Making a heating pad for Mom

On my last visit to Mom's she mentioned that her heating pad was getting worn. It's one of those belt-style pads that's full of rice and you heat it in the microwave. 

We popped down to the basement to sort through her fabric stash (she has an amazing collection of fabrics and clothes ready for repurposing). We found a super soft shirt with a tight weave (so the rice grains won't escape) and some decorator fabric. I took measurements and the fabric and headed home to see what I could put together.

I doubled up the shirt fabric just to be sure it wouldn't wear too quickly. And to make sure the rice wouldn't poke through the weave. This is the side that sits against your back so we wanted it really soft.

The inside

The side that's visible when you're wearing it is made from the home-dec fabric. A bit stiff and more intensely colored, it's very pretty. The stiffness helps as it shouldn't flop about as much as her current model does.

The outside

I also made a small drawstring storage bag so she could hang it from a hook when not in use. This way it can be stored near the microwave yet still be out of the way. Since I'd never made a bag before I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and a tutorial. Ended up using this one. Good clear instructions and it went together very quickly.

Handy carrying bag

Sewing it up was fun and I enjoyed figuring out how to get it all together. I'm starting to get the hang of this whole sewing thing, I think...