Handmade Hot Hands Hand Warmers

I just finished up the Christmas gifts for my son's preschool teachers and I had to share this with you. It's super simple and makes a great gift.

What you need:

• Fabric scraps (I used 2 different fabrics but you can stick with just 1 pattern)
• A piece of cardboard to use as a template (I measured mine to be 3.5" x 4", you can make them any size you'd like, just measure 1/2" extra for your seams)
• Rice (I used jasmine rice and added some lavender and rosemary that I had gotten out of my garden I cut the rosemary and lavender into little pieces and mixed it into the rice and let it sit for 3 days)
• A sewing machine (because sewing this by hand would suck)

Using your cardboard template, cut 2 even pieces of fabric. Feel free to trim up the edges so they're fairly even (it doesn't have to be perfect since they're going to end up on the inside, but it helps you sew straight lines if your edges are straight and even)

 With right sides pinned together, start your sewing. Don't forget to leave 1 side completely unsewn so you can flip your bag right side out when you're finished with this step

 Don't forget to zig-zag all the way around the 3 edges you just sewed together to keep them from fraying in the future.

To make sewing your bag closed a little easier and cleaner, I folded down the top 1/4" and ironed the crease in it

 This is what it should look like when you flip it inside out

 Sew the final seam but leave 1/2" at the end to fill it up with your rice

 I couldn't find my funnel so I used a small piece of paper and taped it into a makeshift funnel. Start scooping your rice mixture into your beanbag. Be careful not to overfill because you're going to have to stitch the top closed on your machine when you're finished filling it. I sewed another seam completely across in case the first seam decided to come loose.

Since the rice bags are so small, you only have to heat them for 20-30 seconds and they stay warm for a long while.






I hope you find this tutorial useful and fun :)






Happy Crafting!!