Cold hands? Warm heart!
That's what they say, right?!
In the name of self-care, self-love, and all that jazz, I made myself a 'warm heart' to go with my cold hands. I thought I'd road-test it, you know... before I subjected anyone else to it this Valentine's Day! It's great retiring to the knitting and stitching nook with it in the evenings, warming my fingers up in preparation.
I filled the heart shaped pouch with some wholegrain rice and a little dried lavender from my garden. When microwaved for a few seconds it becomes a lovely-smelling hand warmer. Lavender is completely optional, although I love the added aromatherapeutic factor. Other dry grains like wheat, barley or buckwheat can be used instead of rice.
You can download the template by clicking on the --> warm heart template here. Print at 100% scale, actual size. The first page is on a metric grid and the second page is on an imperial grid, so you only have to print one of them, not both. The grid is there to easily trace from the screen if no printer available.
I used two medium weight fabric scraps for the outside (one linen and the other wool) and backed them with calico. Any other medium weight cotton fabric will do instead of calico, and of course you can use whatever you like as the main fabric.
Place the two main pieces of fabric together, right sides facing, and sandwich them between the calico pieces.
Use the template to trace the heart shape with a pen.
Pin around carefully, catching all four layers.
Sew along the traced line with a straight stitch, making sure to leave an opening between the marks and backstitch either side of it.
Trim the fabric all around, leaving the seam allowance a bit wider along the opening.
Notch the seam allowance along the curves (cut out little triangles close to the seam).
Press the seam allowance back on either side along the opening to help retain the heart shape, then turn it right side out and press it flat.
Measure 160g rice (just under 1 cup) and 5g dried lavender (1/4 cup). Adjust these amounts as needed. Do not overfill.
Fill your heart with love todaaaay 🎶... I mean, with rice and lavender!
Pin then sew the opening up by hand with an invisible stitch...
... and your heart-shaped hand warmer is all done!
IMPORTANT NOTE: no more than 40 seconds was needed on a 950W microwave. That's the max power on my microwave at home, but as you know, they really vary, so start with 20 seconds, check then add 10 second increments until desired warmth reached. Use caution and do not overheat!
Please tag with #DDwarmheart and #dhuratadaviespatterns if posting online.
Enjoy and spread the love,
Dhurata x