Turning Up the Style!
A heating pad is underrated in its ability to relieve pain. Amazing thing! It's my go-to remedy for pain, strains, and aches, and we shared a hand-me-down here for many years before it recently bit the dust. I bought the family a new one, but it had a polyester cover on it which I couldn't bear to touch. (You know what I mean if those bother you, too.) I was tired of using a vinyl heating pad. I knew I could make a better one, and pretty it up to boot!
These prints had been pulled and reshelved numerous times. I only had a half yard each, and this was the perfect project to put them to use. I paired them up with some Kona solids pulled out of a fat quarter bundle.
In my typical method, I started by cutting strips. I laid them together to create a slab for the front, and another for the back. I checked the fit as I went by sizing it up with the heating pad. I sewed them together as one length, and matched it with batting and backing.
A few minutes on the longarm, and it was finished with curliques. I trimmed it up, and with right sides together serged the side seams.
Just as one would bind a quilt, I bound the top edge.
Last of all, 2 pieces of 3M One tape completed the closure. If you've never tried this tape, you're missing out. No sticky backing to mess up your needle, and no hooks to snag later on. I buy it at my local JoAnn's.
It's fun to find ways to add personal touches to our home. It's a bonus when it's a necessity. This one is checked off my list, and actually pressed into service at the moment. What a difference a sweet cover makes, and lifts the mood as well!
Come on, Doxie girls.
Let's have a rest now.
Linking up with~
Fort Worth Friday Frenzy
Crazy Mom Quilts
TGIFF
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Stitch All the Things
Fiber Tuesday
Blossom Heart Quilts
Quilt Story
Freemotion Mavericks
A Quilting Reader's Garden
My Quilt Infatuation
Sew Fresh Quilts
Midweek Makers--and thank you for the call out!
Brilliant idea! And I have everything I need: aching back, naked vinyl heating pad, cat-hair festooned polyester cover in the bottom of the laundry basket...
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea to cover that ugly thing with something pretty. My back sometimes aches after a long day blogging and sewing, and this is a sweet solution!
ReplyDeleteSo what is your heating pad. I haven't seen this before....
ReplyDeleteStandard electric, plug-in model here. It's an extra long one, which is perfect for wrapping around a calf muscle in the case one has pulled it. Ahhh.....
DeleteWe use wheat bags that we heat in the microwave
ReplyDeleteI know the buckwheat and rice filled bags are very useful that way, but haven't heard of using wheat. It makes sense. My dislike of grain filled bags is two fold, though. They must be sewn very carefully to prevent spilling, and people tend not to use a separate cover. The smell of one we had made me unload it in the compost pile after just a short while.
DeleteI like the personal touch and yours is lovely and functional. I just made a cover for my cold/hot gel pack.
ReplyDeleteSo Pretty, and MUCH cozier! I have been meaning to do this too!
ReplyDeleteFantastic cover! I do have one of those newer heating pads with the polyester cover, and it really is awful. I was slipping a cotton tea towel around it so I wouldn't have to feel the cover. This is a much better idea! I do love the prints and solids you worked with here. It gives the whole thing a calming and soothing feeling. Lovely idea!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cover. The heating pad is a well used piece of first aid in our house.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love a useful product that is pretty too!? I got that icky I can't touch it too feeling about some fabrics.
ReplyDeleteGood looking too. I had given an older heating pad to a friend. When I saw it again it looked like a fuzzy dead dog. I made a simple pillowcase type cover in a bit of masculine flannel and he was happy to have a like-new pad. Wish I had thought to quilt it.
ReplyDeleteThis is right on time! I'm having a flare-up of arthritis in my hip, and as much as I love my heating pad, I HATE its cover. Guess what I'll be doing this week. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mum really relies on her heat pad for her back, you've just sorted her Christmas present for this year, thank you!
ReplyDeletePretty and practical, Julie. Thank you. I've passed it on to friends. And thanks for linking to WIPs Be Gone. I was intrigued when I saw the thumbnail.
ReplyDeleteHello Julie,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great project, perfect for using up bits and pieces and giving much needed comfort. The colours are really restful and soothing. I have often thought of doing hot water bottle covers, but they are still on that very long list of things I haven't got round to yet.
Thank you for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv