santa hats for everyone

Our local fabric shop was promoting fleece this holiday season. One of the patterns was of my son's favorite football team. It was also red. Red fleece...Christmas...my Santa hat-loving son...hm.

I've finally learned that using a good pattern saves time. This pattern worked well, though even the largest size was too small for C. I cut it about 1/2" larger all around for him.

Realizing that any red print fleece pattern personalizes a Santa hat, I looked for and found music-themed fleece for ukulele friends.

Do you know people who love cats? fishing? books? travel? soccer? Almost certainly there is a printed fleece for it.

felted sweater purse and coffee sleeves

Years before I had a blog, I made a felted purse. (It was this pattern, extremely easy to knit in a gorgeous Noro yarn and I'm not kidding, I have never had so many strangers stop me on the street and offer to pay me to knit for them. I always just pointed them to the web page, but it's a testament to the pattern and the yarn.)

I thought about this little handbag as winter was setting in and the summer bag no longer seemed appropriate. However, I've got another knitting project going right now and really just wanted something quick and functional. Hence:

(Please pardon my unprofessional photo retouching. The handles don't really glow like that. Unfortunately.)

This was an almost fully-salvaged project. The body of the bag is an old boys' sweater that had been felted in the wash. I felted it further to bring the size down and to add strength. It also added thickness, which made it a little trickier to work with—something I'll have to remember next time.

I think you can just see the remains of the ribbed waist at the top here:

The two-way zipper is from a carry-on suitcase that had fallen apart.

And the lining is my aunt's old jumpsuit, which had shredded after one too many washes. It already had a pocket, which now holds a phone or wallet. I added the requisite iPad pocket, as well, and in retrospect wish I'd added interfacing to make it firmer. It's just a bit flimsy for my taste.

As for the straps, I have S to thank. He wanted to make himself a belt. While we were looking at necessary supplies, I saw that I could get a length of leather strapping material that seemed like it would just work. Cut in half and riveted to the body of the bag, it did.

In learning about leather finishing, I came across this recipe for a homemade wax. This was rubbed into the straps after dyeing, and it brought them from being rather stiff to feeling softer and more pliable. D asked me to fix the old broken dog leash* and after riveting the two snapped halves together, the wax also worked wonders as a reconditioner.

leather dog leash before (top) and after wax conditioner

And that was it. Not a fancy project at all, but it suits my needs right now. I really appreciated having a more winterized purse the other day when I was caught in a sudden downpour without an umbrella. Between the leather wax and the wool's natural water repellency, the purse came through just fine.

But my favorite part of the project is not the bag, it's the pair of reusable coffee cup sleeves cut from the felted sweater sleeves and roughly (very roughly) embellished with glow-in-the-dark yarn.

The glow feature is more fun than practical. But the felted wool is a perfect insulator.

I plan to carry the coffee sleeves with me at all times. And now I have a bag to keep them in.



*This particular post is revealing us to have some unsavory hoarding tendencies. Please ignore.

a whole new bag

Where does a year go? I have no particular excuse for not blogging since May of last year, just a general impatience with sitting down at the computer these days.

Both boys are now in public school, C at the community college and S at an alternative charter high school. More time is going with the family here, and with friends, here.

The old freecycle fridge was moved and works just fine, save for a tendency for the tiny interior freezer compartment to frost over.

And there are always new projects.

Most recently, I decided to make myself a bag after looking fruitlessly for one that wasn't: a) huge or b) expensive. My old purse had fallen onto decidedly hard times—

—and I wanted something a little brighter for summer, anyway.

The dimensions were determined from the size of my iPad2 (with a little extra room on top, this was approximately 11"X9"), and wallet (about 4" deep).

Since it was cobbled together rather than planned, what I have here are a few notes, many of which come from the experience of making the Weekender bag.

The sides went together first, with pockets (one zippered, one gathered) and straps in place. The main material was a heavy home decor/canvas-y print I'd originally hoped to make the Weekender with, and the straps were from a remnant of aqua-colored vinyl. Every piece was backed with heavy duty fusible interfacing (Pellon 71F). The sides are approximately 14"X12" with 1/2" seam allowances. The finished straps 1"X48", with about an inch eventually disappearing into the seam.

Sides and bottom went on next. It would have been easier to do this as one 4"X29" strip, but I didn't have that option and instead pieced it all together from more vinyl scraps.

