It didn't take away the smell completely, but greatly reduced it. I wasn't bothered at all by it. You could always add a little potpourri in their before sewing closed.
I really like the idea of a cover too. Your gonna want to wash it, and you don't want to wet your contents.

I can't wait to make this one. :D

The hand ones stay warm for about 20 minutes...short term but long enough for me to walk to the mail box and back.
I use flannel for mine, it is soft against the bare skin. It can be the cheap stuff, just make sure that all of the fabric is prewashed and dried to get all of the junk out of it first :wink: Cotton fabric is breathable and would be better to keep the rice inside dried out inbetween uses.

I am going to try the heart shaped one too!! I think that would be nice when kicked back in my recliner :D :D :D

Thanx! I think I will make a few this weekend!

I'll try baking the rice when I make another. I was going to put lavender or some potpourri in it, but I was hesitant as some scents bother me. I'll try something though.

I used a very long tube sock, but never thought of a cover. Good idea. I had to buy an entire pack of socks, so I've got several left. And the really nice thing about these, besides that they work so well, is that they're very inexpensive to make!

He must be related to my husband rofl

When I made my rice bags a few years ago...I made the bag itself out of muslin and then I made a slip-on pillow case out of pretty flannel prints. It is very easy to slip out of the flannel, if one wishes to prior to microwaving. It is also easy to toss the flannel case into the laundry. Got the idea from somebody...it seemed like a good thing to me! Also, thank you to the person who suggested baking the rice. I will try that. We keep our house (over 110 years old and very drafty) cool in the winter. It is not unusual for me to curl up in my recliner with a quilt and rice bag while I'm watching TV.

so if I used flannel could that go in the microwave also? or just the regular cotton?

A friend made me one for Christmas. She got her rice at inexpensive grocery store actually Aldi's and a hand towel at a low cost store, DE Jones...now out of business here, but it's been used well and shows no sign of wear. I'll have to take you up on the wasable cover though

Hi Mousie,
There is a wonderful shop here in the truckee meadows that sells all types of aroma therapy items. It is called Lavendar Ridge. They sell the bags filled with flax seed instead of the normal rice. The rice can burn and smell terrible.

I made sets of these and mailed them to my in laws a couple years ago. I bought the flax seed at a store that sold it in bulk, and the lavendar oil from the lavendar ridge store. (pricey but, wonderful) What I did was to draft a pattern for the eye pads and a larger one for the neck and other areas of the body. I used a very nice micro fleece in a floral print for the front and matching solid for the back. I then made a muslin bag to insert into that held the flax sewn into it. The scent is created by the drops of the oil. (Very little is needed) and then I included a small vial of it to refresh the scent when they needed to.

They were a big hit. They only take thirty seconds in the microwave and stay warm for about an hour. My sister in law used it on her knee and it fixed her knee problem enough that she didn't have to have surgery on it. Crazy ... huh? I bought a small colorful matching plastic basket to hold the sets and the other little bath salts and things that made up the "spa" sets.

I think I might still have my old pattern I made, I am not sure. But they were kind of a bone shape with rayon cord circle attached at the sides. I added a nice plastic bead to adjust it to your head and hold it on from the back of your head for the eye pillow. And the other was just a rounded off rectangle. I did use a corded seam on everything, More for the looks than anything.

Anyway try and find the flax seed. It works much better and stays warm longer and doesn't stink.