This easy to make pillow is filled with rice giving it a heavy weighted feeling that feels great around a stiff neck plus it heats up in the microwave until it's toasty warm. 50% of people over the age of 45 have some kind of neck pain at least once a year. Probably on account of our brains being so heavy with information.
When I started blogging 10 years ago my health went to crap. CRAP I say. Within months of working at a desk all day I got migraines, my shoulders became knotted like a macrame plant holder and my neck got so stiff I lost the ability to shake my head "no".
This tragically led to the misconception I was agreeing to a lot of things I wasn't. I now have the 24 month extended warranty on every electronic I've bought since then for instance.
After a few years, yes it really took me a few years, I started dealing with the correlation between sitting at a desk most of the day and my health. I started doing stretching exercises every day, built myself a GREAT DIY treadmill desk,( you can read the tutorial on how to make your own for $250 here ), and got regular Active Release Treatments (which hurt like hell).
I still get a stiff neck the odd time and the one thing that helps it is my heated neck pillow. Which is really just a couple of towels from the dollar store sewn into a bag and filled with rice.
DIY Heated Neck Pillow
You can make this out of any soft material. Flannel, cotton, linen, an old favourite pillow case, whatever you want. I chose terry cloth because it's thicker and so if the rice is really hot from heating up, there's more of a buffer between you and the hot rice.
When you choose what to use for your fabric make sure it has a tight enough weave that the rice and lavender won't work its way out.
If you are absolutely and completely opposed to sewing you can use a longgg sock for this. Just fill it and tie the end in a knot or fasten it with a string or rubber band. The sleeve off an old sweater would work too.
If your towel is really big, just sew the seam allowance that leaves you with a pillow that will be 18" long by 5" wide once sewn.
Cut off the excess seam allowance fabric.
Get your rice (I used 2 small bags for my pillow) and dried herbs. Only use dried otherwise you'll get a mouldy mess in your pillow.
I used lavender that someone had given me 2 years ago. It has become so brittle I can't touch it without the flowers falling off so it will have a second life in this aromatherapy neck pillow.
Here I have lemongrass I dried in the oven and the lavender.
Once your bag is filled with rice add ¼ cup of the herb and sew the end of the bag up.
How to use the warming pillow.
To heat the bag put it in the microwave for a minute on high. Remove the bag then shake it around. Put it back in the microwave for another minute. Repeat until it's the temperature you want.
DIY Heated Neck Pillow.
Like a little weighted blanket for your neck!
Materials
- 1 terry cloth hand towel*
- 1 bag of rice
- ¼ cup of dried lavender (optional)
Tools
- Sewing machine or needle and thread.
Instructions
- Remove the tag from your hand towel.
- Turn the terry cloth towel* inside out and fold in half lengthwise.
- Sew around the edge with a standard ⅝th seam allowance, leaving one end open to fill the pillow.
- Turn the pillow right side out.
- Fill the pillow ⅔rds with rice**.
- Add ¼ cup of lavender flowers***.
- Turn in the edges of the open end and either hand or machine sew together.
- To heat the bag put it in the microwave for a minute on high. Remove the bag then shake it around. Put it back in the microwave for another minute. Repeat until it’s the temperature you want.
Notes
*You can also use linen, cotton, old soft tee shirts, bed sheets … whatever material you find around the house that’s soft and not too stiff.
** Whole Oats or wheat will work as a filling as well.
*** Try mint, lemongrass, rose petals or any other nice smelling dried herb or flower.
(To dry lemongrass cut it into 4" lengths, then slice those pieces thinly lengthwise. Place on a cookie sheet and place in oven at lowest temperature possible. Leave oven door open so any moisture escapes. Remove from the oven when the lemongrass pieces are brittle, after 3 or 4 hours)
I now have a loose neck, warm shoulders and he ability to shake my head no. With God as my witness I will never buy an extended warranty again.
Shauna
At least you get to get up and do crafts and build stuff once in awhile and take pictures. I'm a legal secretary...they don't call it secretary's butt for nothing. When I started this gig, I was slim and trim and my butt rocked, was a rock...now, well, now it's not:) And, I've discovered that a lot of the neck pain is caused by the mouse. I now switch the mouse from one side to the other every few months. And, speaking of migraines, I sit here with my secretary butt, suffering from a migraine all day today. Excuse me while I go barf then stuff my nose back in my lavender pillow:
Thanks for reminding me to find my pillow.
