Ya’ll, winter came early in Texas. It may not have stuck around, but still; 25° nights in October is pretty well unheard of here. In fact, in our area, we broke the low temperature record for the first time in 69 years! Crazy, right? That’s why I was not at all surprised when a friend said she was making these DIY hand warmers! I just knew I had to ask her to do a free sewing pattern and sewing tutorial for us all!
Once she sent over the free sewing tutorial for these hand warmers, I fell in love! Sewing is a frugal skill that can save you money and one I believe everyone should have.
Simply put, it can save you BIG bucks when you learn to sew.
For those that don’t currently know how to sew, Bluprint has great online sewing lessons!
DIY Hand Warmers Free Sewing Pattern
The great thing about this free sewing pattern is that there really is no pattern at all!
In other words, these fleece hand warmers are so super simple they don’t require an actual pattern to learn how to make hand warmers!
It’s just as simple as my Easy DIY Kitchen Towel sewing project!
I like simple and I’d bet you do too.
How to Make Hand Warmers Sewing Tutorial
If you’re just becoming interested in learning how to sew, you should have a basic sewing machine to make these hand warmers.
Yes, you could sew them by hand, but it would be a big pain in the rear. A simple machine will make it so much easier for you!
You Will Need:
- Fleece or other material in the pattern of your choice
- Sewing machine with thread
- Sewing Clips
- Dry, Uncooked Rice
- Small Funnel
- Individual condiment cup
You can also use any material you prefer. I love these done in fleece but cotton would work great too! If you, like me, are fond of fleece, here are 37+ more fleece sewing projects you could try.
Start by cutting the fabric into squares of whatever size you prefer. The cuts do not need to be made perfectly.
Make double the squares for the number of hand warmers you want to make. For instance, six hand warmers will need 12 squares.
You can choose any size you would like for your DIY hand warmers. For the sake of simplicity, we made these 3×3″ and 4×4″ in this post.
I personally think these are the perfect sizes to fit into a coat or pants pocket.
Next, clip the squares together in sets of two on three sides.
You will need the 4th side open for now so it can be filled.
Next, do a simple stitch around the three borders you have clipped together.
Keeping the sides you are not working on clipped while you’re sewing can be helpful for making sure the fabric squares line up.
Do not sew the 4th side just yet.
Fill a condiment cup with dry, uncooked rice and use a funnel to fill the hand warmers with rice.
Do not overfill each one. You want them to be full but only with enough rice to allow the grains to move freely within each hand warmer.
Two or three condiment cups of rice is usually more than enough.
Once they’re filled, top stitch the 4th side to close the hand warmer.
Once you have stitched them all close, trim and even up any excess fabric.
If you’re giving these as a DIY gift to someone, simply stack them and wrap with colored twine for an easy way to present them!
Did you enjoy this post? You may also like these:
- DIY Upcycled Dog Rope Toy
- Upcycled T-Shirt Scarf
- DIY Kitchen Towel Sewing Tutorial
- 33 Frugal Skills that Will Save You Money
To use your homemade hand warmers, microwave them for a few seconds each. Do not wash them.
Washing them can – and likely will – cause the rice to mold which can make you sick.
DIY Hand Warmers Free Sewing Pattern & Sewing Tutorial
Equipment
- Sewing Machine
- Scissors
- Sewing Clips
- Small Funnel
- Individual Condiment Cup
- Material of Your Choosing
Ingredients
- Uncooked Rice
Instructions
- Cut two squares of material into the size of your choosing.
- Clip three sides of the squares to help hold material together.
- Sew three sides leaving fourth side open.
- Use a small funnel to add 2-3 condiment cups full of rice to the pocket.
- Sew fourth side with a top stich to close.
- Trim excess fabric.