How to Sew Your Own Heating Pad

When I feel those telltale cramps, there isn’t much that can provide me with relief. One thing that helps me is applying a hot water bottle or a heating pad to my abdomen.

It never hurts to have an extra heating pad to leave at your workplace, to include in a self-care gift basket to a friend, or to pack on your next trip. Fortunately, making your own heating pad is as quick and simple as one, two, three … well, there’s also steps four and five, but you get the point.

Materials that you’ll need

1) Two square or rectangular pieces of felt or cotton fabric. Do not use polyester or other fabrics that quickly melt or catch fire when exposed to heat. These pieces can be any size you prefer, but they should both have the same measurements.
2) Sewing needle and thread or sewing machine
3) Pins to hold your fabric together 4) Dry rice
5) OPTIONAL: dry lavender, rosemary, or other herbs to add aromatherapy

Directions

1) Take your two pieces of fabric and pin each side together. Remember that the design you want to see (also called the “good” side) on your finished heating pad should be FACING INSIDE. In other words, as you sew, you should only see the “bad” side of your fabric.
2) Sew three sides together along the perimeter of the square or rectangle of fabric.
3) On your fourth and final side, leave an inch or two unsewn. Secure your thread and, if you’re using a sewing machine, take the fabric off the machine.
4) Turn the heating pad right-side-out by pushing the fabric through the small hole you left unsewn. Then, pour some dry white rice (and optional sprigs of aromatic herbs) into the pouch through that small hole. Pour enough rice so your heating pad is loosely filled but not overstuffed.
5) Sew up the small hole to enclose the rice into the pouch.

Now, you have your own eco-friendly, repurposed trusty heating pad! Use your heating pad by adding it to the microwave for about thirty seconds. The rice will stay warm for several minutes. Be careful not to overheat your heating pad or you may burn the fabric.

Always check to make sure that the heating pad is comfortably warm before you place it onto your skin. If the pad is too hot for your comfort, let it sit for a minute or two until it cools down a bit.

If you make your own heating pad, please send us photos in the comments section of this article or on Endometriosis.Net’s social media pages.