UndrThTblNDrumng

This will make a 6"x11" warm pack that stays warm for about a half hour or longer. I find that heating mine 2 minutes in our small, low watt, microwave is just right for me but hubby, who is a bit more cold blooded than me, heats his for at least 2.5 min. I suggest starting at 1 min and working your way up in the beginning.

These are not washable. If you want one that is, I would suggest making one of these and then making a cover that you can slip this in after it's warmed. that way you can wash the cover.

also, this will let off a very rice like smell... I like it... you may not. A good substitiute for the rice would be flax seed. If you go to an animal feed store they may have flax seed at a much better price than your local health food store.

I got my herbs at Lassens.

What you need:

• 1 - 12"x12.5" piece of 100% cotton cloth (I purchased a fat quarter for quilting and cut it down)
• 2lbs of white medium to long grain white rice (the cheaper the better... it's not for eating)
• sewing machine, coordinating thread, and straight pins
• optional items: 1 cup of your choice of dried herbs (I used german camomile only for hubby's and 1/2c of lavender and 1/2c of camomile for mine) and funnel

How to make your hot pack:

1. gather all supplies and mix your rice with your herbs
   
   
   
   
2. fold your fabric in half, right sides together, hamburger style (12" side touching the other 12" side), pin down the long side and one of the short sides
   
   
   
   
3. Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew along 12" side, backstitching a couple times at the beginning, turn and continue along short side till you reach the end. Backstitch a couple times there too. Make sure one end of your bag is not sewn shut.
   
   
   
   
4. repeat step 3, sewing along the stitches you just made (I do this just to reinforce the stitch because I really don't want a rice mess everywhere because a stitch decided to give out)
   
   
   
   
5. turn bag right side out.
   
   
   
   
6. fill with rice/herb mixture (this is where the funnel comes in handy)
   
   
   
   
7. turn about 3/4 of an inch of the raw (open) end into the bag and pin shut.
   
   
   
   
8. sew closed using a 1/2" seam allowance and backstitching a couple times at the beginning and end. Make sure to keep the rice/herb mixture out of the way of your needle.
   
   
   
   
9. sew another line along that same edge using a 1/4" seam allowance and backstitching at the beginning and end.
   
   
   
   
10. trim all the little ends and voila! you have your very own hot pack ready to be used
    
    

Oh and just as a side note: hubby's 100% camomile bag smells a bit like instant apple/cinnamon oatmeal.

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Jerry Horsey

This is the coolest thing ever.

I have some pretty significant musculoskeletal issues that effect my mobility, at times. Every night I have to apply heat.

I'm interested in the chamomile bag. Is the fabric chamomile or is it filled with chamomile? Do you have access to chamomile filling? Please explain. Thank you.

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tdiprincess

Very nice right up! My grandfather has made these for probably 50 years. He swears by them for his neck and back pains. I'm glad to find a write up and I definitely like the idea of the herbs! I'm thinking lavender would be nice as well!

UndrThTblNDrumng

The fabric is just 100% woven cotton. The filling is part camomile and part rice. The camomile was purchased at lassens heath food store. They have a section that has loose herbs and spices that you can purchase in bulk. The camomile was there

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Necrorose

I make these with Flex seed... It works pretty good and holds the heat like the rice does...Great write up....Never thought of doing one with this...HAHA then again I have to get the pencil case one up!

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Jerry Horsey

Here's a dumb question. Does the rice gradually "cook" over time, seeing as how you're repeatedly reheating it? Is it better to use flaxseed? How much mileage do you get out of one of these?

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Necrorose

The rice will not normally cook over time, not that I noticed. If you use it as a cold pack and then a hot one then yes I have noticed that it will cook a bit! As for the seed it will not cook at all...I like the flax seed a bit better then rice!

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mamaslittlemonkeys

We make ours in a similar fashion and it lasts a loooooong time. If you need ot heat it you will need to reheat it once it loses its warmth. We keep ours in the freezer for the kids beau beaus. The rice will not cook as long as its not INSTANT rice LOL

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UndrThTblNDrumng

Yeah, we haven't had any problem with "cooking" the rice. We only use it as a hot pack, but I can see how if you go from fridge/freezer, directly to heating it, how the condensation that has gathered will moisten the rice up a bit but it does really require a lot of water to get mushy rice.

flaxseed is also a great option, just for us at the time, rice was much more economical.

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mamaslittlemonkeys

and you can use deer corn too or cherry pits. Just NOT popping corn.. LOL

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