. Uncover the valve, inflate the cushion, then cover it completely and close the opening using the string.

I like to fold the corners of the other end of the cushion towards the inside in order to make the fabric stay close to the cushion in all places.

And here's the set of coordinated eye mask and covered inflatable neck cushion.

Have a nice trip!

 Have you made a project following this tutorial? Let me know what you think. Did you like it? Was it easy to understand and to follow? Do you have any suggestions?
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