The Japanese have been using buckwheat pillow for centuries. Buckwheat hull pillow provide firm and even support for your neck and back. It has the ability to perfectly conform to the contours of our head. Thus resulting in better and sound sleep.
Buckwheat pillows can be expensive. So I decided to make my own using buckwheat hull and some linen fabrics. Having a zipper is also helpful as you can adjust the amount of hull for personal comfort. And with zipper openings, you can remove all the hulls before washing the pillow case.
The list of benefits for using buckwheat hull as pillow filling includes:
grown without pesticides as they are naturally pest resistant
biodegradable (can be composted and even used as mulch)
naturally hypoallergenic (for those allergic to feathers)
odorless, pest and fungus resistant
I used 100 % linen fabric and filled it with 1 lb of buckwheat hull. The hull is very light but feels substantial once stuffed inside the pillow. It may be a small pillow for most, but it works fine for me. Maybe it’s more of a travel pillow.
Some buckwheat retailers even suggest that sleeping on a buckwheat pillow allows our body to rest in a natural position. All I know is that I find myself tossing and turning less and slept like a log with my buckwheat pillow.
Buckwheat is not a grain, it’s really a plant from the rhubarb family. The buckwheat kernels are eaten and usually cooked as an alternative to rice or porridge. The blossoms are popular with bees. Buckwheat honey is a distinctive honey with a strong flavor and dark color. It’s the most nutritious of the many honey varieties.
“Several plants were growing on a front lawn near Urbana, Illinois. The dark green object on the right is a plastic garbage can.” Photo from Wildflowers of Illinois. The blossoms are small and attractive. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them grown here in California. Now I will have to keep an eye for some real buckwheat.
4:40 pm on January 31st, 2010
This made me think of rice bed, it was so long ago that I slept in one, but some Lao people in the US still sleeping in it, I didn’t know until one of my co-workers asked me what it was because a Lao lady that went to her church slept in one.
Have you try sewing another pillow case inside for the buckwheat, that way you don’t have to remove the buckwheat each time you wash you pillow case.
10:46 pm on February 1st, 2010
Hi Nye,
Rice bed sounds firm… yet could be comfortable and warm. If I have enough buckwheat hull I would make it into a nap size mat.
Yes - I do need to make a pillow case. Just wanted to see if I had any left over fleece fabrics around before I went shopping for new fabrics. I guess cotton pillowcase would be fine too.
11:17 pm on February 1st, 2010
I can just hear the noise as you move your head around.
8:48 pm on February 3rd, 2010
Hi Dallas,
You are right about the sound. But it’s really comfortable that you don’t need to move often - if at all.
I noticed my neck and back really like this pillow. I may make more (bigger ones) for my other family members to try.