You can make your own DIY hand warmers for very little money and very little time. This easy gift is a great way to use fabric scraps.

Hey y’all, today I’m showing you how to sew hand warmers. With colder weather, a pair of these in your pockets can help keep your fingers toasty warm. Handwarmers make a project perfect for gifting as well as quick and inexpensive to make. And you can use fabric scraps for this DIY gift! Read on for the tutorial to learn how to make hand warmers using very little time and money.

You can make these on the machine or by hand sewing. While I show the option stitched on my sewing machine in the video below, you can use a backstitch and a hand needle to get the same look without a machine.
Check out the video below or on YouTube here to see how to sew hand warmers.
Materials to Make Hand Warmers
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To make hand warmers you’ll need:
- cotton fabric scraps* these can be quilting cotton, flannel, terry cloth, etc as long as they are made from cotton
- cotton thread*
- rice + funnel (you can make a funnel from a rolled piece of paper)
- the pattern (see below for details)
- Pinking shears (affiliate link)
*Note that 100% cotton fabric and thread is recommended because you use a microwave to heat these. Polyester thread or polyester in fabric could melt. Use caution and common sense and don’t leave these unattended in the microwave.
Free Handwarmer Pattern
To get this pattern, you must either be a free newsletter subscriber or have purchased a gallery access pass. Then click your preferred option from the buttons below. Existing newsletter subscribers should look at the bottom of the most recent Friday newsletter for the current free pattern gallery password. If you purchased the all access pass you’ll log in to your shop account to download the pattern. Note that the free version of the pattern does not have printable instructions so you’ll need to refer to this post for instructions.
Note that the pattern says it’s for air fresheners – because I created it for this post. But you can use the same templates to make these hand warmers!

How to Make DIY Rice Hand Warmers
Time needed: 10 minutes
How to Make DIY Hand Warmers
- Cut out 2 pieces for each hand warmer
You’ll want 4 pieces cut for a pair. I like to cut with pinking scissors so that I don’t have to finish the raw edges.
- Stitch together, leaving a gap for filling
Place two pieces wrong sides (not right sides) together and stitch with a 1/4 inch seam allowance
- Fill with uncooked rice
Use a funnel to fill the hand warmer through the gap in the stitching line. For scented hand warmers add a few drops of essential oil as fragrance or mix in some dried lavender.
- Stitch gap closed
Stitch the gap closed and you’re done!
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