Memory Garment Hand Warmers

Memory Garment Hand Warmers - A Touching Homemade Gift Idea made with a departed loved one's clothing. The warmth of these pocket hand warmers will feel like your loved one is holding your hand on a cold winter day. They are made with an envelope-style cover that can be removed for laundering.

I made these lavender-scented hand warmers from one of my mom's jackets. It'll be three years in November that we lost her. I like to think of these as a warm hug from Mom with her favorite scent.

Memory Garment Hand Warmers made with a departed loved one's clothing scented lavender with washable pocket and rice filled pouch, handmade gift idea.

Welcome back to year 6 of our Festive Christmas Ideas Event where we team up with a bunch of talented blogging friends to bring you a plethora of creative ways to celebrate your holiday season.

We will be baking some cookie recipes for you, sharing some party games, making some handmade gifts, doing some ornament crafting, and sharing our Christmas movies family fun. There will be breakfast recipes and as always our decorated Christmas Trees which is always a fun tour of homes.

New this year is Gift Guides. We are right there with you shopping from home due to Covid 19 and we understand how hard that can be so we have been busy little Elves doing tons of research to create fabulous Gift Guides to help you with your holiday shopping.

You will find new ideas every Monday and Wednesday between Oct. 19th through Nov. 18th. Scroll all the way down to find all the Homemade Gift ideas linked at the end.

Holiday Ideas Shared So far

Coffee Lovers Gift Guide - unique gift ideas for the coffee lover in your life.

DIY Holiday Ice Breaker Game - good, clean, wholesome fun for everyone, young and old.

Organza DIY Embroidery Hoop Ornaments - made with recycled damask placements!

Holiday Movie Night - An Evening With Ebenezer Scrooge - how to make holiday movie night extra special.

Farmhouse Tabletop Christmas Tree - made with recycled bifold door slats.

Repurposed Cabinet Door Christmas Signs - made with kitchen cabinet door panels.

Easy Mini Cranberry Eggnog Loaves - perfect for gift giving.

Eggnog Crepes With Cranberry Grand Marnier Compote - a festive make-ahead Christmas morning breakfast idea.

Homemade Gifts - 2020 Festive Christmas Ideas Tour with over 25 bloggers every Monday and Wednesday from October 19 - November 19th.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make the sentimental hand warmers, all the projects here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Memory Garment Hand Warmers

I've included instructions on how to make the hand warmers along with printable gift tags that you're more than welcome to use.

You can make them with or without the graphic on the front. If you have a Cricut Machine, I've included a link to the graphic as well.

These are the fabrics I used to make the hand warmers. A blue and white stripe cotton jacket that my Mom used to wear and muslin fabric for the inner rice pouch.

It's important that you NOT use synthetic fabrics or fabric with metallic fibers as they could be a fire hazard when heated in the microwave. It's best to use 100% cotton.

The choice is yours whether you wash the memory garment first before making these. Some may want to keep the loved one's scent on their hand warmers. While Mom's jacket has been laundered I chose to leave the stains because they tell a story that was made by her!

I made them with two different graphics.

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

How To Make Memory Garment Hand Warmers

We'll begin the tutorial with how to make the inner rice pouches. It's completely optional whether you scent them or not. I used dried lavender flower buds (not an affiliate link) but you could scent them with essential oils.

Inner Rice Pockets

It's important that you use 100% cotton for the inner pockets as they will be heated in the microwave. I used bleached muslin fabric to make mine.

The measurements for the inner pouches are 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches which include a 1/2-inch seam allowance. If you are making these for a man, I would suggest making them 4 x 4 inches square.

On a piece of cotton fabric measure and mark the fabric for two pouches. Then make two folds in the fabric so you have four layers.
Cut along the sides, top, and bottom marks.
Cut the center mark and you'll have eight squares - enough for four pouches.
Place two pieces of fabric together and with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, stitch three sides together with a serger to prevent fraying. If you don't have a serger then use the serging stitch on your sewing machine like I did. Trim each corner to remove bulk. Turn the pouches right side out and push the corners out (I used the blunt end of a wooden skewer).
It's important that you use white long grain rice and NOT instant rice to fill the pouches. It's optional but you can scent the hand warmers with dried lavender flower buds like I did.
Hold a funnel in the opening and fill the pouch with 3 1/2 tablespoons of rice. Add 1 teaspoon of lavender flowers. Note: Because the lavender flowers are so lightweight, they stick to the plastic funnel so it's easier to drop the lavender flowers directly into the pouches.
Sew the seam closed with a straight stitch. Caution: Make sure no rice is in the seam allowance or it will break your sewing machine needle.

