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These DIY Hot and Cold Packs Are Healing Hearts

My favorite way to help with boo boos are these heart DIY hot and cold packs. Made from upcycled shirts and rice, they’re an easy way to soothe kids.

Skills Required: Beginner. You don’t need a pattern for this project. You will use basic sewing machine stitches or hand sewing, which is nice if you don’t own a machine.

Girl holding a DIY hot and cold pack shaped like a heart

Bumps and bruises are an everyday occurrence for my kids, and sometimes all they need is a little TLC to feel better.

Sometimes you need a little heat and/or cold to make a wound feel a little bit better, and I know I’ve thought, “I wish I had a cold pack right about now.” I’ve thought the exact same thing with a heat pack, more than once.

The good news is that you can make hot and cold packs yourself . . . and if you have rice and old shirts you don’t mind cutting up, that means you already have everything you need on hand! Learn how to make this easy craft below.

Flannel shirt, a jersey t-shirt, container of rice, Sharpie, and scissors

DIY Hot and Cold Packs

Materials:

  • Soft shirt like knit jersey or flannel
  • Fabric scissors
  • Marker
  • Rice
  • Needle and thread
  • Sewing machine (optional)
Cutting hearts out of the red t-shirt with scissors

Draw your hearts and cut through both layers of the shirt making two pieces for each heart pack.

Stacks of heart pieces pinned together with sewing pins

Pin the heart pieces together with right sides facing.

Heart stitched almost all the way around with a pair of scissors

Stitch around the edge of the heart, leaving a couple inches for turning. Clip the edges to help keep the shape when you fill your bag.

Heart hot and cold pack with rice and a funnel

Turn the heart right side out and fill with rice.

Heart hot pack with the edge sewn up using a ladder stitch

Use a ladder stitch to close up the side.

DIY hot and cold packs shaped like hearts and stacked up
Girl holding a DIY cold pack on her elbow
Girl holding a DIY hot pack shaped like a heart

Store your DIY hot and cold packs in the freezer or toss them in the microwave for 30 seconds for quick and easy relief. I’ve made a whole stack so I’m always at the ready!


I love simple sewing projects! If you enjoyed this tutorial I hope you’ll also enjoy these other posts:

Judy derkowski

Friday 17th of April 2015

I love this idea.! Would fleece work with this project? I have so much leftover fleece fabric. What size

is the large heart?

Thank you for your wonderful ideas!