Foot Warmer Tutorial

My feet have been {freezing} lately with the cold weather!!! My husband I came up with the idea to make a foot warmer cozy!  After some trial & error (lots of error I might add), I came up with a fast & easy way to make one!  I hope following this tutorial makes it easier for you to make one for yourself or as a gift (this tutorial is not intended for you to make & sell this product!)!



Foot Warmer Cozy Tutorial

Step 1: To make a pattern, I took some of my husbands shoes & traced around them onto some Christmas wrapping paper.  It had a nice grid on the back of the paper. I allowed about 1" allowance around the shoes. The pattern is approx 12x15.


 Step 2: After cutting out the pattern, I rounded off the edges by using a DVD.


Step 3. After rounding the edges of the paper, I fold the pattern in half for the top part of the cozy.


Step 4: I cut 3 pieces of  fabric with the pattern: batting (for insulation), interior fabric (the minky material) & exterior fabric (the patterned blue fabric).  Because the minky material (brown fabric) is a good insulating fabric anyway, I did not need to use batting.


Step 5: With the pattern folded in half, I cut two pieces of fabric (interior & exterior).


Step 6: Take the "halfsies" and pin them together right side together at the straight edge. You will sew together the straight edge (the bottom). After it is sewed together, be sure to turn it right side out :)



Step 7: Layer the fabric as shown: 1st Layer Batting, 2nd Layer bottom fabric, 3rd Layer Halfsies fabric, 4th Layer Top Fabric.  Make sure that the 2nd & 4th Layer are right side together & the halfsies fabric is right side together with the matching fabric touching each other!


 Step 8: Pin & sew the layers together, allowing for a 3" opening for turning.  I allowed about 1/2 seam allowance when sewing.  I had to go with the flow with sewing the edges because when you work with minky material (the brown fabric), it moves a lot when sewing:



Step 9: Once sewed together, trim the excess fabric from the edges.


Step 10: Turn the fabric right side out (make sure you turn the top & bottom fabrics rightsize out...not the batting side!):




NOTE: This Foot Warmer Cozy is reversible!  But I like to keep my feet minky side in!  Soooo soft & cozy!


Step 11: Fill your fabric with rice (a funnel would be a handy tool to use, but I could not find mine) between the minky material & batting:


Add as much rice as you like, but do not overfill.  I fill mine half way full (I am a glass half full kindof a gal!).


Step 12: Sew together the opening to close it off.


Step 13: All done!!!!! Pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and enjoy!!!



{I sell on ETSY!! Click HERE to visit The Vintage Honey Shop}

49 comments:

April said...

i'm following from wandering wednesday! i'd love if you could visit my blog and follow back!

best,
april

www.marineparents.blogspot.com

Mika said...

Nice!
I'm following from the blog hop.
I'd love a follow back at www.mikaspantry.blogspot.com

Thanks,
Mika

Jennifer said...

What an amazing upgrade to the conventional rice-bag-warmers. I featured you today on my favorite things :)

Ashley said...

great idea! thanks!

LivKit said...

Oh my god!... I love this! ... I am instantly a new follower just because of this.. I mean your header is cute, and I am following none the less!

smilemonsters said...

I love it!! I'm not sew friendly. Could you just make me one? LOL.

Jo @ SmileMonsters

smilemonsters said...

Oh Oh...you should give one of these away! There would be scads of us that would love the chance to win one!

Jo @ SmileMonsters

Jenna said...

Jo...hmmm...never thought about doing a giveaway! I would have to see how much it would cost to ship this sucker! All that rice makes it heavy :) I am thinking about doing a broach giveaway next month to promote.....wait for it....an etsy shop!!!!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

This is a great idea! I love it. I am going to feature it today at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "feature" button.

Jenna said...

Awesome!!! Thanks so much Michelle!! I can't wait!!!

Alicia said...

I am so in love with this I might pee myself.

I have icy cold death feet and an old house that sucks any heat right out of my feet. Thank you for sharing this!

-Alicia {ProtoDoom}

Alicia said...

Oh, and for shipping, you could price out the priority boxes, I think the small box is around $7. (Media Mail is were it's at for heavy stuff though, as long as timeliness isn't an issue.

Alicia {ProtoDoom}

Tru@TRU TALES FEATS said...

Very cool! I've made the heat paks with rice, but never thought about a foot warmer. Thanks for sharing.

deloresbck said...

I'M Jennifer's MOM,and she made me one for my BD,I LOVE IT! I use it everyday.

Brandi said...

Wow what a neat idea!

casserole said...

What a great idea!! My feet are always so cold in the winter!!

I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-foot-warmer/2010/12/26/

--Anne

Jenna said...

Anne~ Woohoo!!!! Thanks!!!! L-O-V-E Craft Gossip!!!!

ohgivemeagnome said...

What a great idea! I am going to adapt this to make the rice part removable, so the cover can be washed. Love it!

la valse des fils said...

super ce chauffe pieds je vais essayer de faire un pour mon mari qui a toujours les pieds geles
merci a toi
meilleurs voeux a toi et ta famille bisous jo

http://lavalsedesfils.blogspot.com

crazyQstitcher said...

Love the foot-warmer and your light-hearted tute.

If you were thinking of a give-away why not let the recipient fill the bag with rice?
Happy New Year to you.

Jennifer said...

I made one of these the other day for my mom-- she loves it, and I wanted to keep it for myself. It works just as good as it looks like it does (if that sentence makes any sense haha).

Tisha said...

