Sewing DIY – Heated Rice Bag

We have a cold, cold weekend ahead of us in Minnesota. This will be the perfect time to sew up a few Heated Rice Bags.

 

Sort through those scraps left from holiday sewing – I will be using flannel today, but quilters cotton works great too.

I have a mix of white rice, flax seed and dried lavender. You can use a number of different fillers for this project. Here is a great link to all the different types of fillers and how they rate: alittlecrispy.com

What you need:

Scraps of flannel or cotton fabric: You choose the size – the larger the size, the heavier they will be, and the more filling you will need. I cut my 2 pieces 12 inches x 7 inches. A pretty standard size I have made before is about 6 x 6 inches square.

Fillers: I am using a mixture of white rice and flaxseed. I have also added just a bit of dried lavendar for a great aroma while warm. Check the link above for great info on all the different fillers you can use.

A funnel helps get your fillers in your bag. I recycled a small mailing envelop to form a cone.

Assembly Steps:

Cut two pieces of fabric to the dimensions you choose. I went large here so it covers my toes under my blanket.

Stitch around your pieces with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, leaving a 3-4 inch opening to fill.

 

Trim the corners and turn right side out. press.

Fill. I filled mine to approximately 2 pounds.

I like to pin the filling away from the opening, then tuck in the seam allowance, pin and stitch the opening shut. You can see in this picture, the yellow pins are keeping the filling away from the gap I need to sew closed. The clips are where I will stitch the gap closed.

 

Start with one minute in the microwave, then heat at 30 second increments until warm. I have never heated past 2 minutes. Curl up and enjoy!