Hello Kitty Hand Warmers: A Tutorial

Want something adorable and practical to get you through the blustery winter? Even better, want to be able to make one in about twenty minutes? You just pop these hand warmers in the microwave for about 30 seconds, slip them into your jacket pockets, and your hand will stay nice and toasty! Here are instructions to make your very own Hello Kitty Hand Warmers:

Materials:

- Fleece fabric (I found some awesome Hello Kitty fleece at my local fabric store, but any fleece should work. Each handwarmer used two squares of fleece measuring about 3.75 x 3.75" and I cut an extra 0.5" around the perimeter of the square, but you can also experiment with different shapes and sizes.)
- needle and thread
- pins
- scissors
- sewing machine
- uncooked rice (I've heard that buckwheat or flaxseed also does the trick for retaining heat but I haven't tried using these)
- funnel (helpful, but not absolutely necessary)

Instructions:

1) Lay out your fleece for cutting.

2) Cut out two squares of equal size, remembering to add about a half inch of extra fabric around the perimeter of the square as an allowance.

3) Next you will want to pin the two squares together. As my fabric was a print only on one side, I made sure to pin the squares with the reverse sides facing out. You will ultimately be turning this inside out, so keep that in mind as you pin the squares.

4) Now you're ready to sew! I'd say it's easiest to start in the middle of one of the sides (I'll explain why in a bit). Taking your pins out one at a time, use your sewing machine to sew where your pins were in place. I like to reinforce the corners by reversing and going back over them.

Remember not to sew your square shut! Leave at least an inch open from where you began. Once you flip your squares inside out and fill the pocket with rice, you'll be hand sewing the hole. That is why I find it easiest to have the hole be on a side of the square, as opposed to a corner which would require more maneuvering.

5) Now trim the excess fabric and the corners, being very careful not to cut through any of your stitches. This will help you lose any unwanted bulk once you turn the pocket inside out.

6) Through the hole in the seam, turn the pocket inside out. Use a blunt object, like the eraser end of of pencil, to push out all the corners.

If you have a funnel, place the funnel into the hole of the pocket and begin pouring in the rice. If you don't have one, you can always pour with a cup (but do this over a sink or tray to catch any strays). There's no set measurement on how much rice to use, but I would say don't fill the pocket up all the way. I like to fill it up to about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

7) Close up the hole in the pocket using a simple blind stitch. If you're new to this, a simple YouTube search of "blind stitch" will teach you all you need to know :)

And that's all there is to it! Now you'll have warm hands and an awesome new accessory!

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