Vanessa
We had one of these that was store bought. My husband lent it to his mother...and she decided to keep it. I'm not even kidding, she gave him a cheap knock off one for Christmas. She said "I got this for you because I'm keeping the one you gave me, it works better." That is a direct quote. SO, I never realized you could do these with rice, guess I'll be making a couple. :)
Tigermom
Ha! So, she stole yours, substituted it for a cheap knock off that she then used as a Christmas gift when what she was really doing was returning a lesser version of something she borrowed. And then, she told you what she was doing and was perfectly ok with it.
I feel your pain. Unfortunately MY mother was the one who would do something like this. Bipolar fun.
Vanessa
That is exactly correct Tigermom!I ignored the whole situation. It was my husband's wrap and his mother, so nothing to do with me. ;) This is just ONE example that is the crazy that makes up my in-laws.
Tigersmom
I had one of these that I made with a rice and a sock when I was pregnant. No lavender for me. I'm the one person on the planet that doesn't like it.
I also have some made out of flax seed which in larger sizes gets very heavy and does have a smell. I'm going to have to try the jasmine rice. I love jasmine anything. Hey, I just remembered I have a bottle of jasmine oil. Does anyone know if I could just add a few drops of jasmine oil to a rice one of these?
The reason these are so wonderful is because moist heat works better for stiffness than dry heat (like you get with a heating pad). I can't explain why, it's just something I learned from a physical therapist while rehabbing after having surgery on my finger.
Kim from Milwaukee
That's so funny, I don't like lavender either, but I love jasmine oil....
Suzanne
Karen, have you tried to switch one of those walking treadmill workstation thingies? I'm dying to get one but I want to hear some good reviews and I haven't won the lottery yet. That may help with the neck thing!
Nancy Blue Moon
I do need a new one and I think I have everything I need to make one..love the warm and cozy feelings from these bags..
Jenny
I make long pillows ~ much the same size as yours, Karen ~ out of any decent 100% cotton fabric. Then fill them with cherry pits. Yes, cherry pits. Two pounds of them. These can be purchased online. The advantage to these is that you can hand wash them and lay flat to dry. They don't tend to mold like the rice occasionally does. Can be frozen as well. Heating time depends on your microwave, yet 2~3 minutes is the norm. Love them! Go to bed with them every nite as does my husband. He has even asked me to make larger ones for his back, but eventually decided they were too heavy. Half sized ones are great for small aches though.......
Bernadette
We have rice socks! No lavender or anything pretty smelling, just a (black) sock filled - not stuffed - with jasmine rice or basmati & tied off. Nuke it for 2 minutes & it smells lovely every time. Just the rice alone smells great use after use. Works great for stiff neck, moon cramps, low back aches, etc.
Yours is much prettier & would be less embarrassing for company to see you wearing...
Patti
Another use for the rice towel is to use it wherever you would use a warm compress. I get cysts now and again and the only thing that works to take the swelling down is a hot compress which I used to do by soaking a washcloth in hot water. It was such a hassle keeping it hot, water dripping everywhere, etc. Rice sewed into a small washcloth or hand towel and then heated in the microwave does the same job, if not better.
Bonnie
Darn! I actually visited a lavender farm a few days ago while visiting a friend in Virginia. I thought to buy some lavender, then thought that it would just be one more thing that I had accumulated without using. Anyway, I didn't buy the lavendar, but now wish I had. (It is a bit pricey, though. I have been growing lavender in my garden with mixed success. Can you give us a tutorial on drying our own lavender?
Bonnie
JeannieB
Hmmm. I have one of those magic bags somewhere. Must find it and put it t use. I also have a buckwheat hull - filled pillow. I wonder if I can heat that up too, in the microwave. I'll add dried lavendar to both of them. I'm always afraid of things catching on fire in the microwave.
Barbie
My family cannot live w/out our rice bags....everyone has their own...or did at one time. I think we may be down to only one now that everyone shares! We use it for everything from stomach aches to cold feet. Just makes ya feel better. I have SO much lavender in my warehouse and never thought of putting some in my bags....will make some new ones up (been needing to do that anyway) and put some lavender in with the rice this time. I also like to make pillow case covers for them as they get soiled after a while. Then all you have to do is wash the slip cover.
