Filling for hand warmers

[amydidit]

I want to try to actually make something for my IL's this year, and think they would like these microwavable hand warmers. They look pretty simple to make.

The links says they are filled with flax seeds and lavender. Is there another, cheaper, filling that can be used? I seem to recall my midwife (from DD2) said you could make microwavable warmers filled with rice, but I don't remember very well. Would rice work? Is there anything that is even cheaper than rice that would work? (We're EXTREMELY short on money this year) Aside from lavender, what is cheap that can be added for fragrance? Can these be made with fleece, or does the material need to be something *stronger*?

Any other tips?

Thanks!

[rere]

Yes,rice works.I made my some microwaveable rice bags and they feel great.I think you could put in whatever scent you want.I used lavender though so I don't know.I made them out of cotton.Do you have any sheets you could cut up to make them out of?Maybe a flannel sheet from the thrift store?

[Tilia]

I used flannel remnants that I found at JoAnn's. I made a little pillowcase-style cover, so I can wash it if it gets dirty. I filled mine with rice. You can use any essential oil, just a few drops works great.

[amydidit]

Ahh, so the scent is from oils? For some reason I was thinking it would be from dried herbs.

[Tilia]

I do think some use flax seed or buckwheat, and dried lavendar.

[rere]

Originally Posted by amydidit

Ahh, so the scent is from oils? For some reason I was thinking it would be from dried herbs.

I used dry herbs.

[beanma]

wheat berries work well also. I would be cautious about using synthetic fibers in the microwave as you know how it can melt some types of plastic. Good luck!

[amydidit]

Oh, that's a good point about synthetic fibers. Darn. I don't have any non-synthetic fabric and can't afford to buy any. Oh well... I still like the idea, so maybe I'll be able to make these in the future for other times.

[beanma]

Oh, I think it's worth doing, but just be cautious and do a test on the fabric before you commit to all the sewing and filling, etc.

[Think of Winter]

This is a great idea!

I made hot/cold packs from flax seed and feed corn. The corn is nice because it's cheap and has residual moisture, so it feels good and warm. Moist is not good for outside, though. It's also lumpier than the flax seed one, which everyone prefers. I think I'd try cheap white rice next.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I made them with my students one year and we used rice. You could use rosemary or some other herb you might have in your garden (or your neighbors garden, that's where I get all my rosemary )

[cristeen]

I made mine with muslin and white rice. For scent you're generally better off going with dried herbs than with EOs, since EOs can actually start fires.

They last a while too, if you avoid scorching them. I just ripped down ours, which we'd been using for 5 years, so I can refill them.

[amydidit]

Well I just made my first. By hand. Yeah, I forgot to borrow my MIL's sewing machine. These take a long time to make by hand.

I got almost a yard of 100% cotton flannel for less than $3, and I'm using dried roses for the hand warmers, and I'm hoping to make some long and thin ones for shoe warmers using dried spearmint. My local health food store didn't have a huge selection of yummy smelling dried herbs unfortunately.