How To Make a Soft Pillow Firmer

Before spending money on a new pillow, you might want to try something I just did. I used needle and thread to make a soft pillow firmer. Seriously!

I have neck issues that pretty much make my continual search for the right pillow into a sacred quest. And far too often, I’m disappointed. You know … it’s the Goldilocks thing. This one is too soft. This one is too hard. But when will the just right pillow finally arrive?

My Goldilocks pillow

Over the years, I’ve found a few pillows that come close. One of them is a Land’s End “pureloft” down alternative pillow in medium. As a side sleeper, too soft doesn’t work. But too firm just hurts.

Unfortunately, their medium pillow has been getting softer and softer. And this a last time it was just too soft to even provide a decent night’s sleep.

But I decided not to send it back this time. Since I use lots of pillows on my sofa and elsewhere, I figured I would just use it for other things.

Then an idea popped into my head. I remember once being told that I could make a pillow firmer by adding more fill to the same casing (the outside material holding the pillow together).

Well, I didn’t have any extra fill. But I did have a needle and thread. I realized how I could simply decrease the size of the casing, making the existing fill more condensed — and therefore firmer. And it worked.

I can’t guarantee this will work for you on one of your too-soft pillows. But if it does make a soft pillow firmer, you can save yourself the price of buying yet another pillow. And I know that will feel good!

What to do

Simply take the pillow and hold it by the two corners of one side of the casing, shaking the contents of the pillow down. This will leave some spare material at the end where you’re holding the casing.

And then, just take a needle and thread and sew a tight line across the end where there is no fill. Maybe an inch or two down. You can test it for desired firmness before sewing by doing a loose baste (wide temporary stitches) first.

Hope this helps you. It worked great for me. And btw … if sewing is not your thing, even a sloppy job will do the trick!

How To Make a Soft Pillow Firmer

My Goldilocks pillow