Yoga Bolster Tutorial

I love restorative yoga.  If you have never tried this form of asana before, I highly suggest you find a studio offering restorative classes or a Youtube video to try it out.  With restorative yoga, the challenge is finding the stillness in your mind to match the stillness in your body. With so much going on in daily life, taking time out to quiet my mind and relax my body are critical parts of my self-care routine.  I have a teacher who described restorative yoga as making nests and taking naps. While the goal is to remain present in the poses and not to actually fall asleep, this form of yoga does involve a lot of props to ensure your body is properly supported.  For many years, when practicing at home, I made do without the props I have access to in a studio. Pillows from the bed or sofa, throw blankets, and bath towels, all work to help support the body, but I really wanted my own bolster.

Finally after hours looking at a number of different options on Pinterest, I decided that I was ready to tackle this project.  We have a number of bath towels which are not in regular rotation, but which are in great condition so I couldn’t justify letting them go.  I also didn’t want to purchase large amounts of fiberfill to fill a bolster. So I decided to use my extra bath towels as stuffing! (If you want to try this but do not have extra towels, try checking at your local thrift store for around five towels of relatively the same size and thickness.)

Towel stack for bolster stuffing

My first step was to fold my towels into a bolster shape to ensure I would not have any weird lumps, bumps or gaps if my bolster cover was sized in a way that would not accommodate my towels.  You may need to get creative with the folding, the goal is a rectangular shape which does not have any bumps, peaks or valleys in it based on the way the towels are stacked.  

Once you have your towel rectangle, measure it.  My goal, based on anatomical dimensions, was a finished bolster which measured 5” x 23” x 12”.  If your towels are pretty close to this measurement (within ½”), the directions below should work for you! If you don’t have these dimensions and are off by less than an inch, you can adjust the measurements for each piece based on the difference between your towel stack and my finished dimensions.  For measurements which are off by more than 1”, I suggest refolding your towel stack to try and get closer to these dimensions.

Yoga bolster dimensions

When choosing your fabric, pick a heavy weight fabric as this bolster will get a decent amount of wear and tear.  Quilting cotton will most likely not hold up well, I used an upholstery fabric and it has worked great. If you do not have something on hand, check at your thrift store – many have fabric sections, but you can also find treasures in the housewares section of your thrift store as medium to heavy-weight curtains or table cloths will work for this bolster.

Wash and dry your chosen fabric to ensure you won’t have any shrinkage when cleaning it after your bolster is complete.  This project is designed so you will be able to take out your towels at any time to use (when you have extra company), and the cover can be washed and dried in case it becomes soiled.

In addition to your fabric and towels, you will need the following supplies: 

• 23” of ½” wide snap tape (this is a woven fabric strip which has snaps embedded in it and makes creating a closure for the bolster super easy)
• Sewing machine
• Thread to match your fabric

All bolster pieces

To create your bolster:

Cut the following from your fabric (if you have a directional fabric and would like the pattern to all be running in the same direction plan accordingly before cutting):

• 1 piece – 24” x 13” (front)
• 2 pieces – 13” x 6” (ends)
• 2 pieces – 24” x 6” (sides)
• 2 pieces – 24” x 7½” (back)
• 1 piece – 6” x 4” (handle)

Handle pinned for sewing

Once you have all of your pieces cut, take your handle fabric (6” x 4”) and fold along the long edge, right sides together.  Sew along the long edge with a ½” seam allowance. Turn right-side out, and top stitch down each long edge to provide more stability in your handle. 

Bolster handle pinned in place

Pin the handle to the middle of one of your end pieces (this will be the top of your bolster) with the open ends of the handle lining up with the long ends of the end fabric.  You can choose to baste this piece into place, or keep your pins in based on your preference.

Lay both halves of the back on your bolster on your work surface, overlapping so they form a rectangle of 24” x 13”.  Where they overlap, turn the top rectangle under by ½” and pin in place. Turn the bottom rectangle under by ½” and pin in place.  You should now have only ½” of overlap. Starting ½” in from the end of the fabric, pin one side of your snap tape to the wrong side of the top piece of the overlap (covering the fold under).  Again, starting ½” in from the end of the fabric, pin the other side of your snap tape to the right side of the bottom piece of the overlap (on the opposite side of the fold under). Double check you have everything in the right place by recreating your 24” x 13” rectangle again and making sure everything lines up correctly and the snap tape is in the right place.  This is critical, it is easy to flip one piece of snap tape causing your pieces to not line up when the snaps are done up.

Snap tape sewn in place

Sew around all four sides of your snap tape.  This will both attach your snap tape and ensure that your folded over edges are secured.  It is important to secure all four edges of the snap tape for the structure and stability of your project.

Long edges of bolster sewn together

Layout the five pieces with a 24” dimension in the order they will be in the bolster with right sides facing down.  You should have in order: One piece with snap tape (snap tape on the free edge), one side, the front, the other side, the final piece with snap tape (snap tape on the free edge).  If you are working with a pattern, ensure all pieces are aligned correctly. Pin and sew along all four seams with a ½” seam allowance. 

Ends pinned in place

Now snap up the snaps to create a tube, and matching up the short and long edges, pin the end of your tube (the piece with the snaps down the middle) to the top piece of fabric (with the handle in it).  Make sure that the ends of the handle are included in this seam. Sew around all edges with a ½” seam allowance, paying extra attention at the corners to ensure you are not catching anything extra. Repeat this step with the bottom piece of fabric.

Now you will have an inside out bolster – since this has snaps up the middle, there was no need to leave a gap for turning!  Just pull out all of your pins, undo the snaps and turn your bolster right-side out. Trim any loose threads, ensure the corners are all turned out, and then carefully ease your towel stack into the bolster.  Take your time ensuring that everything is lined up correctly and you don’t bunch your towels when tucking them into your bolster shell. Snap up your snaps, and you are good to go!

Bolster after months of use on left, after towels are shaken out and refolded on right

If your bolster starts to get a little smooshed, you can either give it a firm whap on each side, or you can grab it by the handle and give it a good shake which helps to get everything reseated properly.  You may also want to wash and dry your towels periodically to restore their fluffiness and bring the extra poof back to your bolster.

Now you are ready to build your nest and find quiet stillness!  One of my favorite restorative poses which uses a bolster is supported child’s pose.  Yoga Journal has a great discussion along with alignment instructions for the pose here.  Based on the flexibility in your hips, you may want an extra blanket or towel or two to help bring the ground up to you in this pose.

Inhale, exhale, and melt!  Enjoy your new bolster!