My teenage boys leave for school at 6:30 in the morning – and during those cold Utah winters, that time of morning can be pretty hard to face!  One thing they always seem to complain about is their cold, cold hands, so I took a minute this week and whipped them up some microwaveable pocket warmers.  The sewing skill needed for this is practically none and the cost to make 6 of them was about $2.

I bought 1/4 yard flannel from Hobby Lobby, for a total cost of $1.25.  Make sure you look for a fabric that is 100% cotton, as any fabric with polyester in it could melt in the microwave.  I straightened up the edges a little, and ended up with a long strip that was about 10 1/2 inches wide. I cut that into 5 1/2 inch pieces.  I didn’t even bother to iron it; a time or two in the microwave and those wrinkles will be gone.

Fold the rectangle in half with right sides together,

and sew around two of the open sides.

Now turn that right side out

and fill it with your choice of filler.  You can use feed corn, barley, wheat, rice or flax.  I used wheat because I had an open can.  You don’t want it to be too full; I thought that 3/4 cup of wheat was perfect.

Now fold the open edge under about 1/4-1/2 inch and pin it.  Being very careful to keep the filler away from the needle, sew the opening closed.

To use, put in the microwave for 20-30 seconds and pop them in your coat pocket.

Ahhhh….happy teenager.