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Meditation Cushion Sewing Schemes Zafu First you must find a cloth suitable for a zafu. Make sure that you pick a cloth that will prevent you from sliding off the pillow, when you do your zazen. It is also wise to choose a black coloured cloth, so that you don't have to wash the zafu all the time. To be able to sew a zafu, you will need a cloth that measure 51 x 222 cm. Take the piece of cloth and draw a rectangle 15-17 x 220 cm, on the cloth. Add 1 cm in allowance for seam. Then draw two circles on the cloth, each 30-cm in diameter, add 1 cm in allowance for seam. The rectangle will later serve as the side of the zafu, and the two circles will become top and bottom when you are finished with your pillow. Cut out the rectangle and the two circles from the cloth. Now comes the tricky part, to fold the rectangle. It should be 20-21 cm when you finish folding. It is important that you concentrate when you fold the cloth and try to be as precise as you can, in your folding. Now take the rectangular piece of cloth and put it on your workbench, iron the cloth if necessary. In order to make the folding a bit easier and more precise, measure 10 cm from the edge of the short side of the cloth, and make a mark with your pen. Measure 4 cm from this mark, and make a new a mark. Measure 5 cm from this mark and make a mark again. Measure 4 cm… 5 cm… and repeat this marking procedure, as it is shown in the scheme, until you got enough markings for 20 - 21 pleats. The two edges of the long rectangular cloth should each be folded three double times, but should not be sewn together. They should overlap each other by 6 - 7 cm, when the rectangular cloth is sewn to the two circles. Sew the two long sides of the rectangular cloth, and remove the needles. Take one of the circles and use needles to attach it to the rectangular cloth. Fasten the circle to the rectangular cloth by sewing around the circle at least three times and then repeat the same procedure with the other circle. When you are done, you should have a zafu that is turned inside out. There should be hole in the side of the pillow (where the rectangular edges overlap each other) use this hole to fill the zafu with kapok. If you don't have any kapok, use some other fiber to fill the zafu with. Stuff the zafu well, cause it is important that the pillow isn't to soft when you practise your zazen. Pillow First you must find a cloth suitable for a pillow. Make sure that you pick a cloth that will prevent you from sliding off the pillow, when you do your zazen. It is also wise to choose a black coloured cloth, so that you don't have to wash the pillow all the time. To be able to sew a pillow, you will need a cloth that measure 88 x 50 cm. Take the piece of cloth and draw a rectangle 24 x 88 cm, on the cloth. Please notice that 1-cm in allowance for seam is already included! Then draw two circles on the cloth, each 28-cm in diameter. Again 1 cm in allowance for seam is included. The rectangle will later serve as the side of the pillow, and the two circles will become top and bottom when you are finished with your pillow. Cut out the rectangle and the two circles from the cloth. Take one of the circles and use needles to attach it to the rectangular cloth. Fasten the circle to the rectangular cloth by sewing around the circle at least three times and then repeat the same procedure with the other circle. When you are done, you should have a pillow that is turned inside out. There should be hole in the side of the pillow (where the rectangular edges overlap each other) use this hole to fill the pillow with kapok. If you don't have any kapok, use some other fibre to fill the pillow with. Stuff the pillow well, cause it is important that the pillow isn't to soft when you practise your zazen. Please Remember If you sit in some variant of lotus posture, or similar, the knees should touch the ground at all times. Remember to alternate the position of the legs, to prevent injury. As an example if your left leg is resting on your right leg, switch every other time so that the right leg rests on the left. It is important for me to state that I am not a Zen Buddhist or affiliated to any other religion. I believe that meditation has some good health benefits and that is all. I whish all good luck with their meditation! This document was created 040101 and updated 050705. If you enjoyed this page you might want to have a look at this: Qigong Exercise, Practical Advices Regarding Lucid Dreaming.