Right side out:

Finally, there was a lining (quilting cotton with a lighter interfacing, made to the same dimensions as the outer shell—no photos of this part, unfortunately) and a zippered top. I used this tutorial to make it and if I ever do this again, I hope I remember to leave the zipper open at one end so that the lining can be sewn to the bag by machine instead of by hand.

I'm liking this little tote more than I would have thought. By customizing it, I could put in just what I need and no more. It holds wallet, phone, hairbrush, keys, paper, pen, and hooray, my iPad in a barely noticeable zippered pocket. As simple as it is, it is my favorite feature.

All of which has me wondering what it is that makes a good bag. Do you have a favorite daily carrier and if so, what is it that you like about it?

ukulele santa hat

When opening the Christmas decorations box this year, I noticed a little Santa hat that probably sat on a doll's head in years past. This year it looked perfect for the ukulele, so that's where it went.

And then I realized I couldn't stop there. We had an ukulele club Christmas party coming up.

I didn't think to start photographing the process until I was nearly done, but it isn't brain surgery and I'm sure you'll be able to adapt it to your own needs.

I eyeballed the hats into isosceles triangles, making them roughly 3" wide, which was the width of my headstock. I was using leftover knit fabric from the Santa hat I made last year, but it should be about the same whether you use fleece or felt or fake fur—anything that has a small amount of stretch to it. Running the warp of the fabric vertically from the peak to the center of the brim will help with the stretch (in other words, the selvedge should run parallel to the silver ruler, below).

A quarter-inch seam took the width down to where it would fit snugly.

All the trim was glued on. I used fabric adhesive because it gave me a little bit of extra control winding that feathery trim, but you could also use a glue gun or anything else that can attach fabric to fabric.

The final, and I think somewhat critical, step was gluing the tops down so that the hats could sit compactly on the headstock when the ukes were in playing position. I folded right over the seam and just added a dab of glue above the trim.

And here's the new, mass-produced version for my club friends. I actually like it a little better than the original due to the softer materials used.

Corny? Very. But also fun, and fun is what we're after when we play.

ukulele bag #1

This bag was just short of being a disaster, but I'm putting it here, anyway, in recognition of all these projects that are springboards to better ones. I did learn something from it, and with luck the next bag will incorporate that learning.  

I never used the old bag: in addition to not fitting the Gaspar pineapple well, the metal teeth of the zipper drag across the wood whenever the uke goes in or out of the opening. Who thought this would be a good idea? So the starting point for this bag was a long zipper with nylon teeth. I used this Make-A-Zipper roll (no affiliate connection), which I'd originally bought for the Weekender.

The Weekender had also given me some experience using heavy-duty stabilizer and sewing on cording, both of which I adapted to this bag. I didn't take any photos, but the sequence was more-or-less as follows:

1. Traced around the ukulele on butcher paper to make a pattern. At this point, I had a choice of shaping the bag exactly like the pineapple uke or in a more oblong shape which would take out some of the curves. I chose the former—which may have been my first mistake, as it was much harder to sew.
2. Used the pattern to cut pieces for the top and bottom: one each of outer fabric, heavy duty stabilizer (the same Peltex #70 used in the Weekender), iron-on interfacing to hold the Peltex to the fabric (ditto), 1/2" foam and lining fabric. Stabilizer and foam were cut to the exact size of the pattern. The other pieces were cut larger, for seam allowance and trimming.
3. Added a zippered pocket to the top piece.
4. Stitched layers of top and bottom pieces together. The foam was glued in place underneath the lining fabric using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.
5. Made and added cording around the edges of the ukulele outline.
6. Cut a length of zipper, added 2 pulls facing each other, and stitched one side of this zipper around the top edge.
7. Layered the perimeter piece as in Step 4, and added handle & rings for a shoulder strap.
8. Sewed the other side of the zipper to this perimeter piece.
9. Put flexible plastic in between layers of the perimeter and stitched it to the bottom.
10. Covered all raw edges in bias tape.

It sounds so straightforward, doesn't it? But in fact, I'm sure I redid nearly all the seams at least once. I was figuring the construction out as I went, stitching and restitching, trying to anticipate what the next step might be. It was a haphazard, messy process.

Halfway through, I felt like the stabilizer wasn't working well with the narrow neck shape, so cut up a sheet of flexible plastic to insert into the top and perimeter pieces. 

