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Easy DIY tutorial to sew a warm up bag. Make someone you love cozier. Have warmer hands or feet in 15 minutes from now.

Cozying up with a warm up bag and a good book is one of my favorite winter activities.

 Last week, the winter sniffles made the rounds at our house. (I could say we were ‘under the weather’ but I object to the phrase because one does not say ‘over the weather’ for the inverse….I wonder about the etymology of some words and phrases. 🙂 )

Everyone wanted to claim the one very ugly and over-used warm up bag we possessed.  Dr. Mom (me) dove into my little stash of cotton flannel and made 4 comforting warm up bags in about an hour.  I had everything I needed to fill them in my pantry. (You probably have the main thing used to fill a bag in your cupboard right now.)

Then I put each bag in the microwave for  1 1/2 minutes  and ooooooh, aaaawwwweee, foot warming comfort. See the tutorial to learn just how easy it is to make your own warm-up bag. Enjoy.

Warm-up Bag Tutorial

wbag_complete

Materials Needed:

  • 1 piece of 16 1/2″ x 18″ cotton cloth  ie, quilting, flannel or denim
  • thread
  • 4 cups of  dry wheat berries or rice or beans for filler**
  • dried lavender (opt.)
  • Instructions
  • Cut cloth to 16 1/2″ x 18″ or desired size. (You can make it larger or smaller depending on its intended use. )

  • Old denim jeans can make a thrifty, cute and sturdy bag.
  • Fold cloth lengthwise wrong sides together.
  • Pin and sew the bottom and side seams  using a 1/4″ seam.  Double stitch or use an overcast stitch.  Leave the top open for filling.
  • Turn the bag right side out.
  • Iron the  bag.  (I skipped this step.)

  • Fill the bag with 4 cups of your chosen filler.  (I just happened to have a lot of wheat, but any of the above will work.) 

  • Tips/ Notes:
    • 1.The bag will not be full and filler will flow freely inside bag.  
    • 2. For larger or smaller bags you will use more or less filler.
    • 3. Do not use plastic beading for filler.  They are not for use in the microwave!

  • Add 1-2 tablespoons of lavender, if using.

  • To finish the bag:  Keep the  filler in the bottom of  the bag and well away from the area of the machine needle.
  • Turn the raw edges at the top  in 1/4″ and double stitch or overcast as before.  Your bag is complete.
  • To use:  Warm-up your bag in the microwave in 30 second increments for no more than 1 1/2 minutes.  (You must use caution and experiment a bit here as all microwaves warm differently and you wouldn’t want to burn the filler in your bag  (stinky!!! btdt 🙂 )   or make it too hot and too dangerous to handle!!!!)  It should be warmly pleasant to the touch.

 

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