Polliwogged || Detail || Relax With Rice

Next Post Previous Post

Relax with rice

A soothing heating pad can be the perfect thing to help relieve those aches and pains that you have while pregnant. These heating pads are easy to make, and have many different variations available. In this tutorial you make a long straight pad, with a cover. You can fill these with many different things, including rice, cherry pits, feed corn, and flaxseed. You can also add other items such as lavender to help you relax. The nice thing is that these can be used with heat, or put in the freezer for a cool bag as well.

I have one that is horseshoe-shaped, so it fits perfectly over my shoulders to help relieve the stress I tend to carry there. It does not have a cover. To make a shoulder pad, simple cut out two horseshoe shaped pieces of material and follow the sewing instructions for the other pad. The one I have is 24 1/2" long, and 4 1/2" wide finished. If you allow for 1/4 inch seam allowance, you would want to cut your pieces 25 inches long, and 5 inches wide.

I have also seen these as a square, so it looks like a little pillow. These make great hand or feet warmers. They are helpful as a back pad as well. - Trisha

1. r0ckaby3 [1/22/09]

For a no sew option, I took one of my husbands old tube socks and filled it with rice, then tied a knot at the open end. We keep two of these in the freezer as ouch packs. I’m so glad you posted about using them warm while pregnant...I’m 19 weeks and just starting to feel the aches and pains of pregnancy!

2. Steph [1/23/09]

This may sound like a dumb question- but how do you heat these? I dont have a microwave in my house (for obvious health reasons). Is there another way to heat them?

3. Trisha [1/23/09]

Steph- That’s a good question! I always just put mine in the microwave for about 1 min 30 sec - 2 min. We didn’t have a microwave for a while when we first got married, so I used the oven for everything. You might try setting the oven on low and putting this on a cookie sheet or in a pan. I wouldn’t put it on a high temperature because it might burn. If you are planning on putting it in the oven though, make sure you use 100% cotton, and not a polyester blend. The polyester might melt in the oven. It will probably take you longer to heat this up, so you’ll have to plan ahead. I would experiment with time and see what works the best. You don’t want it too hot, or it can burn. If by chance you do get it too hot, you can wrap it in a towel before use.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Itty Bitty Sponsors