I was chatting on Skype with my Mum in Australia this weekend and she made a comment about how bad the weather has been in Adelaide; how it feels like the middle of winter. I Googled the weather there and saw it has been hovering around 25°C, at which point Brendan and I couldn’t stop laughing. It’s been quite literally freezing here in London, and even with decent heating in our apartment it still gets cold (maybe the gaping spaces around our windows don’t help); 25 °C sounds positively tropical right now. I saw some little hand-warmers on Pinterest which looked really cute, but they are a) too tiny to be very effective and b) heart-shaped, which I’m not really a fan of. So I decided to be creative and use some old (clean) socks to create my own heat packs to warm me up on these chilly nights.
You’ll need:
- an old (clean) sock
- scissors
- rice
- needle & thread
Here’s how:
Cut off the toe and cuff of the sock, and roughly sew one end shut. Tuck the sewn end inside itself and then neatly sew the seam to create a secure join.
Fill the sock with rice (any kind); fill enough to reach near the top but leave enough room to sew the other end closed. Roughly sew the open end shut and then, as with the first seam, tuck the sewn end inside itself and then neatly sew across to finish the heat pack.
To use: simply place in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until hot. You may need to wrap the heat pack in a towel if it’s overheated to avoid burning yourself, but you’ll learn the optimal time required to heat it to the desired temperature.
This is a really quick and easy project (about 20 minutes), and a fantastic use for old socks. The heat packs are great to rest on your stomach if you have cramps, and help relieve sore muscles after exercise. They are the perfect little DIY for these cold, wintery days.