Once I'd sewn the last seam and turned it right side out, I was dismayed to see how twisted the neck area looked. I ripped it out and restitched it several times before deciding that it was going to have to do. The neck is still twisted, sigh. I think it's probably due to my top and bottom pieces being entirely different shapes—and that is due to the fact that I didn't have a seam line at all, but was trying to sew to the shape of the stabilizer/foam outlines.

the awful twist

What would I do differently next time?

For starters, I would measure and mark much more than I did this one. I was afraid of miscalculating but in the end, probably erred worse in trying to sew by feel instead of having a precise line to follow. Each mismatched fit ended up compounding problems down the road.

And as mentioned in Step 1, a simplified shape would save a lot of headache.

The zippered pocket needs to be moved down several inches. It's really only useful for holding a set of spare strings, so a larger zipper opening would make it easier to slip them in or out.

Next time I'll buy cording instead of making it. I may skip the stabilizer/interfacing combination, too. In the end, it just seemed like a headache to have to sew around. I didn't find this to be so with the trapezoidal shape of Weekender, but it was a bear trying to follow these tighter curves. I'd rather just stitch around the cording and insert a piece of plastic, as I ended up doing with this one, anyway.

Finally, the next bag will be sewn on an old Singer. I used the Pfaff because it was already set up from another project, but I don't like its zipper foot as much. The Singer zipper foot can sew right up close, whereas the Pfaff's doesn't seem as well designed to me, with a wider distance from the needle to the edge of the foot.

Singer zipper foot

Pfaff zipper foot

So that's the first attempt at an ukulele bag. It's funky—that's the nicest way I can put it—but at least it cost me nearly nothing, as all the fabric and hardware was in my stash or recycled from other pieces. I think the foam, plastic and bias tape cost a total of about $5. And now I can take the Gaspar to the Reno Uke Fest.

Still...I hope the next ukulele bag turns out better than this one. If you've made one of your own and/or have ideas on how this one could be improved, I would really love to hear from you.

amy butler weekender, part 4

Evening Three. The good news is that you will essentially have done all the steps that are involved in making the lining. It uses the same pattern and procedure as the outer shell.


But you may want to add interior pockets to the main panels, so do that before sewing all the panels together. My laptop pocket was made like the main exterior pockets, but sized to the height of the laptop for additional security.

My zippered pocket, as mentioned in part 1, was made using this tutorial.

I slightly regret using a zipper I had on hand instead of buying one that matched

I had forgotten to pick up template plastic for the false bottom, so substituted a piece of lawn sign.

This worked so well that I am now always looking for discarded lawn signs as lightweight, water resistant reinforcement.


I really enjoyed making the Weekender. It was laid out so thoroughly that a novice seamstress could get through the directions, simply following it step-by-step.


My final notes:

• plan your fabric. As mentioned in an earlier post, I had visions of doing my bag in a sunny, bright floral. Unfortunately, I didn't get to the fabric store until late fall, by which time florals were depleted. I ended up choosing paisley that day: black paisley for the outside and a pale green paisley for the lining. I even recovered the rocking chair in paisley. I'm not really sure how that happened.
• on a similar note, the heavy decorator fabrics recommended for this project, while normally expensive, do go on sale from time to time. It was such a sale that prompted me to finally begin the bag.
• consider your additions, particularly your interior pockets, and mark into your pattern where they will be done. This may save you a lot of headache later.
• searching through blogs gave me a renewed appreciation for good blog organization. If you choose to write up your own experience with the Weekender (or with any other project, for that matter), please be sure to tag & label your posts, make sure your archives are visible, and consider adding a search function to your blog.

My own minor modifications have all been noted before, but here they are again:

• lengthened the bag by 1"
• made the straps in the main color
• widened the straps by 1"
• lengthened the straps by 4" (these two changes made it possible to sling the bag over one shoulder, which I really, really like)
• added magnetic closures to the outer main pockets
• changed the bottom exterior panel to pleather
• added feet to the bottom exterior panel; added a laptop pocket to the interior lining
• added a zippered pocket to the interior lining

amy butler weekender, part 3

Evening Two:

• attached zipper and end pockets to the top panel. I don't have photos of this, but I remember it was much easier than the previous evening. There are no extra layers or cording in the top panel, so it's just a matter of sewing a zipper between two pieces of fabric, and stitching the pockets on.

