Three Magee: DIY: Hot/Cold Rice Buddy

I freehand a lot of patterns and make stuff up as I go. Which I totally did with this one. Regan loves bears so I sketched a bear on some notebook paper that I stole from Ethan. I made a half bear because
1) I am horrible at making things symmetrical and 2) there wasn't enough space.

I folded my fabric so that I had four layers so I only had to cut once. Basically fold the fabric in half and then in half again making sure that the crease or folds are together. I then put the middle of the bear or the straight side along the fold. Since this was going to be full of rice I didn't want the bear to be super skinny, I needed it to have some body to it so to speak so I did not line the edge to the fold. Instead I gave it about an inch. Cut your animal out.

See how it is fat through the middle? This way their will be plenty of room for rice and more surface area for covering boo boo's.

I embellished with button eyes and a nose that I let Ellie pick out (I think they look kind of weird but the girls like them) and I sewed those on before sewing the bear. Put right sides together and sew making sure to leave an opening for rice. Fill with rice and then either hand or machine stitch the hole. Since I wanted it to be used as a hot/cold pack also I added a stick to the middle to kind of keep the rice separated. We also decided that it needed a bow. I made it to match her baby blanket (I've made each kid their own). She loves it and I'm okay with it. To make it a hot pack just pop it in the microwave for 20 second increments until it is warm but not hot. For a cold pack put it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Obviously you don't have to make a bear, so I will show you how to make a regular one next week.