So while facing another skint Christmas I decided to combine frugality and home made love by making crafty gifts for the family. For the oldies (Mum, Dad and Aunty El) I pinched an idea from the lovely Dachelle, a friend of mine from Melbourne - microwaveable aromatherapy buckwheat heat bags with removable (washable) covers.
I started with a length of black calico and three kilos of buckwheat (bought from Goodies and Grains in Central Market). First I grabbed some essential oils and stirred a few drops in with the wheat. Smells GREAT! After throwing together a quick paper pattern from scratch and cut the calico into rectangles and sewed together on three sides, filling three-quarters full with the buckwheat mix.
The tricky part was sewing up the top of the bag whilst holding the wheat at the bottom and folding the seam allowance in - it may or may not have gotten a little messy... :D
After the inner bags were done I went about making the covers with fabric scraps from my remnants bag, sewing together pillow-style and fastening with a loop of satin cord and a matching button.
I made a 'mashup' one (also at top of post) for Ellie:
...a manly Chinese jacquard and corduroy for Dad:
...and an African-themed one for Mum (she lived in Africa for years and loves anything remotely connected to it).
Clearly due to the floppy nature of the wheatbag they neither photgraph or wrap well (SUCH a pain!) but I think they turned out nicely. I guess I'll know tomorrow how well they go down with the olds! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment