DIY Hand Warmer

It’s winter, and if you live in a cold part of the world, you know how uncomfortable cold hands are. Luckily, I have discovered DIY hand warmers, made out of cloth and filled with rice. All that is required to make it are some basic sewing skills and a couple of materials you might already have on hand. Then, microwave it for 15 seconds and it will keep your hands warm.

For this DIY, you will need:
-rice
-felt or thick fabric
-needle with a big eye
-scissors
-pins
-ruler
-pencil or chalk

When picking a fabric, try to find one that will keep in warmth.

First, decide how big your hand warmer will be. You will want it to be a square. When you have settled on the dimensions, double the length of it to make a long rectangle. I recommend doing a 4x8 rectangle, which would turn into a 4x4 hand warmer. After you measure, mark the places you will cut with a pencil or chalk. Use a ruler to make straight lines, then cut along them.

Next, fold the peice of fabric in half, making a square. Pin the two sides together so they will stay in place.

Then sew the two sides of the fabric together using a backstitch. Sew around the three sides that are not joined together, but leave a 2” gap at the end of the stitches. Make sure to not sew all the way around.

After that, flip the fabric inside-out. You can do this by pushing a little bit of fabric through the hole, then pulling the rest out with it.

Then, fill the pouch with rice until it is very full.

Finally, sew the rest of the fabric together, from the stitches to the end. With your needle, go into the fabric from one side, then pull it out through the other. Repeat this on the other side, a few millimeters ahead of the last stitch. Keep doing this until you reach the end. Tie a knot in the string when you finish to prevent it from coming undone.

Your hand warmer is done! To use it, all you have to do is microwave it for fifteen seconds. It will stay warm for quite a long time, depending on which fabric you used.