flannel hand warmers

So I had this great idea where I was going to do a 12 days of Christmas thing, and call it the "12 Crafts of Christmas," with tutorials and ideas for fun Christmas crafts that went with the number for each day.  You know, 3 wise men for day 3, something with a 5 pointed star for day 5, etc.  Great idea, right?!  But life has a way of catching up to you, and, well, that idea is going to have to wait until at least next Christmas.

Instead, I decided I'd just blog about some of the Christmas presents I'm making for my family members.

So today's is a present I made for my younger sister who is currently serving a mission for our church in St Paul, Minnesota.  And since it's freezing there, I decided to make her a little something to help her stay warm while walking around the city.

(Please ignore how wrinkly my hand looks in these pictures... it was the way I was holding the hand warmers.  Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.)

Not only are these little hand warmers super cute, and very useful, but they were also really easy to make!
But if you don't feel like making them yourself, check out my shop where I've got them for sale.


Here's what you'll need:

Flannel in any color/pattern (you only need about a 6" square for a pair of hand warmers)
Coordinating thread
Pencil or fabric marker
Rice (about 2-3 Tbsp per hand warmer)
Pinking shears
Sewing machine
Needle

1. Find or draw a heart shape approximately 3" x 3" (I just drew/cut mine on a piece of paper.  But a cookie cutter or stencil would work well too.

2. Trace 4 hearts onto the fabric.

3. Cut out with pinking shears.  (Regular scissors are fine, but the pinking shears help keep the edges from fraying.  So if you use regular scissors, you might want to use fray check or something on the edges.  Or if you're awesome and have a serger, just use that.)

4. With wrong sides together, stitch around the edge of the heart, leaving at least 1" open to fill with rice.

5. Fill with 2-3 Tbsp. of rice

6. Hand stitch the heart closed the rest of the way.

7. Warm it up in the microwave for about 30 seconds, and keep your hands warm for about 30 minutes!

You can use other fabrics besides flannel, but I like to use flannel because it's soft, fairly durable, and holds the warmth pretty well.  

Another bonus about these hand warmers?  They would make great stocking stuffers!  They're the perfect size to stick in a stocking.  And if the heart's a little too girly, any shape will work.