I have had so much fun making this gift for my dad.  I also realize that I have never sewed anything for him before!  My dad loves to read and this pillow will go on his dark blue reading chair in his study.  He is the youngest 81 year old I have ever met!  He met and married my mom when she was 25 and he was 39.  They met in September, got engaged in December, and were married in February!  It was his first marriage and now they have been together for almost 42 years!  

Dad's back has been bothering him a little and I thought this pillow, with a heating pad insert would be perfect for him.

We tease him a lot about saying "i'll do it when I feel like it!"  He likes to act all grumpy on the outside but we all know he is a real softie on the inside.  I followed this method to embroider the words.  It was so fun and easy!  I printed out the phrase I wanted with the font I wanted and then just embroidered right through the paper!  It was awesome.

Here is another view of the opening for the heating pad.

The heating pad is 12" x 15".  The pillow is 16" x 16".  The backing is a 16" square and then I cut out a 16" to be the first layer of the front of my pillow. I made the finished pillow top be 15" x 16".  I also gave the pillow top a flannel backing so the heating pad wouldn't get too hot through the fabric.  Finally, I made a simple elastic cord and button closure.  I love how it turned out and how nice it works!

I followed House on Hill Road's tutorial for putting in a zipper opening for your pillow.  It was really nice and I learned a great new skill!  I will always do that now when I make a pillow.  I used a sturdy blue duck cloth for the back.  The zipper really adds a professional touch and makes cleaning even easier.  

Hopefully my dad won't read this blog post before Christmas!  He doesn't really do lots of "interneting" so I think I will be OK.  Have you ever sewn for your dad?  What would you like to make for him?  Sewing for men is real challenge!