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Monday, April 4, 2011

Rice Cold Packs

If you're anything like me and have accident prone kids, you'll always be chasing an ice pack.
And if your kids are anything like mine, they'll cry more about needing an ice pack than the injury itself...
I read somewhere about making ice packs filled with rice, so I thought I'd have a go.
I just got some scraps of fabric, and sewed it up, leaving a hole to fill with rice.


I just used cheapy home brand rice, filled them up about 2/3 full, then stitched up the gap, and popped them in the freezer.
If you wanted to get fancy, you could make a little slip cover for them that you can take off and pop in the wash, but for these I just ran them up in the fabric that I liked.
They're super cheap and super quick to make, and if you store them in the freezer you won't have any worries with weevils or anything like that.  If they get a bit gross, throw them out, and make a new one!
The girls both loved them, because they are really soft and comfy on your skin - no need to wrap them in a tea towel or anything, and because they're rice, they mould easily and really comfortably to your skin.
They're definitely something I'd recommend you try making -  try a few different shapes - Long skinny ones are great for puffy eyes, or to wrap over a sprained ankle, and short fat ones are good for everyday bumps and scrapes, but you could make them in any shape that tickled your fancy... even a sweet little owl! :D
Hope you had a great weekend!
x Rita

4 comments:

Amelie Obscura said...

I need one of those! I'm so clumsy!

Sars said...

Just found your blog, its fantastic, off to try out these rice cold packs for my kids, they will love them :)

Sewandthecity said...

This is very nice and actually really handy. I’ve never heard about rice being used and not as an ice pack, but hey I’ll be making some soon, I tell you.
Here in Germany I know of such little cushions but they are used warm (1 min in the microwave) and are full with either cherry stones, grape pips or even linen seeds. Rice seems the most practical one, great idea!

Rita said...

Hi Irina, you're also able to heat these packs as well, by putting them in the microwave for 1 min. (probably not if you've used a fleece or something, but most cottons should be fine).
Since I made ours (We have 4 in the freezer), I'm finding that I"m using them all the time - they're great to use up scraps too.