When I was at the chiropractor on Tuesday he said that a wheat bag would be a good idea to put on various sore bits :)
I had a wee wander around town to look for one but then I thought eh!? why on earth am I thinking of buying one? I have a huge amount of fabric and after a wee online search found out that you can fill them with all sorts of things -
- Uncooked rice
- Wheat
- Feed corn
- Buckwheat hulls
- Barley
- Oatmeal
- Beans
- Flax seed
- Cherry pits
You can also put various smelly things in them
- lavender, rose petals, ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger, rosemary, cinnamon, peppermint oil, crushed mint...
So this morning I trotted off to the Pip ...
I actually used a bit of a vintage sheet.
Here's what I had- the sheet - I made a rectangular one because I need it to sort of sit over my shoulder. Some lavender oil cos I love the smell, the rice and a funnel to get the rice into the bag!
(even using a funnel I also needed a vacuum cleaner to suck up all the rice I spilled everywhere)
You sew the fabric together - I did a double seam - but leave around an inch so that you can get the rice, or whatever filling you use, in.
Once you've half to three quarters filled the bag just hand sew up the hole.
And voila - a wee wheat/rice bag, finished and doing its stuff in around 10 minutes. And all for the price of half a bag of rice - not bad, I think.
and the best thing - it really helps.
oh I heated mine in the microwave for one minute. It's suggested that you don't leave it while it's heating in case it goes on fire or something!
I used this blog for inspiration - Sew. Cook. Laugh. Live
Great use of a vintage sheet. I have made them with wheat but I don't like the smell, so I may make one with rice. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteSue, the rice doesn't seem to smell of anything ( but I did put in rather a LOT of lavender oil so I'm now reeking!) Definitely worth giving the rice a try - I used super budget rice, so I think it's even less than wheat.
DeleteHi Laura
ReplyDeleteI have a shop bought one that has rice grains and smells of lavender, can't remember what it cost to buy but was at least £5 and that's several years ago. Have used it many times for back ache and also as a hot water bottle when I had flu - just nice to have something warm to cuddle when the big guy was away working ! And yes it does work esp for back ache.
So glad it works :) Mine absolutely pongs of lavender - I may have overdone it :) I think I also need to make a longer one, to sort of wrap round my neck. Now I know how easy it is there'll be no stopping me!
DeleteI also use mine as a hot water bottle in winter! Great for cold tootsies.
ReplyDeletebrilliant idea! The website I found said you could also put it in the freezer and use it like a cold compress
DeleteUsing it to heat up my toes in the cold winter bed is one of my favorite uses, too!
DeleteI need to make another wheat bag - there are fights in our house over who's turn it is. I made a slip on over-cover that I could take off and wash and I also sewed a couple of seams along the bag to divide it into three and spread the filling more evenly. I found it could slide to the sides and leave a cold spot if the bag was draped over a shoulder/leg/arm. Love your vintage sheet idea!
ReplyDeletegosh - it'd take you about 30 seconds to make one! I should definitely do dividing seams when I make a longer one, that's a really good idea. Sheet cost $2 from one of the charity shops down in whangarei - you could probably make about 100 from it!!
DeleteI was going to mention both those things, too. My heating bag is not divided, as it is small, but the larger ones I've used have been divided so that the grain is evenly spread and I think that is pretty brilliant (and a simple modification).
DeleteMatt's mother made mine for me and it has a slip-cover. My father-in-law doesn't like the idea that something we put on our cold feet ends up in the same place he puts his food--so the slip-cover was born. But, I guess I am not so particular because I just shove it in the micro cover-foot germs and all! :)
this first one is small, but dividing them is a must, I reckon for a longer one.
DeleteHeehee I kind of get your FIL - but I'm coming from the opposite end of the scale - I didn't want to get any bits of food on mine!!!! Does microwaving kill germs? foot and food????
A brilliant saving of money.
ReplyDeleteI once had a wheat filled teddy bear that was my little cuddly 'hot water bottle', alas I zapped him for too long in the microwave one day and he smelt of burnt teddy after that and had to go :-(
poor teddy - I think I may have seen them when I was teaching - we used to get a book seller person who left stuff in the staff room - I'm sure once there was a brown microwavable teddy :)
DeleteGood work, Laura! I love that moment when you realize you don't need to buy something because you are clever enough to make it yourself!!! Even if the price was the same you know your bag made with your own to hands from awesome vintage material would be so much more lovely than something mass produced. And I love my rice bag! Feels so good on the aches and the cold toes. Glad you do, too!
ReplyDeleteit's so great isn't it! It was like a lightbulb, and I didn't even have to buy a thing!
DeleteMy SIL and their kiddos sent me one for Christmas a few years back and I've LOVED it. My housemate pulled a muscle in his neck yesterday and I warmed it up for him. He's been in heaven and wanting to make one, so this post was incredibly timely! :) Hope you've been well!
ReplyDeleteIt was so super easy, even if you didn't have a machine! Tell him to go for it!!!!!! xxx
DeleteOooo! What a great idea!
ReplyDeletefor goats! :)
DeleteIf you make a longer one, I have one that is sewn in three sections makes it super easy to wrap around neck and the rice, wheat doesn't move to one end.
ReplyDeleteI used a long one at my friend's house because I had period pains that painkiller wasn't helping and she offered me a wheatbag and I did not let it seperate from my stomach the whole weekend! It was a long one that wasn't very full or divided into sections though, but it has inspired me to make a bright, rainbow flannelette one!
ReplyDelete