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How To Make Mini Heart Shaped Hand Warmers

in Seasonal on

I’ve been traveling like a madwoman..

The other week I was in Salt Lake City.  I love Salt Lake and travel to the city twice a year for a trade show called Outdoor Retailer. Last January I was chilled to the bone the entire time I was there. It was especially cold the day we were setting up our booth in the convention centre – the loading dock doors were open the entire time!  To prepare for the cold temperatures this time around, I decided to make little hand warmers for my pockets. And of course.. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to make mini heart shaped warmers..

So far this year has been particularly cold, so why not make a bunch of these hand warmers for all your loved ones.

Materials Needed:

  1. Cotton fabric – this is a great scrap fabric or fat quarter project
  2. Sewing machine and sewing supplies
  3. Different colors of thread
  4. Bag of rice
  5. Pen and paper
  6. Iron and ironing board
  7. Funnel

Alright, let’s get sewing:

  1. Draw a small heart shape approximately 4″w x 5″h. Cut out 2 hearts for each hand warmer.
  2. Turn right sides together and pin. Place into sewing machine and stitch together with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Leave a 1/2″ – 3/4″ opening for the rice.
  3. Press seams with an iron. Clip into seam allowance at curves and trim bottom tip. Also remember to clip into the “V” at the meeting point of the top curves.
  4. Turn right side out.
  5. Roll and turn the opening seam allowance under 1/4″.  Press again with a hot iron.
  6. Place funnel into opening and pour rice into heart. Leave enough room to have rice jiggle around. Do not overload the heart.. This is important, as you need enough room to place the heart into your sewing machine and stitch the opening closed.
  7. Pin opening closed. Push the rice aside and pin again. This will hold the rice in place while closing the opening. Machine stitch closed. Remember to back stitch at each end.

Now you have cute little hearts to warm your pockets. Why not place a few in your husband’s pocket on Valentine’s Day?  A few notes to think about – don’t chose metallic fabrics for this project and double check the setting on your microwave. All microwaves heat differently, so read the manufacturer directions before proceeding.

Want to make a large heating pad? Check out my post here and also the full tutorial on the Momtastic blog.

Important Note / Disclaimer.. All microwaves heat differently, so be sure to read your microwave directions for times + settings before heating these little guys up. Stay near your microwave and keep an eye on everything going on inside the microwave. These little hand warmers can get hot, so be super careful how long to heat them for. Be extra careful when you take out of the microwave, hold them or place in a pocket.

***Do NOT chose metallic fabrics for this project and double check the settings on your microwave before beginning this project.

Don’t want to make hand warmers? Use this tutorial as inspiration and make heart shaped bean bags, heart shaped scented sachets or cute little heart pillows…

Happy Sewing.

Comments

    • Hi – thank you! I just stopped by and added my link. Thank you for the invite 🙂

      Reply

  5. I love these! I have tons of fabric scraps and this would be a great project for them, and my little one could help fill them.
    Stopping by from the Wildly Creative link up party. Have a nice weekend!

    Reply

    • Hi – I love the idea of children helping to fill the hand warmers! Great idea. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

      Reply

  13. These look awesome!!!!! I love the different fabrics 🙂
    I really want to make some but I was wondering how long you microwave them for?

    Reply

    • HI Katie, Thanks for stopping by. It depends on the microwave, all heat items differently.. but I would start with a very low amount of time and work upwards until you get the desired heat you like.

      Reply

    • Hi Jennifer. I haven’t added a scent yet, but I had a reader tell me that she used the following and it sounds wonderful — Jasmine rice, dried lavender buds from her garden and lavender essential oil. Let me know how it goes. Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays – Marni

      Reply

  16. I love this idea for keeping little fingers warm. Great job with the photography, too! How long would you say these adorable little packets stay warm?

    Reply

  18. These are so cute! I love the colors and patterns you chose. Definitely have to make some of these; I tend to stay cold a LOT. In fact, I should make some feet warmers.:) Thank you for sharing at Inspire Me Wednesday. Featuring you in this week’s issue.

    Reply

    • Thanks Mel. You’ll love these. If you make them small enough, they can fit in your coat pockets.. I’m headed to NYC tomorrow, so I’m bringing a few 🙂

      Reply

  19. Sowhile in a punch recently, I discovered these hearts are fantastic for a sinus headache too. You can use one upside down ON the forehead or sideways across each cheek.

    Reply

    • HI Jackie,

      What a great idea! Thank you for letting me know. I suffer from headaches and this would be so helpful.

      Have a great day.
      Marni

      Reply

Trackbacks

  4. […] Mini Heart Shaped Hand Warmers –  These handy little guys were more popular than I expected. I underestimated this tutorial.  With the crazy weather patterns  AND the simple sewing steps involved, I now appreciate this kind of project. I have more simple sewing tutorials like this in the works. […]

    Reply

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