Bed Warmers DIY

I was recently asked about my bed warmers. Since the cold snap, they have become part of our nightly ritual. I really believe the lavender and the fragrant Jasmine rice calms my toddler. Aromatherapy on the cheap! My son rides his bicycle to school and we put one of the little ones shown in the pic below in each of his pants pockets and he said they kept his legs warm. This is a great idea for the pockets of walkers too to keep fingers and hands warm.

I use rice bags with a 1/8c or less of Lavender buds. White rice, Brown rice, or Jasmine rice (or you can use plain rice too) I used Jasmine rice because it has a nice aroma. I used the large square one pictured with brown rice without Lavender and it worked just as well with very little scent.

 

I had squares of flannel that I had lying around.. About 5X5 squares.. I edged them with my sewing machine, to prevent fraying, which in turn prevents seams from opening up and rice in your bed or pocket.

 

Sew two pieces of flannel together, for thinner flannel I used 4 layers. Others I folded in half to the size of a hot pocket. Stitch them closed; I opted for a zip zag with a straight stitch running through it.

I allowed a large enough gap in the seam to pour in some rice and lavender.

 

Pour in just enough rice, leaving a space to sew it closed.  Place a pin to keep the rice away from the machine’s needle and sew it shut. Done!

I have super fancy ones with top-stitched seams for gift giving and ones made from scraps. Be sure to use 100% cotton, no synthetics, no metal or metallic thread. If you want extra special ones you can make a pillow case and decorate it however you like. The pillow itself will go into the microwave for 1-2 minutes. My large square one goes in for 2 minutes and my fancy ones for 1min 30 second and the small ones 1 minute. My toddler likes to nuzzle the lavender one, so hers goes in for only 30 seconds to prevent burning her.

 

Comments

[Shelly Keefe]

Love this idea!!!!