The Heatbag Post

It's the middle of Moon Day. You're cramping, you're nauseous, you can barely stand. You need something warm, something like a heatbag. Alas! You have no heatbag! You are doomed! DOOMED!

Sorry for the melodrama. A heatbag is my Number 1 Crampbuster. (If that wasn't a word, it is now.) I cannot live without it, so I was just sharing my biggest nightmare.
Seriously, though, what should you do if you have no heatbag? If you're cramping seriously bad and you need a heatbag RIGHT NOW, keep reading.
One: Find a sock. (Preferably a clean one. You probably don't want to have to smell your brother's sweaty feet when Auntie Flo is here. Actually, if you're like me, you don't want to have to smell your brother's sweaty feet whether Aunt Flo is here or not.)
Two: Find rice.
Three: Fill the sock with rice. (This is the point where you find that one tiny hole in the sock and make a huge mess. It's okay. We've all been there. You're allowed to cuss on Moon Day.)
Four: Tie up the end.
Five: Quickly put it in the microwave for two minutes, try not to collapse and then take it out. Now you can collapse with your makeshift heatbag.

Okey-dokey. But what if you want something a little nicer? Something that doesn't remind you of your brother or look like a sock. Something to help with your period. Well, I have a solution! (For the cramping ... not Moon Day. Unfortunately, you're stuck with it like the rest of us.)

You Will Need:

• A sewing machine (Unless you want to hand-stitch the whole freaking thing.)
• An iron
• Scissors (or a rotary cutter. Scissors work just fine.)
• Thread of any color (You won't be seeing it.)
• 2-3 pounds of rice (I say rice because it's cheap. However, you might want to use flaxseed. Flax releases oils when it heats, so it stays hot longer.)
• One yard of fabric (or two half-yards of two different fabrics)
• A funnel (If you don't have a funnel, try twisting a piece of cardstock into a cone and taping it. It works just as well.
• One hand-sewing needle
• A buttload of patience

Step One:

Iron your fabric and then cut it into 7 by 16 rectangles. (Here's a tip: when you're marking with chalk where to cut, start in the middle, and draw out. Go back to the middle and draw out to the other side. You can see what I mean in the picture to the right. Trust me, it helps.) You will need two of these. I used two different colors but it doesn't matter. I also used scissors - a rotary cutter will make a nicer edge, however, you aren't going to actually see that edge. Just make sure it's close to 7 by 16 when you're done. Iron them.

Step two:
Put right sides together. Line them up and pin them together. Now sew along the edges all the way on three sides, with about a quarter inch seam allowance. You may want to double stitch, I did. On the fourth side, leave about an inch or two in the corner.

Step three:
Flip what you just stitched inside out. I'm sorry, this will be incredibly difficult. But trust me, you'll be grateful when you're lying in bed cramping to death and snuggling your homemade heatbag. Try using some patience and a long pokey thing, such as a paintbrush. Your creation should now resemble a deflated pillow.

The deflated pillow.

Step four:
Put the funnel in the hole you left. Pour the rice into the funnel. Inevitably, you will create a huge mess - don't say I didn't warn you. When you feel like there's a decent amount of rice in there (and you've made a big enough mess), take needle and thread and stitch up the hole. Use small stitches. Once you finish stitching, you're done and ready to test your heatbag.