DIY Foot Warmer~ Rice Filled
I don’t know about where you are, but it is COLD here! We have even spent some time in the negative digits, which is unusual for our area! I am usually warm, I don’t even bother with a coat most of the time. So if I am cold, I can’t imagine how people that are always cold are feeling! Socks just aren’t cutting it when I am sitting around the house. So I came up with this idea; if I could make a bag of rice to help soothe aches and pains, why not do the same thing for cold toes? I love how it turned out!
You will need:
Rice
Flannel (probably a fat quarter would do)
Fleece (I am using scraps, but I think a half yard would be more then enough)
Sewing machine
Scissors
Thread
The one I am making my tutorial off of is a gift for my husbands Grandma. She lives alone and is petite. If you are going to have a man using this, you may want to go with a larger size square. I cut one 12×12 square of my white flannel. Then, I folded the blue fleece in half and cut a 12×12 square out of it as well. If you fold it in half, that will leave you with a 12×24 rectangle when you unfold it. This just makes one less side you have to sew together!
Turn your flannel square inside out (so the decorative sides are facing each other) so you have a 12×6 rectangle. Sew along the long, raw edge only. Once that is sewn, turn it right side out. Now you will only have 2 raw edges .
Take your fleece (blue), and pin the flannel (white) to one side of the right side. Once it is pinned to the top edge of your fleece, you will turn your fleece rectangle wrong side out, and sew all but the top edge of that as well. In this picture I have my white flannel pinned to one side of my blue fleece. I then sewed up both sides, leaving the top edge open. You can leave a smaller section open if you would like. Just make sure you leave enough room to turn it right side out again.
Fill with rice. You want to fill it about half way.
Once it is filled half way with rice, you can sew up that remaining side. I left the whole top of mine opened and tried a decorative stitch to close it. Any stitch will work, as long as they are close together to prevent your rice from falling out. I recommend a machine for this, unless you are a super experienced seamstress and can get really even, small stitches. Rice is small and will fall out anywhere.
Once you are done, warm in the microwave for no more then 2-3 minutes. If you are giving as a gift, make sure you let the recipient know the same thing. Also, it is a good idea to microwave it 1-2 times before gifting it. It gets a little damp the first few times, and that way you can also make sure it works the way you want it. Beware, if you are going to try it, have enough material left over to make one for yourself. They make your feet feel so good! It is way too cold to try it right now, but I bet it would be great to leave in the freezer for a few hours-overnight and use on some too hot summer feet as well!
Thanks for posting! I was laying in my bed withfreezing toes and thought this idea up too. I wondered if someone else had made a pattern. I was hoping to find one with a removable cover. I think I will make your pattern, but add in the rice in a bag and have a velcro closure. That way, the cover would be wachable.
These would be great for pets also