I do have one question about the lavender.....do you put it in at the end on purpose? Rather than mixing it together with the rice beforehand? If you mix beforehand does that dilute so much that it prevents the lavender from letting off enough fragrance?
Lynn
Oh you did what I was trying to figure out how to do what timing. I pretty much have my magic bag attached according to hubby. As it so helps my joints . So when it goes into hiding I go nuts trying to find it . My problem with them has always been store bought ones are so not nice to look at an usually are stiff . Plus you can not wash the cover which really should be cleaned from time to time .
So I thank you Karen for your timely post.
Elen Grey
Aaaaaaaaaaah! That is all.
LazySusan
Excellent suggestion for making your own! And for those who do sew, a couple of suggestions. I only know the following because I was gifted a very nice comfort bag by a niece. Put the rice into a bag made of lightweight T-shirt knit, sealed all around. Sew a small button on each end of the bag. Then make an outer bag and use velcro to seal each end. Attach a loop to the inside at each end. The rice bag goes inside the outer tube, and the loops attach over the buttons. This gives you a bag that you can easily remove the cover to wash it, as necessary, and the buttons and loops keep the bag from falling to one or the other end. You can also sew across the inner bag in 3 or 4 places, crosswise, to create compartments of the rice, so it doesn't shift around as much. The exterior of mine is made out of a Minky type fabric. It feels wonnnnnnnderfullllllll.
elle
I made myself one of these years ago out of t-shirt material with compartments of rice so it would be larger and cover more of my back. It had its own slip cover as well. It was great, until the t-shirt material stretched a bit here and there and developed tiny little holes from which tiny rice escaped. Some of the holes may have started where the stitching was; I had not used a ballpoint needle to sew the compartments. When I got tired of sweeping up rice here and there, it had to go. Next time it will have to be a a more durable, not stretchy fabric! And it will have to have some lavender in it...
Mary Werner
Ain't noth'n in the world like that DIY Girl. Now my neck feels loose, like a long necked goose. Ooooh Baby, You Knoooow What I Want. There is magic in your words - causing me to sing, sorry but now I can't get it out of my mind. So glad you don't have a pony tail or who knows what I would try to rhyme with it. A friend once gave me "magic fingers" sewing two soft mittens together at the wrist filled with rice and lavender and it saved this old accountants neck.
Barbara
What to do if you don't have a microwave? Well, being practically ancient, I remember when I was a very young child and got an earache, my mom would heat salt in a cast iron skillet on the stove, pour it in a cloth bag, fold or pin it up securely, and place it on my ear for warmth. Seems like the principle would be the same for whatever you wanted to heat and add to your bag if you just made it with hmmm, maybe one Velcro end or an end you could fold over and pin. However, I really like Karen's idea of adding fragrant herbs. Thanks!
Myrna
I made one out of a washcloth and I filled it with lentils. It was the perfect size for wrapping around my poor old wrist when the cast came off. Even tied it on to my wrist with a nice ribbon. When I needed a cold pack I used a Baggie filled with rubbing alcohol - close it up and wrap it around something and it partially freezes in just the shape you need. You could use vodka but vodka is better in a glass with a bit of something for flavour.
Melissa in North Carolina
I, too have been using neck warming pillows for years. I also use them on my knees, shoulders, lower back...etc. For you folks in cold places make mini pillows to stick in your coat pockets. They sure are nice when you stick cold hands in your coat pockets. I gave some to a teacher friend who has car duty in the morning. She loves them.
Laura Bee
At bedtime my daughter needs her "cozy bag" I made her. I use it on my neck & back too. alternating with ice when it's really bad. Great tutorial - pinning it :)
Elizabeth
The Magic bag uses wheat berries. I know this because i opened mine up to dump the contents out to wash the cover.
I have made these using various fillings and I think your rice took longer to heat up because the rice still has some moisture in it as opposed to the other bag which has been heated many times and has dried out. Some fillings I used even made the fabric slightly damp when they were warmed ( at first) The longer I use the homemade ones the more they work like the Magic bag.
Karen
Yup, you're probably right! ~ karen!