DIY Mother’s Day Gift – A Soothing Heating Pad

For many of us, our quilting and stitching journey began with someone special… our mothers! We want to give you all a fun and easy Mother’s Day gift idea that you can sew up for your mom with lots of love, that also won’t break your bank (moms always love our handmade gifts the most anyway).

Moms work hard and the thing that many of them need most in life is… rest and relaxation! This microwaveable rice heating pad is sew simple to sew up, and it makes a warm and toasty gift for any momma who needs to relax! Your mom can apply her warm heating pad to any sore or stressed muscles to relieve any pain or tightness, use it cool to soothe tired eyes, and you can also add in a couple drops of essential oils to further her relaxation and comfort.

Materials

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A Jolly Bar of your choosing. Jolly Bars are 5″ x 10″ precuts found only at Fat Quarter Shop. We think they’re the perfect size for this easy project.
• Rice
  • You can use your own preferred amount of rice to fill up your heating pad.
  • Long grain white rice is better than brown rice, which can have a powdery residue.
• A funnel or spoon
• Thread – we suggest matching the color of your fabric – Aurifil has tons of amazing colors!
• A sewing machine (you can hand sew this too!)
• Optional: A couple drops of essential oils (we recommend: lavender, eucalyptus, or peppermint)

Warm these little packs for heat therapy on sore muscles or chill them to soothe allergy eyes.

How to make the microwaveable rice heating pad

• Place two Jolly Bar rectangles right sides together.
• Starting on a long edge, sew with a ¼” seam around all sides, leaving about 1.5″ open on one short side.
• Flip your fabrics right sides out, so the seam is hidden inside
• Use your funnel to pour in the rice to your desired amount of fullness. If using essential oils, mix a few drops into the rice to give it a subtle scent.
• Finger press the seam along the opening and hand sew it shut with a whipstitch.
• Voila! You have your own re-usable heating (or cooling) pad.

To heat

• Heat in the microwave on 30-second intervals until the desired temperature is reached.
• Test the temperature and use as you would a heating pad.

To cool

• Place in a re-sealable bag & freeze for at least 3 hours.
• Remove from the bag and enjoy!

Our Quilty Staffers sewed up some DIY heating pads for their own moms – check them out below!

Share with #DIYMothersDayGift

This makes for a quick and customizable Mother’s Day gift! If you sew one, be sure to use the hashtag #diymothersdaygift and tag us (@fatquartershop) so we can see and share your work!

Happy Quilting!

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