• attached bottom panel to this top panel. I used a piece of vinyl pleather I had for the bottom. 
• attached the top/bottom panel piece to the main panels. You do need a zipper foot, but I had one for my trusty old Singer 301 and it worked fine. There may be a few places where the cording doesn't get tucked in tight enough and need to be resewn. It would probably help if one pinned a little better than shown.

If you plan to add feet, do so now. The shell of the bag is now complete, and all that is left is sewing and attaching the lining.

amy butler weekender, part 2

The Weekender Travel Bag pattern is detailed and very clear. I can't imagine you will go wrong if you are careful in following it. Myself, I just noticed a big black ribbon across the top with advice to "...read through all of the instructions before you get started on your project. Be sure to pre-wash and press all of your fabric..." Oops.

But pre-reading (in addition to pre-washing) is a good idea. In particular, reading through the pattern is helpful in gathering supplies. As others have noted, one only needs 4 pieces of cording, not 5 continuous yards. And as the cording along the pockets runs straight, it can be covered in fabric cut with the grain instead of on the bias. I did this and was able to stretch my fabric, as I did not have quite enough. You can see below how much I had to piece fabric to get a bias strip. The two straight pieces sit beneath the bias strip.

One reason I was tight on fabric is that I added an inch in length to the bag. I wanted to be able to slip my laptop inside, and the extra inch made that possible.


The other reason was a cutting mistake. Because of the way the pattern was folded to fit inside its cover, I inadvertently used it as the fold line even though the actual fold line is very clearly and heavily marked. So my advice, if you are careless like I am, is to tape the non-functional crease straight as I finally did, below.

Evening One went like this:

• cut out all pieces, including Peltex and interfacing pieces. This is time-consuming, particularly when changing the dimensions, as I did. 1" needed to be added to all affected pieces, which is to say, to all pieces. I also added 1" and 4" to the width and length, respectively, of the carrying straps and associated Peltex pieces.
• made cording. As noted, I had to stretch my fabric a bit due to my changes and hastiness. If you make the bag as written and are careful in following directions, making the cording is a simple procedure. You cut and sew together bias strips, then wrap the strips around your cotton cording, sealing with Stitch Witchery or something similar.

• made the main pocket with cording
• made the handles
• attached the handles, main pocket and cording to the main panels. If adding any details to the main pocket (i.e., a snap closure or zipper), do so before stitching the pocket to the main panel.

This first evening ended with the two main panels complete.

amy butler weekender, part 1

Last year when I was thinking of making a bag for short trips away, I started running into the name Amy Butler. Or more specifically, into the name Amy Butler as modifying the noun Weekender. Amy Butler, it seems, is a well-known designer and her Weekender Travel Bag is pretty much the pinnacle of amateur bag making—at least, as measured by sewing blogs.

I was at first turned off by complaints about the pattern, the difficulty and the sheer number of hours that making the Weekender required. But slowly I became intrigued by just how many people had taken the time to log their experiences making it. It amounted to a huge body of collective experience: what worked, what to avoid, tips and shortcuts and additions. How could I not use such a reference?

And once I did, how could I not add to it?

So here is Part 1 of my Amy Butler Weekender experience: namely, a summary of the best information I could find in reading through the blog posts.

• There are old and new versions of the pattern. As far as I can tell, the new version uses peltex instead of timtex, which was harder to work with; and fusible instead of non-fusible interfacing. I made a point of searching for the new version, which looks like this:

• It is expensive to make. Budget $60-80, even if you buy everything at discount.
• Prepare for it to be somewhat time intensive. I made mine over 3 long evenings. 
• You will have to handstitch and baste the layers. This is why most people considered the bag a headache or especially time-consuming. I happen to enjoy handsewing and used the time to listen to podcasts.
• Nearly everyone added interior pockets as there are none in the pattern. I added a simple pocket to hold my laptop, and used this zippered pocket tutorial (I'm not sure how I found this tutorial, but it is linked to in nearly every post with a zippered pocket addition).
• You can machine stitch the lining in. This wasn't important to me since the handstitching gave me more podcasts to listen to, but it's good to know if you just want the thing done.
• Most people added an X-in-square pattern to reinforce the strap on the body. Some also lengthened and widened the straps for extra comfort and the option of carrying the bag over one's shoulder or added a removable shoulder strap.

