How to Make a Foot Warmer

Learn how to make a foot warmer with rice and a free sewing pattern. This beginning sewing project is like a warm basket to put your feet in.

Winter is here and my feet are cold whenever I’m sitting at the computer or sitting and watching a movie. I wear wool socks, but it doesn’t keep my feet warm enough.

I’ve seen rice foot warmers online, but most versions either don’t keep the toes warm or don’t keep the heels warm. I wanted something that would completely cover my feet on the top and the bottom.

I designed a foot warmer that’s kind of like a rice filled fabric box or basket that you can heat up to warm up your feet. I’m so excited to share this sewing project with you!

What fabric should I use to make a foot warmer?

Since you will be warming up the rice heating pad in the microwave, you need to use cotton fabric and cotton thread. If you use anything else it can melt in the microwave.

What is a rice heating pad?

A rice heating pad is a reusable bag or pad filled with uncooked rice. It can help with muscle pains, stiffness, or swelling. The rice retains the heat or cold for about 30 minutes. Either warm it up in the microwave or cool it in the freezer.

You can also add essential oils if you want it to smell differently or add different benefits.

Can a rice heating pad be used for cooling?

Yes, you can use a rice heating pad for cooling. Put it in a ziploc bag and put it in the freezer for 2 hours. The chill will last about 30 minutes.

How does this rice foot warmer work?

This is essentially an oversized box or basket with channels of rice on each side and on the bottom. You put your feet in and rest them on the bottom rice.

You can leave it like that or you can push each side (especially the front) in and over your feet. The front rests right on the top of your feet. The back can even be pushed and leaned against your ankles.

Try one of these sewing projects:

How to use a rice heating pad

Heating

Heat the pad in the microwave for 60 seconds.
Flip the pad over.
Heat for another 30 seconds.
If it’s not hot enough, heat for 15 seconds until it’s the desired temperature.
Test the temperature of the pad before using. It shouldn’t burn your skin when you touch it.
Do not overheat and scorch the rice!
Enjoy for 30 minutes.

Cooling

Put the pad in a ziploc bag and close.
Put the pad in the freezer for 2 hours.
Use the cooling pad for 30 minutes.

Supplies

1/3 yard quilting cotton for outer fabric
1/3 yard quilting cotton for inner fabric
2.5 yard of cotton bias binding
About 5 lbs of rice
Cotton thread
Sewing tools
Sewing machine

Do you just want the pattern and tutorial as a PDF? Get the pattern and tutorial for just $5. You won’t need to access the internet every time you want to make it. Or get the Pattern Bundle with ALL the PDF tutorials!

Instructions

Cut out two rectangles from the outer fabric that measure 25 inches wide and 9.75 inches tall. Cut out two rectangles from the inner fabric that measure 25 inches wide and 9.75 inches tall.

Pin one inner and one outer rectangle right sides together. Pin the other two fabrics right sides together.

Sew at 1/4 inch down one short side, across the bottom, and up the other short side. Backstitch when you start and when you stop and pivot at the corners. Make sure you leave the top open. Sew the other rectangle.

Trim the bottom two corners to reduce the bulk.

Turn each rectangle right side out. Roll and press the edges so they are nice and crisp.

Mark lines vertically about every 2 inches across both rectangles. These will be the channels for the rice. You might need to make your lines slightly closer or farther apart.

Sew along each line to create the channels.

Pin the rectangles with the outer fabrics right sides together and the tops matched up.

Sew at 1/4 inch down one short side, across the bottom, and up the other short side. Pivot at the corners and backstitch when you start and when you stop.

Next we will box the corners. Take the corners and swivel the fabric so the seams are on top of each other and the corner is poking out. Mark a line perpendicular to the seam that is 4 inches from the corner.

Sew on the 4 inch line with the seam allowances open. Backstitch when you start and when you stop.

(If this is confusing, I designed a pattern that has a different way of boxing corners that you can get here: foot warmer sewing pattern.)

Turn the foot warmer right side out. Push the boxed corners out. To secure the triangle seam allowance tack each one down to the bottom by sewing right over the seam allowances.

Fill each channel with .5 or 1 cup of rice with a funnel and measuring cup. A lot of this depends on how full you want each channel, but it is easier if you don’t fill each one all the way. I did .5 cup per channel on the short sides and .75 cup per channel on the long sides.

Each time you finish filling a channel, use a safety pin to close the top. The safety pin doesn’t cover the entire hole and wouldn’t keep all the rice in if I turned the foot warmer upside down, but it was great to secure each channel until I could sew the top closed.

safety pin channel closed so you don't spill rice

Use your bias binding to finish the top edge of the foot warmer. You finished!

If you make something using this sewing project, I’d love to see! Please share it on social media with the hashtag #heatherhandmade and tag me!