DIY Rice Bag

A dear friend of mine is a nurse and was recently describing the DIY heating pad they use at the hospital. I'll spare you the disgusting details. Obviously I told her, "let me just make you a rice bag." a.k.a heating pad. It truly is just as simple as it sounds.

I grabbed a sample square of fabric and a 16oz. bag of long grain rice from the grocery. Making this a whopping $2 project! In the process of making these, Seth said he'd like one too. So I salvaged the only semi-masculine fabric in the house and whipped up two.

I first made the rice bag then a pillowcase of sorts for the bag that can be washed if necessary. The rice bag is 14"x4". The case is just a half inch longer/wider on each side. I made the bag just like my outdoor pillows then funneled the rice inside and sewed it up. The case is probably not necessary for all purposes BUT in case you were wondering - for the case, I cut one rectangle at 15"x5" and two smaller ones at 8"x5". I pinned the two smaller ones to the larger rectangle while overlapping at the center. After sewing the outermost edges, flip the case inside out and stuff in the rice bag.

All done! Heat it for 1-2 minutes. Almost instant comfort! Next time I think I'll try to add some fragrance to the rice, like lavender. But they are fine for now!