DIY Reusable Hand Warmers

DIY Reusable Hand Warmers to help keep you cozy during cool weather!

We are lucky enough to live close to our kiddo’s school and most days I love that we can soak up some extra fresh air and sunshine by walking to his class. But when winter rolls around and the windchill hits? Oh man, that freezing cold walk can be a little rough.

Even after bundling the boys up like the little brother from A Christmas Story, they still get pretty chilled. Especially my toddler who has become very vocal in his dislike of Old Man Winter.

I could drive to avoid the cold, but that seems wasteful since we are so close. I also thought about buying some of those hand-warmer packs that just sit in your pocket. I know they aren’t too expensive, but to be honest, I hate to drop cash on anything that will go to a landfill after just one use. Also wasteful. And since both boys would need a pair for 4 days out of every week, that “inexpensive” throw-away item starts to really add up.

Because I’m an aspiring frugalista, am relatively handy, and want to avoid the excessive whining of freezing children, I decided to make each kid their own set of reusable hand warmers.

Now I’m not a great seamstress (much to my grandmother’s eternal dismay) but this project is a cinch for a novice like me. And they are small enough that you can even stitch them by hand if you don’t have a sewing machine.

Supplies

For this project you will need:

Sewing Machine (or needle and thread)
Fabric
1/2 cup rice
Pinking shears

Instructions

First, I scrounged through my miniscule fabric pile and decided on some old flannel baby blankets. 1) The flannel seems to hold heat a little longer and 2) because I really love a good upcycle.

 

 

Cut fabric of choice into 4″x4″ pieces. For each individual hand warmer, you will need 4 pieces of the 4″x4″ squares for a total of 8 squares per pair of hand warmers.

So for mine, I did my inner layers in the yellow flannel, and my outer layers in the printed flannel. A double layer of fabric insulates the rice inside which also helps trap heat.

 

 

Layer the pieces of fabric: printed layer with right side facing down, 2 inner layers, then printed layer right side facing up. Basically, you just want your pretty pieces on the outside.

 

 

Pin the pieces together and sew up 3 sides with a straight stitch and a 1/2″ seam allowance (to leave room to trim with the pinking shears).

 

 

You’ll be left with a little pocket to hold the rice. Add 1/4 cup of rice between the inner layers.

 

 

Pinch the opening closed and tap the rice down as far as it will go.

Pin rice in place before sewing last side closed.

Trim extra fabric with pinking shears to give it a decorative edge and you’re done!

Heat for about 20 seconds in the microwave. Make sure it is not too hot before giving it to the little ones.

My eldest was so excited about this little unexpected gift from Mama. We warmed them up and he snuggled with them on the couch!