Pressing Pillows | How to Easily Make Your Own

Sharing is caring!

For anyone who uses a heat press, pressing pillows are a definite must. They help distribute heat evenly and help in adding to the pressure. Not everything you press is a single layer so you may not always be maximizing the amount of pressure that you can use when applying HTV (heat transfer vinyl). We all know that when it comes to applying HTV, the 2 key elements are heat and pressure. Pressing pillows help with both of these elements. Did you know that you can easily sew your own? To buy them can be expensive, but with just a few supplies you can make your own for a few dollars.

When pressing things like shirts and pillows, you have to contend with seams, zippers, buttons or drawstrings. These things prevent you from getting a flat, even pressure. Pressing pillows fix that. Simply put the pressing pillow underneath and you’ll get even, tight pressure.

Pressing pillows work with commercial heat presses, as well as household irons and the Cricut Easy Press.

Pressing Pillows are really easy to make. You don’t need great sewing skills to make them. You just need a few supplies.

Supplies Needed

• Sewing machine with matching thread
• Teflon sheet; a lot of places online that sell teflon sheets. Be sure to get the largest size you can find as it will give you more flexibility. Mine measured 23.5 x 15.5 (advertised online as 60×40 cm). I got a set of 3 to experiment making a few pillows of different sizes. I also found a roll of teflon that measured 16 inches wide and was 6 feet long.
  Be careful when shopping online – a Silpat mat is NOT the same, so don’t buy those. The teflon sheets tend to be a brown/gold colour. I’ve seen black BBQ mats, but I don’t think they are the same.
  At the time of publishing, the best deal I could find for teflon sheets on Amazon was this 5 pack of 16×24 sheets. This gives you ample pieces to make a variety of sizes.
  
  Specific sizes are listed below, but out of that size sheet, you can make 1 10×10, 2 6×8’s or 3 6×6’s.
• High-density foam: 1/4 inch thick. I went to a local speciality foam shop and explained what I was making – they gave me the highest density foam they had at 1/4 inch. It is called MK90. The firmness rating is 90 (which is extremely firm) and it also contains fire retardant, which is not a requirement but nice to have considering it will be subject to high temperatures. The foam store was kind of enough to cut each piece to the specific measurements that I needed.
• OPTIONAL: pinking shears. These just make the edges look nice.
  

Sizes for Pressing Pillows

Pressing pillows come in a variety of sizes.  Here are the common sizes for pressing pillows.

• 6×6 – great for small items like makeup bags, onesies
• 6×8 – great for kids’ t-shirts and onesies
• 10×10 – great for tote bags, pillow covers and larger t-shirts
• 12×12 and 14×14 – also great for larger items. Works as a great, all-purpose pressing pillow. Also works great as a base for an iron or the Cricut Easy Press.

Of course, there are many other sizes – you can customize to anything you want or need. I’ve seen rectangular ones which would be handy for sleeves or pant legs. Just keep in mind that you are limited to the size of the Teflon sheet.

Step by Step Directions to Make Your Own Pressing Pillows

1. If your foam isn’t already cut to size, cut it to your desired size.
   TIP:  In the foam store, they use an electric carving knife to cut the foam!
2. Cut your teflon sheet. To make these easy, I cut long, rectangular sheets so that I only need to sew 3 sides.
   For 6×6, I cut my teflon approximately 8×15,5, Basically, it is one-third of a 23.5×15.5 sheet
   For 6×8, I cut my teflon approximately 8x 18. Basically, it is half a sheet.
   For 10×10, I cut my teflon approximately 12 x 22. Basically, it is a whole sheet.
   For anything larger, you will need to find larger teflon sheets. Sometimes you can find rolls of teflon.
   For 12×12, I cut my teflon approximately  14×24.
   For 14×14, I cut my teflon approximately 16×26.
   Note – you can make any size – simply add a 1-inch seam allowance on both sides to determine the width. To determine the length of the rectangle, double the size and add 2 in order to accommodate the thickness of the foam.
3. Fold the teflon sheet in half. Sew one of the sides, adjacent to the fold. Use at least a 1-inch seam allowance. Once you get to the corner, leave your needle in and do a 90-degree turn. I put my foam on top to make sure I have enough space. Sew the second side.
   
   TIP: having a generous seam allowance of an inch allows some forgiveness. You will be trimming the ends even and so this gives you some leeway.
4. Leaving the needle in the next corner, lift your presser foot up and insert the foam. Then sew the last opening so that you are enclosing the foam inside. You will have sewn a total of 3 sides.
   
   
   
   TIP:  Leave ample seam allowance. Teflon is “slippery” and so you need to go slow and steady to get a straight sewing line. That said, my first few were NOT straight – but it doesn’t really matter. As long as the foam is enclosed, it will work.
   TIP:  Once the foam is inside, the final seam will probably not line up evenly. Again, that’s okay. Leave enough seam allowance and as long as the foam is encased inside, it’ll work.
5. Optional – to make the edges even and look nice, I trimmed with my pinking shears.
   

Using Your Pressing Pillows

Simply insert your pressing pillow UNDER the layer that you are pressing. So for shirts, this means inside the shirt. The same goes for onesies. It also means inside the tote or pillow cover. I have a Teflon sheet attached to the top of my heat-press, so the fabric and the HTV are now sandwiched between Teflon.

When using a heat press, due to the 1/4 inch thickness of the pressing pillow, you will notice that it will be quite tight. I have to really press down hard to get it to lock. This is a good thing! Remember – it’s all about the pressure.

I use these pressing pillows all the time now. I have no issues with anything that I heat press.

For a few dollars, you can easily sew your own pressing pillows. You don’t need to be a great sewer to do this – it’s only 3 sides! Make a bunch to keep with your heat press so that you can use them on a regular basis.

Want to remember how to sew your own pressing pillows? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.