Sewing Tutorial: Rice Heating Pad (Giveaway!)

Here I was sitting, a few weeks before the holidays and wondered, what can I make this year for my friends? Usually I buy something or just skip the whole “sending friends a gift” part, but this year I wanted it to be something special, something homemade that they all can use because I struggled hard throughout the year and without my friends, the ones who called, the ones who spent time with me or took the kids of my hands for a few hours, this past year would've been even tougher.

So what do you make or do for such amazing people that you value so much?

I had no idea.

So I sat in front of the mess that I call my “Arts & Crafts” closet and dug through yarn, fabrics, papers, paint and a lot more...and couldn't come up with anything.

One day my beloved friend Jackie invited my family over for some delicious White Chicken Chili and while we were standing in the kitchen and talked she showed me a sock, filled with rice, that she warms up in the microwave to sooth neck and back pain.

All I could think was “Really, a freaking sock?!”

And there was my idea - Rice Heating Pads. That way she wouldn't have to mess with a rice filled sock anymore.  I thought about it some more and realized it was just simply the perfect idea. We all get stressed out and a lot of my friends suffer from back and/or neck pain.

Plus, if times ever get tough, they can enjoy some rice ;)

These heating pads have a generous size of approximately 18” x 9”, which means they definitely fit around your neck and shoulder area, or across your lower back and if you happen to be a tiny woman like me, then it fits up your entire back.

There's another plus to this tutorial: I am giving one away!!  So, follow the tutorial to see how to make a few of your own, and then enter to win one and let me do the sewing for you!

The tutorial might seem a little confusing, but I promise, it's super easy once you get started!

Let's get to it:

Sewn Rice Heating Pad

What you will need:
1 fat quarter of fabric
rice (4 cups per fat quarter)
sewing machine
iron
funnel
scissors

I would like to add a little advice about the rice (haha, that even rhymes!), I highly recommend a round short grain rice, or barley because it's just simply more comfortable, but you can use whatever rice you want or have laying around.

Step one:
Iron your fabric. That's actually an important part for any sewing project you plan to do. No measurement is right if the fabric is wrinkly!

Once you ironed it, fold it in half and trim the edges so that both sides fit perfectly on top of each other.

Step two:
Turn it to the left side and start sewing around the edges, leaving an approximately 2” opening. That is the hole you will use to turn the fabric to the right side and to fill it with the rice.

Step three:
Turn the fabric to the right side and then iron it all nice and flat.

Fold the fabric in half and iron again, then fold in both sides and again, iron it all (it's a lot of ironing, sorry! You may be able to skip one or two of those but I am a perfectionist and like to iron ;) )

Fold it open and make sure you see three clear lines, if not, fold and iron again. You will need those lines to sew straight lines unless you feel confident enough to wing those straight lines.

Step four:
Sew along the lines but leave approximately 2” – 3” open towards the edge, on the side with the hole.

Step five:
Fill one cup of rice in each one of the columns with the help of the funnel. Make sure to shake it all down into the bottom of the column.

Step six:
Finish sewing the columns and the opening shut.

Enjoy your rice heating pad or pack it up for a friend with a cute note!

As a thank you to all of our readers, I'm going to giveaway one of these rice heating pads!  This giveaway is for US residents (including APO/FPO addresses), and the winner can select from any of these three fabrics:

Bright Dots, French Blue, or Brown Leaves

To enter the giveaway, you must leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter below, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!) This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY and will end just before midnight ET on 2-20. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway. In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Once the winner has responded and confirmed, their first name will be posted on our Giveaways  page.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway