How to Sew a Heating Pad

Making a homemade heating pad doesn’t have to be hard! Not only does a DIY heating pad make a great gift, but it’s also a simple way to ease sore muscles or warm up various parts of your body. Learn how to sew a microwave heating pad easily with this step-by-step tutorial. 

The weather has no idea what  it’s doing around here.  Chilly, warm. Chilly, warm. Repeat.

This heating pad has been a life saver!  I love being warm….not chilly.  I use my hand warmers, but this big long thing is perfect for draping across your lap, shoulders or wherever you’d like it.  It won’t fall off because the rice shifts around.

And, the smell.  I added a few drops of essential oils (learn more about essential oils for beginners –if you are just a beginner like me!) to the rice before filling them and it’s divine.

What is the best fabric for a microwave heating pad?

It’s important to use the right fabric for a microwave heating pad. Cotton fabric is going to be the best fabric sine it heats up and holds heat in a great way. 

What is the best filling for microwave heat packs?

Filling a microwavable heating pad with a few cups of rice seems to be the most popular method. This is because rice heating pads not only hot the heat well but the rice on the inside of the homemade heat packs does a great job of molding the body. 

A DIY rice heating pad is popular for sore areas, a sore neck, or back pain, and is great for heating and reusing a second time or third. 

A few important tips to remember when using white rice is that you don’t want to have too much rice inside the cotton fabric pieces because then it won’t be as moldable, but having less rice isn’t advisable either because then it won’t give off enough heat. 

Can you use navy beans for a heating pad?

The great thing about this easy project is that you can add different fillings for your personal preference. While a lot of people like adding rice, some people actually prefer to use beans. 

This simple sewing project shows that making a homemade rice heating pad or a heating bag filled with beans isn’t hard to do and both work great at the end of a long day. 

How to Make a Microwavable Rice Heating Pad

Keep these simple supplies on hand for future uses. The best thing about making your own warm heating pad is that it’s so much fun to make! These also make great Christmas gifts and are fun to make in different colors and looks. You can also change the size of the pad and add a drop of essential oil for a nice scent to the heating bag. 

Materials Needed:

2–  7″ X 17″  one front, one back

rice- 3 cups

essential oils ( I used lavendar)
pinking shears

Heating Pad Tutorial~

1)  layer your two fabric together– wrong sides facing

2)  Sew around 3 sides (two long and one short) 1/2″ seam allowance

3)  Place your rice in a ziploc bag and drop in around 10 or more drops of the essential oil of your choice.  Close the bag and give it a good mix

4)  Measure your sections with a ruler and mark a straight line with a pencil.  The sections are 3 1/2″ inches.  Continue measure and marking until you have the whole piece done

5)  Fill the first section with rice

6)  Sew on the drawn line, pushing the rice out of the way

7)  Repeat this until you are at the end of the bag– sew the end closed after filling it with the rice

8)  Using pinking shears, trim the edges

You can heat these in the microwave for around one minute.  Test the timing out as everyone has a different microwave and heat going on.

You can also stick these into the freezer for using when you need a cold press.

More DIY Heated Projects

If this is too big for you — you might like the little wool hand warmers.  Perfect for keeping in your pockets.

• How to Make Hotpads

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