Microwave Heating Pad Tutorial

Good morning, friends! I hope that you had a FANTASTIC 4th of July weekend! My folks came to our house on Friday, and Mike grilled burgers and hot dogs for us to eat - YUMMMM! We enjoyed a nice, restful 3-day weekend...no hurries and no worries! :)

Today I'm going to show you how to make rice-filled heating (or cooling) pads to soothe your aches and pains. These make great gifts, too!!

Let's get started! Here are the materials that you'll need:

• A piece of muslin cut 9" wide by 18" long
• A piece of fleece cut 9 1/2" wide by 19" long
• 10" long piece of wide ric-rac or a piece of wide grosgrain ribbon
• 2 lbs. of uncooked rice
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Coordinating thread
• Sewing machine

Begin by pressing the muslin, pressing a 1/2" hem at the top. Fold the pressed muslin in half lengthwise and pin sides together:

Stitch the hem in place, leaving the hemmed side open. Stitch around the outside of the raw edges of the muslin liner to form a bag. Turn right-side out and press out any wrinkles. Pour uncooked rice into a mixing bowl with a handle and spout, then carefully pour the rice into the muslin bag. Fill bag approximately 2/3 of the way full and stitch the top (hemmed end) closed:

Follow the same steps with the fleece cover, adding a decorative trim to the open/hemmed end if desired:

Slide the muslin, rice-filled bag into the fleece liner. Pop the whole thing in the microwave for about 2 minutes and apply the warm bag to a sore neck or achy tummy. (NOTE: The bag can also be frozen and used for reducing swelling in place of a drippy ice pack.)

The fleece liner can be washed in cool water and line dried when it gets dirty...just be sure to remove the muslin rice bag first!

Thanks for dropping by today! Have a TERRIFIC week!