Stay warm!

I try to heat the person, not the house. A big aid in this effort is the humble rice pack: a cloth bag filled with rice, which you microwave for about three minutes. Then it's ready to warm your feet, sheets, or whatever.

I've been wanting a wearable version of this: a rice scarf. Today I made one.

To make one, cut out two horseshoe or doughnut shapes from fabric. You don't want the rice to fall out, so pick fabric that isn't likely to spring holes. I used part of an old sheet. Sew around the outer edge and the two short edges but not the inner circle.

Turn your doughnut inside out so the rough edges are inside. To keep the rice from all falling to one end, sew a few seams going from the inside to the outside radially. Pour about a cup of dry rice into each pouch, then sew the inside seam shut. (You probably want to do one or two pouches at a time, so your rice doesn't fall out when you go to sew all the pouches shut.)

You can leave it like that, or you can add a cover. I made a cover out of a red scarf. And now my neck is warm.