How To Make Your Own Microwavable Heating Pad

Whenever I’m in need of a foot massage, I often go to TonTon Massage. Aside from their cheap but quality service, I love the heating pad they put around my shoulders during the duration of the massage. And since almost every part of my body hurt during the last trimester of my pregnancy (upper back, lower back, hips, calves, feet, ankles), I wished I could go to TonTon every day or better yet, had an in-house masseuse who could massage me every night just so I could get a good night sleep. Wait, I did have a personal masseuse, my husband! If it weren’t for his patience, I wouldn’t have slept through the night because of all the pains.

I used to apply hot compress on my lower back to ease the pain using the little thing you can buy from Mercury Drug, the one you can put hot/cold water. But it’s too small and uncomfortable. I’ve been looking for something like the heating pad from TonTon but I guess I didn’t look hard enough that’s why I didn’t find one (hehe). Until I came across a DIY heating pad in Pinterest. It was super easy and so I did one right away.

I found two pieces of microfiber towelette (I find it better than any cotton fabric because it feels soft on the skin) from Bryce’s closet which I think is just the perfect size (19″x8.5″.) Since there’s already a bias sewn around the edges, I simply sewed it together (you can either hand stitch it or use your sewing machine) leaving about 3 inches gap so I can pour uncooked rice (use the cheapest one like NFA rice) in it. I think I used about a kilo. After pouring in the rice, I sewed the gap closed and I was done! I microwaved it on high for 3 minutes at first but since my pad is bigger than the usual ones, it didn’t get warm enough so I heated it again for another 2 minutes. The warmth was perfect and it last for almost 45 minutes.

I didn’t sew any dividing lines like the blog said because I want my pad to be totally flexible so the heat can be distributed well depending on the area. This is my favorite project so far and it really made me happy and it cost me practically nothing to make.

By the way, you can add a few drops of essential oil, like lavender, in the pad before sewing it closed, if you wish. Enjoy!