Awesome idea! My feet are always cold. How does the minky fabric hold up in the microwave?

Trish said...

I was just wondering about the minky fabric holding up in the microwave too. Any feeback?

Jenna said...

Tisha & Trish...the minky fabric does GREAT in the microwave! I have been using my for almost a year (well, not in the spring & summer) and it has held up great! I actually used my last night & took it to bed with me...my feet felt toasty & comfy!

Shelley said...

Thank you for the tutorial. I found this on pinterest and just made two of these as gifts :) They turned out fabulous! I shared pics on my blog & linked to your tutorial. I hope that's ok, let me know if not!

Jenna said...

Shelly, that is just fine!!! Thanks for sharing...it just makes my day!! Don't ya just love that foot warmer?? I can't fall asleep without it now! I so need to make one for my son & husband 'cause they keep trying to steal mine!!

Barbara said...

I made this tutorial for my daughter-in-law today. Great job! It went together so quick and easy. I gave you a shout out on my own blog. Thanks! It was just what I needed.

http://catpatches.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-not-too-late-to-join-us-watch-for.html

Ha! My word verification is "hoter" which I read as "hotter".

Athena Pratt said...

Thought I'd share my experience with this and the problem(s) I ran into. The post isn't complete, but hope this will help someone else that may run into the same issues:

http://cydiy.blogspot.com/2012/06/diy-project-1.html

Jenna said...

Athena, I am sorry that you were having problems with this tutorial.

In step 7, it does say to make sure that when the "halfsies" are in the layers for the right sides of it to be touching the right sides of the opposite fabrics. The only way for this to be done is to be turned right side out. Plus, in the photograph, it does show the fabric turned right side out.

I will make a note in my tutorial to turn the fabric right side out, just in case this isn't clear to others.

253c3b06-adfe-11e1-9eff-000bcdcb2996 said...

So the minky material is fine in the microwave? What kind of rice do you use? I use flax seed when I make mine. You can also pop these in the freezer for when it's super hot out :)

Jared and Erica said...

i'm totally making this :) my feet will be so happy!

Amy Paradysz said...

how long does it stay warm?

Jackie said...

Love this!! I have already made 2 and it only took me about an hour! Perfect Christmas gifts for my grandparents! Thank you so much!

Jenna said...

To answer a few questions....

YES...minky is microwaveable! It doesn't melt of become deformed in any way! The "dots" do tend to go away, the oh-so-softness of the minky still stays in tact!

WARMTH? It all depends on how long you microwave it for! I pop mine in the microwave for 3min. If I am out in the living room, it says warm for almost an hour. If I put it under the covers when I go to bed, it stays warmer longer!

RICE? You don't have to use rice, you can certainly use flax seed or barley...I just use rice because it is super cheap to buy!

Tamra said...

Found this on pinterest and love it. My husband always gets cold feet in the winter when he sits at the computer. I was thinking maybe I should make a blanket that has a foot pocket but how was it going to stay up, etc. This is perfect!! Thanks for the clear instructions.

Unknown said...

I am making several of these tonight and I embroidered the word cozy on the outside fabric:) I can't wait to give them as Christmas gifts!

Robin said...

Totally going to make myself one of these, but prolly gonna use flax seed and maybe add some lavender too!

Jessica R said...

seen it tried it love it!! thanks i made 5 one for everyone in my family in one night so simple to do. i might make more for christmas !!

alternamom said...

Thanks for sharing this! I just made one as a Christmas gift for my grandmother. We tested it out and I loved it so much that I'm going to make more for myself and my daughter.

MrsArnold said...

Gotta say, I don't really enjoy sewing but I'm pretty sure I NEED one of those. They're adorable and very, very practical. Thanks so much for the tutorial!

soccerwifey said...

How much fabric in total does this need???

Sara said...

This is amazing, and so easy to make. Thank you!

Molly Campbell said...

This is such a great idea! Just made one for my husband for Christmas, his feet are always freezing. He has pretty large feet, so I bought 1/3 yard of the fabrics and it was right on.

Mary said...

Great tutorial, very easy to follow. Thank you. I just made four with my 14 year old son for Christmas gifts.

Noel Lynne Figart said...

I just got a new sewing machine for Christmas. I was really busy until just now and wanted a small project that would test out the basic quirks of the machine. We've have a cold snap where I live, so this has been the perfect thing to try it out. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. I'm warming my tootsies with my new foot warmer as I type! Wonderful.

Sarah! said...

I made one of these tonight and blogged about it- there's a link back to your tutorial :) I made mine in channels so that the rice wouldn't float around as much, and made it so the top is rice-filled too! Thanks for the great idea!

Connie K. said...

Do you have a video?

Madleen & Sina said...

this is amazing! thank you so much for sharing!
I found it on pinterest.
It's sometimes a bit hard to follow, because I'm not a native speaker and I'm a total beginner in sewing;). (If anyone would make a video tutorial it would be awesome!)
Well I'm gonna try it anyways! But I am going to try to put some rice in the upper part (the halfsie one) aswell. My feet get REALLY REALLY REALLY cold;) So I'm gonna need the extra heat.

I hope it's all gonna work out.

Mary from MN said...

Great idea! Since my heels always get cold too, I extended the back fabric there, and with the help of a couple of rows of stitching to keep the rice in place, made it rise up above my heels in back. Then I added a velcro tab on each side to secure it to velcro along the upper part of the halvsie. Oh, and I put rice in the halvsie too. Nice and comfy!

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