Oversized lumbar pillows are useful for providing extra support for the spine and being comfortable, whether you’re sitting on a chair at your computer or relaxing in bed. They’re versatile and can be used in a lot of different ways plus you can take them with you when you travel. They decrease muscle paint and help prevent back pain and they’re great to have around even if you’re not feeling any strong discomfort.

The small size of lumbar pillows makes them very convenient and easy to carry and means they’re not very obvious either so you can use them in the office for example without standing out. Lumbar pillows are not usually very expensive and come in many different designs and styles but if you want something custom and unique you can also make your own. Here are some examples:

DIY lumbar pillows

Extra Long Lumbar Pillow

A nice thing about making your own lumbar support pillow is that you get to make it in any size you want. This one which is featured on madeinaday is extra long and was made from a decorative blanket throw which worked out perfectly. It was a 60 x 50 blanket which is perfect for a king size mattress but if you prefer a smaller pillow you can always trim it and make it fit. The fringes were kept and look really cute on the pillow, giving it some extra character.

Lumbar Pillow in 3 Easy Steps

Not having a sewing machine can be discouraging and can cause you to not even want to try a lot of the projects that require using one. Making a lumbar pillow however doesn’t necessarily have to involve sewing. This for example is a no-sew pillow which you can put together using fabric glue. It has a simple and stylish design with flat trim for detailing and tassel trim for a touch of color and texture on the edges. You can make it in any combination of colors you prefer. Check out the tutorial for this lovely pillow on apartmenttherapy for more information.

Extra-long

Here’s another example of an extra long lumbar pillow that can be easily made from scratch. It’s great when you’re sitting in bed or even sleeping and it can be used in a lot of different positions. What’s interesting about it is that it’s made from a table runner. It actually has two different sides, with the table runner on the front and a drop cloth on the back. They were cut to the same size and then sewed together after which the pillow was stuffed with polyfil. Then the remaining side was sewed as well and the pillow was all done. It’s nice and simple, without any unnecessary details which helps to make it really comfortable to use. Check out lizmarieblog for more details about the project.

Boho Lumbar Pillow

As it turns out, table runners are perfect for making lumbar pillows, especially if you want one that’s long enough so you can use it in bed. On that note, there’s another really cute tutorial for one on francoisetmoi. It involves using the following materials: a table runner that measures roughly 72” x 14”, sewing pins, thread, a hand-sewing needle, a measuring tape, down feathers (you can take from a 26” x 26” pillow insert) and a sewing machine with a heavy duty denim needle. Cut off the two ends of the table runner and sew them together to make the pillow face, then cut the remaining piece to this size and add the back portion. This will put the cute fringes on the ends.

Make this DIY Lumbar Pillow

You can use different types of fabric for the back and the front of the pillow just to make a visual distinction between the two sides but you can also go with a uniform look all around. This for instance is a two-tone lumbar pillow with a colorful and patterned front and a very simple back. The front is also more textured and the back is made of canvas. In any case, when you have the two fabric pieces cut to the same size you can go ahead and sew them together inside out, then flip the cushion and fill it with stuffing. When you’re done, flip the seams of the remaining side into the pillow and sew it shut by hand. Head over to collectivegen for more detailed instructions.

Modern pattern

Lumbar pillows are also great as decorations. They can look nice on a sofa, a window nook or just casually placed on the bed during the day. You can make the cover from all sorts of different types of fabrics and you can even repurpose a rug for this. That’s right, a woven flatweave rug like the one featured on papernstitchblog is actually pretty great for this sort of project. You can fold it in two and trim it if necessary and put pillow inserts inside. You can hand stitch it if you don’t have a sewing machine and use thread that blends in with the rug.

Other comfy pillow ideas

DIY Giant Floor Pillows

There’s a bunch of other types of pillows that you could make, like big floor pillows for instance which are great when you want to chill and relax in the living room, maybe watch a movie with some friends or play some board games. They can be similar to bean bags in a sense but more casual and cozier. They’re also nice if you have kids and for pets too. There’s a tutorial on making a giant floor pillow from scratch so check it out and put your own spin on the design to make it suit your style.

Simple floor pillow you can make

On the same topic, you can also make floor pillows without having to do any sewing at all. That makes projects like this easier and accessible to everyone plus it means it’s faster too. You need hem fuse tape and an iron in order to bypass the swing machine. Also, a nice tip is to use outdoor fabric for the covers which is usually very resilient to spills and stains. It’s also great if you have a dog that likes to chill on your pillows. Make a bunch of these and consider using a different type of fabric for each one. Check out homemadelovely for more details and more details about floor pillows.

DIY Floor Pillows to Sew

These floor pillows have handles and are quite similar to ottomans which makes them extra comfortable. The handles make it really easy to grab them and move them around or store them when you’re not using them and they’re really convenient in general. You can also make floor pillows in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, big and small, square, rectangular or even round. You can even go in a different direction and make a floor pillow that can be used as a bean bag chair. Check out these ideas and more like them on flamingotoes.

Hand Knit a Giant Yarn Throw Pillow

Another cool idea is to knit a floor pillow. Don’t worry, it won’t take forever because you’ll be hand-knitting it using giant yarn. It’s fast, easy and it makes the pillow super soft and comfortable plus it gives it a cute and chic look as well. Once you get the hang of it and you figure out the pattern that you want to go with it’s easy to get it all done and based on this tutorial from craftsy you can even come up with variations of the design, mix two or more colors of yarn together or change the size of the pillow.

Boho Style

It may also be the case that you have a pillow and all you want is to change its look a little bit. That’s a makeover project and it can be really fun and not even difficult. A cute and stylish idea is to decorate the pillow with braids made out of macrame cord. You can make the braids yourself and then glue them onto the existing pillow in a cute pattern. You can make geometric shapes or stripes or you can even come up with more intricate designs. Check out this nice pattern featured on wonderwood for inspiration.