Some of the blog posts I found helpful or inspiring in some way (in Fall 2011):

http://mylilsliceofpie.blogspot.com/2008/05/hallelujah-its-done.html

be sure to check out her series of blog posts, Days 1-5, in April 2008

http://jenandfranz.blogspot.com/search/label/Amy%20Butler%20Weekender%20Bag

this blog included the single most helpful tip I found, which was to make the cording with stitch witchery

http://beezekneesfashions.blogspot.com/search/label/Amy%20Butler%20Weekender%20Travel%20Bag

two more additions which I used: magnetic clasps on the outer pockets, and feet on the bottom

http://needlebook.blogspot.com/2008/05/weekender-progress.html

additions include: a bias tape zipper pull, magnetic snaps & a detachable shoulder strap

http://needlebook.blogspot.com/2006/07/weekender-sneak-peek.html

the above blogger's first Weekender

http://notquitevintage.typepad.com/not_quite_vintage/2007/03/for_dawns_weeke.html

more solid tips

http://www.elliphantom.com/completed_in_2006/weekender_travel_bag/

these photos show why it's worth taking time to match the print on the outer pocket to the main panel

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=amy+butler+weekender&s=rec

I used a flickr search to view different color and print choices. Conclusion: the bag looks great in almost any combination

http://www.amyalamode.com/blog/2008/09/14/second-times-a-charm-orchristmas-in-september/

includes a link to a tutorial for making a handle grip

http://hiuma.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-big-project-weekender-bag.html

I loved that she used her treadle machine to sew the heavy layers

she also mentions, as do others, that you need less cording than is called for

http://craftoholic.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-weekender-bag.html

although I had every intention of choosing a large, colorful floral print for my bag, I ended up with the same colors as this woman's beautiful bag & can't help but wonder if I was influenced by her striking photos

http://knitlint.wordpress.com/2007/07/14/finished-object-amy-butler-weekender-bag/

I love that she documented how much she was able to fit into the finished bag—including her sewing machine!

http://www.stitchesandscissors.com/2011/10/my-weekender.html

used manufactured cording to save time, lengthened & widened the handles, & added a secret zippered pocket to outside pocket

and still more:
http://www.madebybird.com/4-weekender-bags-in-4-weeks/

http://kristinlaflamme.com/musings/?p=143

http://allbuttonedup.typepad.com/all_buttoned_up/2006/08/the_weekender_i.html

http://marynannasews.blogspot.com/2010/05/thank-god-for-sallies.html

hawaiian quilting

Some years ago I was visiting my grandma on Maui when she decided she would no longer be doing handwork. It had become too difficult to see up close to thread needles.


She passed me some fabric and also two unfinished pillows with Hawaiian quilting patterns on them. I don't think I can write well enough about the history of Hawaiian quilting to do it justice. Instead, I'll direct you here, where I'm sorry to discover that Poakalani Serrao, the woman who was probably the most prolific writer and teacher on the subject, has recently passed away.

I wish now that I had taken the time to iron them (but I guess I don't wish it enough to redo!). Grandma's pattern template sits in the lower left corner of each square so that you can see how the folding turns this little 45° wedge into the beautiful symmetry of the design. What is less clear from the photo is that the template was traced from her friend's copy onto a grocery bag; and that the cloth is a very coarse, but brightly dyed cotton. This is the fabric I always associated with Hawaii as a child. Now you can buy fine quilting cotton printed with orchids and other florals, but my memories of fabric shopping with my mom and grandma were all about these solids and a few simple prints in equally bold colors.


Grandma's pillows are both in the ulu (breadfruit) pattern. It seems to be the pattern that one sees the most, perhaps because it is fairly simple with nice curves or perhaps because, according to Poakalani, there is a tradition that once you make an ulu quilt you will never want for life's necessities. The ulu pattern is so strongly associated with Hawaii that it is even on a pair of earrings I bought when C was a baby.

My friend M has been making Hawaiian quilt squares recently and when she asked me to take a Hawaiian quilting class with her, I jumped. We went to the LQS last Sunday when everyone else was in Superbowl preparation mode.


