Due to a combination of recent school stress, bad sleeping
positions, horrible posture, ill health, an American exercise routine (read: lethargy),
and a deflating pillow, I hurt everywhere. My shoulders and neck are like
rocks, my right jaw is slightly swollen and painful (a blocked parotid gland,
according to the school nurse), and I have some sort of pimple on my upper leg
that makes pants painful. For the jaw, the nurse recommended sour lemon candies
(to stimulate salivation) and a warm compress, which is what I also need for my
shoulders. Thus, I decided I needed one of those warm compress rice bags
immediately.
I didn’t want to do any measuring or fussy things like that,
so this is a quick-and-dirty version. I didn’t even pin. I used some leftover
washed, pressed, and folded bleached white muslin from another project and some
plain, brown rice that was “best by Jan 12” (oops…). White rice would probably
be better because it has less oil and chance of going rancid, but brown is what
I had. And just so you know how on the fly this was, when I say my fabric was
pressed, I mean I pressed it three months ago. If I were making a gift, I probably
would press it for real but not when it’s for me and my back hurts this much.
For this project, you’ll need:
- A small amount of 100% cotton or linen* fabric – I used a scrap of plain bleached white muslin (see my idea at the end about making a removable cover!)
- 100% cotton* thread
- Rice (white if you have it) – the amount depends on the size of your bag and how full you want it; I used probably a little more than 2 cups
*A note about fabrics: I strongly advise using 100% natural
materials, such a cotton or linen, for this because they don’t melt in the
microwave, unlike polyester and other synthetic fabrics. You’re only
microwaving it for a minute, but it’s better safe than sorry.
