These little hand-warmers are super easy to whip up and a nice comfort on a cold morning. I was thinking they would be great when camping, although not sure how to re-heat them once at camp. I’m going to send them with Cal on his next camping trip along with a piece of aluminum foil to see if he can wrap them up and keep them close to the fire to heat up. We’ll see if that works! In the meantime, the idea is that you can pop these in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, then put them in your pockets to keep your hands warm. Or, for those of us without microwaves, these can be heated in the oven on a piece of aluminum foil – just don’t turn the heat up too high, keep it on low. Because these go together pretty quickly, this project is also great for young people just learning to sew.

Start with 8 4″x4″ pieces of fabric – 4 of the lining and 4 of the outside fabric. (You might recognize the plaid fabric from my dress to shirt re-fashion – these squares were cut from the pockets that I cut off the dress). Don’t worry if they are not perfectly square because we’ll trim them when we are done.

Next, make a sandwich of 4 squares – 2 lining pieces in the middle, with the finished fabric on the top and bottom.

Sew around the outside, leaving a 2 inch opening in the center of one side. Use about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Fill the square with 1/4 cup of rice – any kind will do.

Stitch the opening closed.

Trim around the edges with pinking (zig-zag) shears.

I think this is a great little project to get kids involved with. These might be a nice gift for someone in the family who spends a lot of time outdoors or maybe for an older person (or anyone really) that is bothered by the cold. Dried herbs like lavender can also be added in with the rice. It’s a great way to use small pieces of fabric and since they go together quickly, it’s easy to make several pair in an afternoon.