Outer Washable Envelope Pocket

The measurements for the washable envelope pockets are 9 x 4 inches which include a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I was able to make ten hand warmers with two sleeves and one side of the front of the jacket.

Fold the fabric (in my case sleeves) in half lengthwise and draw the 9 x 4-inch pattern. This will give you two pouches.
With the wrong side of the fabric facing you, fold each end 1/2 inch and press. Then fold the ends again and press. Sew a straight stitch across. Note: If you want to add the A Warm Hug From Mom iron-on graphic, jump forward to Step 5 in the next section before finishing the sewing steps.
Again with the wrong side of the fabric facing you fold the two ends so they overlap each other. Make sure the top fold is a third of the way down (like pictured in step 3). Pin the folds and stitch the two side seams with a serger or the serging stitch on your sewing machine with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Trim the excess fabric to remove the bulk.
Fold the pouch right side out and push the corners out (I use the blunt end of a wooden skewer).

A Warm Hug From (fill in the blank) Graphic

This next step is completely optional. You'll need a Cricut machine, Cricut Heat Press, and Iron-On Vinyl in two colors.

I create the two graphics below in Cricut Design Space and if you'd like to use them, here is a link to the Warm Hug From Mom project.

Cutting The Vinyl Graphic

I am not including a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to cut the iron-on vinyl because I'm assuming if you have a Cricut Machine, you know how to do this.

Just remember before cutting the vinyl slide the mirror image toggle in Cricut Design Space.
You'll notice in the pictorial in the previous section that in Step 6 the red hearts are missing after I heat-pressed them onto the pouch. That's because I was making ten hand warmers and cutting all ten at one time. In order to "group" the graphics and "attach" them strategically on the cutting mat, the white graphics and the red hearts couldn't be grouped together and attached as one graphic in order to cut them in two separate colors. I hope this makes sense!

Heat Press The Vinyl Graphic

Let me preface this by saying that I'm a novice with the Cricut machine. I'm still learning the ropes so if you're an expert, you may know whether the graphic can be heat pressed onto the pockets after they are sewn or before. My concern with doing them after is the bulk of the envelope pocket on the back so I chose to add the graphic before they were sewn.

Refer to Steps 5 and 6 in the pictorial in the previous step for an example of the instructions below.

To find the center on the front of the envelope pocket (right side of the fabric facing out) fold the two ends so they overlap each other. Make sure the top fold is a third of the way down. Pin the folds to hold the pocket closed.
On the front of the pocket (the good side of the fabric) set the iron-on vinyl in the center and rub it with your fingers to hold it in place.
Unpin the back and lay the fabric flat.
Check the Cricut Heat Guide to find the correct heat settings for your fabric.
Press the white (or whatever color of your choosing) onto the front of the pocket. Slowly remove the liner when cool to the touch.
Place a red iron-on vinyl heart on the graphic and repeat the previous step.
Go back to Steps 3 and 4 to finish sewing the envelope pockets.

I hope these last two steps didn't confuse the heck out of you. If you're a novice with the Cricut Maker like me, you'll find very helpful Cricut video tutorials on this YouTube channel. If I could make these with my novice skills - you definitely can!

Homemade Hand Warmers Gift Tags

You'll want to give heat instructions to the gift recipients so a lovely way to do this is with a pretty gift tag. Heat the hand warmers in the microwave for 30 seconds. Also, let them know the outer pocket can be removed for washing. I made these hand warmer gift tags and you're welcome to use them if you like.

Press HERE for your free unwatermarked gift tag printable.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this sentimental handmade Christmas gift. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below or the Contact Me tab at the top to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

If you enjoyed this DIY hand warmer idea, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your Holiday Gift Ideas or Handmade Gifts board on Pinterest.