The teacher likened it to cutting out paper snowflakes in school and sure enough, I had flashbacks of being in school: taking too long to decide on a pattern, talking too much, and suddenly realizing I was miles behind everyone else when we were supposed to be moving on. I came home with my piece only half-basted where the rest of the class was well into their needle turning. Oh well. My slowness is not really news.


Here is the design I'll be working on. The fabric choices are not traditional, since I was pulling from my stash the morning of the class. Can you guess what the pattern is called?

the waterless hot water bottle (heated rice bag)

Although I've filled old socks with rice to heat the dog beds on cold nights, I'd never used one myself until a friend gave me one as a gift. It's long and skinny and drapes around your neck to keep your torso warm.


It worked so well that I also started using it to warm the (human) bed...and then I had the idea to make a rice bag shaped like an old-fashioned hot water bottle. Remember those? They always felt so good at the beginning of the night, and then you'd wake to find this cold slab of rubber like a lump in the bed.


Rice doesn't do that.


So here's a quick project to keep your bed warm on winter nights. I like it plain, but I also went ahead and made a second with a Valentine heart on it since I had extra fabric.


This is basically an envelope-style pillowcase around a pillow filled with rice. I made up two simple patterns, which you can download here and here. Unfortunately, the patterns won't print to original size (which runs to the edges of the paper) but always add a little margin around the edge. My suggestion for this is to redraw the pattern yourself, or trace around an actual hot water bottle. The only thing you need to remember is that the back pieces must overlap by about 2 inches or so.


Or you can use the patterns as is and have a slightly smaller heat pack.


For the pillowcase/cover, I used a red fleece. Red fleece is in abundance in the remnant section now that Christmas has passed. Anything over 12" should work comfortably and make 3 water bottles.


My rice pillow was made from a scrap of muslin. Any tightweave cotton in any color/pattern will work, though, as it won't show through the fleece.


The filling is 2 lbs of rice. Lentils, dried beans, and even clean cherry pits also work. I like rice because it's cheap and relatively fine. I don't think I'd want to roll over onto a sack of cherry pits in the middle of the night. (I also can't imagine how one would accumulate 2 lbs of them in the middle of winter.)


After you print out the pattern, cut around the solid outline and lay it on the fleece. For the front piece, you can just weight the pattern down with your rice and cut around—be sure to add 1/2" for seam allowance.

If you want to add the heart, this is where you'll do it. I just cut a pink heart from some scrap felt and zigzagged it to the center front of the fleece. I also played around with adding a felt initial and a strip of ribbon, but it's that time of year, so ultimately the heart won out. Here's what the others look like, though:

The back pieces are a tiny bit more complicated. You need to fold down Pattern 1 along the long dotted line for the lower half—don't cut it, as you'll need to unfold it later. Pattern 2 is the upper half. These two pieces are placed on the wrong side of the fleece (it'll be the side with less pile and fluff) with some clearance. Then you'll take a marker and draw around the outlines of the patterns, as shown below.

Remove the patterns and cut 1/2" around the marks you have made. Hem the straight edges by rolling them under and stitching.

Now you just layer the pieces thus:

• On the bottom is the large front piece, with the right side of the fabric facing up. 
• Next is the hemmed top half, right side of the fabric facing down.
• On top of these two pieces is the hemmed bottom half, right side down.

Pin carefully and sew along the lines you've marked. Sew all the way around, overlapping to secure the seam. Trim your seam allowance, clip curves, and turn right side out. You should have a little pillowcase.

inside out, sewn

inside out, seam allowances trimmed, curves & corners clipped

right side out, front view

right side out, back view

Now for the pillow. Unfold your large pattern again and refold at the dotted line going across the neck.  Draw around the pattern on the wrong side of the fabric as you did above, and cut out 2 pieces with the extra 1/2" seam allowance. Sew on the marked lines, leaving a 2" opening at the top for filling. Trim and notch as before.

Then turn right side out, fill with rice, and stitch closed. If your machine is a tabletop model like mine, it may be easier to place the filled bag to the right of the needle so that its weight doesn't drag down.

And that's all there is. Stuff this rice pillow into your red case, and you are done. The total cost of this project is under $5, and it takes no more than an hour to cut and sew. 

To use, heat in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Keep an eye on it to be sure the fabric doesn't get caught up anywhere (ask me how I know this) and take it out when it's comfortably warm. Then tuck it into your sheets just before bedtime. It should keep you or your loved ones comfortably toasty all night.