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My laurels group, the oldest aged girls in Young Womens, have been focused a lot on getting ready for college. That end of Senior year freak out has started to happen for several of my cute girls, so we’ve been working on cooking skills and other things that will help them be a little more prepared for that first big step of adulthood that is college life. They wanted to make some hot/cold rice packs aka “stinky rice bags” that they could take with them to school.
Being the slacker I am, I forgot to take photos of the activity.
In a nut shell, we set up a cutting mat with rotary blade, a rice mixing station (where the girls mixed rice with a few drops of an essential oil of their choosing), and lined up several sewing machines. The girls brought their own fabric from home and my awesome adviser brought the rice. Gotta love when your son uses your entire 25 pound bucket of rice to ask a girl to prom, right?
The leaders helped give pointers and tips as each girl sewed her own rice pack.
When all was said and done, I had a bag of scented rice left over so I decided to make some pocket rice packs for the girls that weren’t able to come. This time I took pictures… here’s what I did.
I think rice packs work best if you use terry cloth or flannel, but you really can use just about anything, even socks. If you are using regular fabric I would suggest lining it with flannel, which will help retain the heat, or doubling up the fabric. I used some scraps of terry cloth that I had left over from my obsession with making hoodie towels back in the baby days.
Cut your fabric into the desired shape wanted. Square, rectangle, whatever… there is no perfect size, it’s all personal preference.
I was making pocket packs so I went with a 4×4 square.
Cut a front piece and a back piece, stack them on top of each other with right sides facing each other then sew a quick straight stitch all around the edge, leaving a couple inches at the end open/not stitched for turning.
Snip the extra fabric off your corners on a diagonal. This will make the corners look nice and sharp. Then, flip your pocket right side out. I like to use a wooden spoon to help me softly push the corners out. I say softly because if you push to hard you can rip right through the fabric, so be gentle or you will be starting over.
Once you have that all done, you’ve now created a pocket that you can fill with rice!
I used about 2 cups of rice and stirred in 5 or so drops of essential oils. Go easy with the essential oils, they can be really overwhelming. A member of my bishopric came to help and went a little E.O. crazy which necessitated my adviser’s hot pack going on time out in the back yard for a few days to tone down. It was hilarious! When choosing an essential oil, think about the mood you want to create. If you are wanting calm and relaxing, use lavender. If you are making a pack to ease headaches and nausea, try peppermint.
Use a small funnel to put the rice into your packs.
You can also use wheat, corn or even flax.
Once the rice is in, simply sew the hole shut.
You can whip stitch by hand, or use your sewing machine. I turned my rough edges in and then used my sewing machine to stitch all the way around the packs. This sealed the hole and gave a nice finished looking edge.
It only took 45 minutes to make a little pocket pack for all the girls who couldn’t make the activity and one for each of my daughters.
It’s such a simple, quick, stress free project!
These little rice packs can be thrown in the microwave to be used as a heat pack for sore muscles or cramps, and can also be put in the freezer to use as a cold pack.
Like I said, you can make them any size you would like, out of just about anything.
Simple, easy, and fast!