In
1975, as I was starting out with Zen meditation, my friend made me a Zafu, or
cushion for sitting Zazen. She was an experienced seamstress, and so was able
to interpret the partially erroneous instructions
provided in Approach to Zen by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi (p. 86). 38 years later this cushion finally came apart, after many attempts at mending it, and I realized that I need to make another one. Since at best I am an amateur in sewing, I proceeded largely through trial and error. In the hope of simplifying the task for others, I am offering the following detailed instructions.
Finished product.
This Zafu is fairly large and plump, for a somewhat tall
person weighing 195 lbs. – smaller people can scale down.
Dimensions and material
It is
made from 2 circles 15½ in. diameter each, and a band 9½” wide, 100” long. This
band is pleated so that 1½” of cloth is hidden for each 3” of band (see the 2
images). It is best to use cloth which is not smooth, such as black cotton duck
or black corduroy, around 7-8 oz/sq.yd.
 |
| Band with Pleats |
Pattern
Entire project can be made from a piece of cloth 54” wide by
3 ft. The two strips can be sewn end to end, with the seam hidden under one of
the pleats.
a. Sew the two strips end-to-end to make a 95”-long
strip.
b. Make the pleats (making sure to hide the seam mentioned above under a pleat) and baste this strip, as shown above.
c. Start by sewing inside-out. Sew the strip to one
of the round pieces of cloth, leaving a
3/8” margin on each cloth
d. Sew the opposite side of the strip to the other
round piece. Your work should now look like this (there will be an open end which is not sewn):
e. Take out the basting and turn the work
inside-out.
f. Stuff with kapok or polyester foam.
g. Finish sewing by hand to close the Zafu :
As the stuffing may become packed down from sitting on the Zafu, you should expect to open it after a while and add more stuffing.
