Winter Warmers

Sarah and I had a Mother/Daughter sewing session this afternoon and made up some Heat Packs. Now we are finally getting some winter weather, these will be put to good use soon. It is a great project for beginner sewers as they are quick to whip up. We used left over fabric from our flannel pajamas as the flannel will make an extra cosy heat bag. We made up a few extra ones for gifts.

They are basically just two rectangles of fabric sewn together. This is how we made them if you would like the specifics:

Materials (per bag):

Cotton fabric, 2 pieces each measuring 28 cm x 15 cm (10 1/2 " x 5 1/2 ")

Co-ordinating ribbon or trim, 1 piece measuring 5 cm length (2 ")

Wheat, 500 g

Dried lavender, 2 tablespoons

Matching thread

Equipment:

Sewing machine

Hand sewing needle

Funnel

Method:

•  Fold the piece of ribbon in half and position it 5 cm from the corner on one of the long sides of quilting cotton, and baste in place. Place the two rectangles of quilting cotton with the right sides together. Stitch around the rectangle using a 1 cm seam allowance, leaving a 5 cm gap on one of the short sides. Clip the corners of the bag. Turn the bag right side out. Use a chopstick or turning tool to poke out the corners. Press the bag.

• Use a funnel to fill the bag with 500 g wheat, and 2 tablespoons of dried lavender. Use a ladder stitch to hand stitch the opening closed.
• If giving as a gift, be sure to include the heating instructions:

Lavender Wheat Bag

Use to warm up your bed or soothe aching muscles

Instructions: Heat for 1-2 minutes in the microwave with a small

                                glass of water to prevent the wheat from drying out. 

The ones we were giving as gifts, were tied with ribbon and an instruction label. We used ribbon and twine from Ribbons Galore. 

Notes:

Filler Options: 

I have made these with both wheat (available from pet food aisle of the supermarket - readily available in Australia) and uncooked long grain rice. You can also use lupins, barley, buckwheat hulls.

Aromatherapy: 

I added lavender for a nice fragrance. You could also add some essential oils, or spices such as cinnamon or cloves. 

Safety Caution:

Do not leave the bag unattended while heating in the microwave. As a precaution, you can set a cup of water inside the microwave while heating the bag to add moisture or spritz bag lightly with water before heating. Always check how hot the bag is before using it to avoid burns.


The little ribbon tag is purely for decoration.

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