Inflatable Backpacking Pillow

In my old age, I’ve just found the old folded jacket an insufficient pillow. Too cheap buy a commercial backpacking pillow, I made a collapsible pillow weighing 7 ounces from garbage and scraps. It crinkles a little in use, but works, and can double as an extra water container.

1) Plastic “bag” from Starbucks “traveler” coffee carton. You could use a bag from boxed wine instead; it will just have different dimensions and be a little slower to inflate.
2) Fleece material
3) thread, pins
4) sewing machine (optional)

Crack open the used “traveler” carton and extract the bag. Wash out and dry the bag with spout open for a few days. Peel off adhesive you might find on the bag… or don’t.

Cut fleece around deflated bag with 1/2 inch margin. Cut 2 pieces, or one piece with a shared folded edge flush with edge of bag.

Sew the two pieces together with a 1/4 inch seam around 3 sides. Leave one short side open. I used a sewing machine, but it could be done easily by hand.

Invert the fleece pillowcase (seams inside) and load the pillow fully into the bottom, with the spout toward the open end of the pillowcase. Get the bottom of the bag down in the bottom of the pillowcase.

Grasp the open end of the fleece on the spout side and stretch the fleece slightly away from the spout. Center a quarter over the spout lid. Stretching the fleece a little helps the spout snug the case onto the bag. Relax the stretch and draw a circle a little bit larger than the quarter.

Cut out the hole. I reinforced the hole by sewing around it with a zig-zag stitch, but that’s probably not necessary.

Fill bag with air to desired firmness and flip so spout is underneath. If you like a thicker pillow, consider placing the pillow on top of that folded jacket.