Sewing Project – Heated Neck Warmer

I’ve been saying for awhile that my next sewing project would be something I would use and enjoy; the last few things I’ve worked on have been gifts for others (dogs, really). But not this time. We use these microwavable heated neck warmers all the time at our house. They are good for old aching bones, and also for those cold nights when you want to keep your heating costs down.

Mom got us one of these many years ago (ten plus?) and we’ve gotten a ton of use out of it. She gave us another one just a couple of years ago. We really heat these up every single night, six months out of the year or more. And they are starting to wear out. I’ve performed emergency repair on them multiple times, but even the fabric is starting to disintegrate on our old faithful.

After making repairs Monday night, I decided it’s time to put another one together. I drew a hasty pattern, following the interior neck curve of this one, and measuring out seven inches from that for the outer line (top and bottom piece is six inches across, with a half inch seam on each side).

Yeah, not perfect, but it gets the job done. I did use a straight edge for the bottom two lines. Then I cut out the fabric from my stash. It’s a heavier woven.

Knowing the failing points of our old piece, I wanted to make sure I had a double-seam sewn in this one, with a nice tight stitch. Went around it twice, and turned it out.

Our other pieces are filled with buckwheat, but rice was cheaper at the store so that’s what we went with on this one. Stitched up the end by hand, then ran over both ends with the sewing machine for additional strength.

A five pound bag of rice filled it, but I’d go with a little less on the next one I make so it’s a bit more flexible.