Rice Heating Pad

I'm sure all of you are already familiar with a rice heating pad.  In the small chance that you're not: they are wonderful.  Just a bag filled with rice that you stick in the microwave for a few seconds  and then just plop it on whatever part of your body that's needing some pressure and warmth.  I LOVE them and have always wanted one, but never took the time to make one.

Without going into too much detail...this weekend I had a horrible gallbladder attack. If you've never experienced one; I hope you never do. It's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. This particular attack lasted 3 days. For those of you who do know what I'm talking about; THREE DAYS!!! I was in agony and all I wanted was a rice heating pad to help alleviate the pain. But did I have one? Of course not! So, now that I am back among the living, I hurried and made one this afternoon.

Good news.  This is a great project for using up your scraps.  Even better news?  Seriously took me 15 minutes to do.  Tops.

Okay.  So all you need to do is figure out what size you want.  It can be as big or small as you want.  I had a roommate in college that had a long skinny one (kinda like a long, fat snake).  I knew I wanted mine to be just the right size to lay on my upper tummy area should I have another gallbladder attack before I get this sucker taken out of me.  My perfect size was about 9"x5".

Cut two pieces of fabric that are (obviously) the same size.

With same sides together, sew all around the outside edges, leaving a hole just large enough to a) turn your bag back right side out and b) pour all of your rice in.  If you feel so inclined, go ahead and trim the extra fabric before flipping it back right side out.

Then, pour in your rice!  It just so happens that a 2 lb bag (minus the cup I used with dinner tonight) was the perfect amount for my heating pad.  Be careful that you don't overfill it; you want there to be some "wiggle room" in there for the rice.

When you're done, shove all the rice to one end and quickly and carefully sew up your little hole.  You can do it by hand if you want it to be prettier.  I didn't really care and just wanted it done, so I used my machine.  If you look really close at the photo below, you can see it.

Then, viola!  You have a great little heating pad ready and waiting for you to need it.  I made mine with flannel; I wanted that extra cozy factor added to it.  As you can see it's already a big hit!