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DIY Heat Bags

June 11, 2013 by Kate 13 Comments

Personalised heat bags make such a great gift to give to any loved one. I made them a few years ago with a grade 2/3 class for father’s day and the feedback was incredibly positive. I even had a few of the children’s dads write me little ‘thank you’ notes!
The good news is that these are so easy to make. Children also love being able to add their  creative designs and personalised touches.
Here is how to make a basic heat bag. 

There are a few things that you will need to be able to make your heat bag but they are not anything too difficult to source. These include –

  • 1/2 meter of canvas fabric (makes 1 heat bag)
  • Fabric markers
  • pencil or pen
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • sewing machine with cotton
  • iron
  • 500g rice or wheat for filling
  • needle and thread

Firstly fold over (or double up) your fabric. You can make your heat bag whatever shape you like, however, I think a simple square is the best when getting children involved in the process. Let’s keep things easy to begin with.

I wanted a 20cm x 20cm heat bag so I measured a 22cm x 22cm square. I did this so it would allow for what is lost in the seam once it is sewn. Can you see in the picture above?
Cut out the two identical pieces and sew them together using a simple stitch around the edges. It’s important that you don’t sew one corner of the fabric together. We need this ‘gap’ as we are going to turn the fabric inside out once we have finished out sewing.
If you were doing the heart shape heat bag then it would look something like the above picture. Again, you can see that I have left an opening.
And now for the moment the children have been waiting for….decorating!

After recently visiting a war memorial with his dad, my nephew decided this special moment should be drawn on his heat bag. I thought that was an adorable thought. I wish I could have bottled his beautiful recount of that day. It was very touching to hear his appreciation for soldiers who served our country and the detail of the ceremony.

My lovely niece decided to draw a beautiful garden scene because ‘it makes you happy’.
What more could you want? 🙂

Here are their completed drawings.
Of course you can write messages on them too!

Once they are done it’s important to heat-set the ink so give them a once over with the iron.

Fill the bags with 500g rice or wheat. If you choose to use rice then you can include this well known poem of instructions on a slip of paper when you give as a gift –
Thanks ArtsyFartsyMama.com
 Using a needle and thread simply hand sew the opening closed and you’re done.
What a beautiful gift to give someone at any time of the year. 
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I hope that you have enjoyed reading this post.
Please leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you.
Kate x
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Filed Under: 5 - 10 years, Art, Art & Craft, Craft, Making

Comments

  1. Kaitlynne Roil says

    June 11, 2013 at 7:41 am

    Looking forward to making these!!!

    Reply
  2. Happy Whimsical Hearts says

    June 11, 2013 at 9:03 am

    These are great Kate! I can’t believe how easy you make them look 🙂 I know my kids would love to decorate some, pinning!

    Reply
  3. Jodie Clarke says

    June 11, 2013 at 10:01 am

    I love making these for gifts but never thought to add the little personalised drawings…what a great idea!Those hearts are so sweet!Pinning now.

    Reply
  4. Hannah says

    June 11, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    I can’t tell you how much I love this idea. My kids will enjoy this so much. I’ve pinned it and I think It’ll be a pin that we’ll actually make. ( Hannah @ Paint On The Ceiling)

    Reply
  5. Kelly says

    June 12, 2013 at 1:46 am

    Oh these are adorable! Love especially that the kids decorated them. That’s brilliant!

    Reply
  6. Bekka Joy says

    June 12, 2013 at 12:54 pm

    Beautiful Kate!! I lovee this! 🙂 And I REALLY love your niece’s design!! 🙂 Look forward to seeing more sewing projects here!

    Reply
  7. Heather Ruppel says

    June 12, 2013 at 11:29 pm

    I LOVE these. I have one that I would never give away, I only wish I had a sewing machine to make one with my son.

    Reply
  8. Kylie @ Octavia and Vicky says

    June 13, 2013 at 5:59 am

    So cute, I’m very jealous of your sewing skills 🙂

    Reply
  9. Penny says

    June 13, 2013 at 9:43 pm

    What a lovely idea and such a great gift idea. I might help the girls make one for Father’s day. He always needs a heat pack!

    Reply
  10. Laura Flaute says

    June 15, 2013 at 4:32 am

    Such a heart warming gift! And the kids did a beautiful job! Love your blog and started following you. The sections for babies and toddlers are awesome, thank you so much! (I have a 19 months old). They are so lucky to have you as a Mom 😉
    Laura, http://camillaandroman.blogspot.com/

    Reply
  11. Deborah Alter-Rasche says

    June 16, 2013 at 1:31 am

    Gorgeous. Great idea. Now, all I need to do is take my sewing machine out of the box and learn how to use it. haha. 🙂

    Reply
  12. katepickle says

    August 26, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    What a lovely idea to have the kids draw on them! We love our heat bags and these would make lovely sibling gifts that my kids could make!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 30 Easy Gifts for Kids that You Can Sew - Moments A Day says:
    July 30, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    […] Heat Bags […]

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Welcome
Hello and welcome!
My name is Kate and I am a mum to two little girls, Possum and Boo. We have lots of fun together learning with play at home and are pleased to share some of what we do with you.
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