Tuesday Tip | Make a no-sew rice sock
If you have some random orphan socks at your house, use them to make a microwaveable rice sock.
These are so great to put on a sore muscle, and they work especially well around your neck.
And you can freeze them to use for calming down an inflamed muscle.
Also, even if you don't have a sore muscle, they're great for warming you up in the winter. Sometimes I heat one up and put it around my neck just because I'm feeling cold.
There are a lot of more aesthetic ways you can make these, but I just go for easy and quick.
- Use a wide-mouth funnel to fill a single sock about ¾ full with rice (too full and it'll be too stiff to conform to your body)
- Tie the end off with a rubber band.
- Cover the rice sock with one more sock (no need to rubber band this one.)
I like to have a double sock layer because that way I can easily remove the outer sock for washing purposes, and I don't have to worry about emptying the rice.
Also, the outer sock will keep rice from spilling out, should the inner sock sprout a hole.
For what it's worth, I've only filled mine with white rice, not brown. My guess is that the brown rice would start to smell funky after a while due to the oils going rancid.
So, I'd suggest that you stick with white, which is cheaper anyway!
I love the "no sew" part of this AND the second sock that can be easily washed. I have made these before but this method seems way better. In the winter I always warm it up and take it to bed with me. I just put it anywhere I have an ache or sore muscle. Very soothing and makes me fall asleep faster.
Foot warmers in the bed too!
This is brilliant. I have several rice bags but they're sewn fabric tubes.
You know what one of the hallmarks of a brilliant idea? It's so apparently simple that you look at it and think "Why didn't I think of that myself?" And yet, we didn't.
Woo great tip! Time timely for the cold winter. Mr. FAF has A LOT of lonely socks. And we have plenty of rice at home. Perfect combo!
I could make an assorted collection of these with all the orphan socks we currently have .
Doesn't the elastic in the sock cuff or the rubber band cause trouble in the microwave? I put a towel in the microwave once for warming up purposes and promptly burnt several holes in it as it wasn't all cotton.
Old flannel shirt sleeves or jean legs can also make these, but that would involve sewing...which is why I haven't done it yet. Yay for non sewing comfort for achy muscles and warm feet at winter bedtimes.
The rubber band on the sock does need to be replaced every few years in my experience, but I've never had trouble with the sock burning. I usually heat it for two minutes at a time and it's always been fine.
I wonder why your towel burnt. Hopefully someone will come along with an answer for us!
The border design used glittery thread so that must have caused it, although the holes (on a fold) were not next to the border. I personally still use it anyway--frugal.
I'm off to the laundry room to look at orphan socks!
Ohhh, that's definitely a possibility due to the metal!
I had an MRI done and, in the dressing room, there was a sign saying to make sure to remove socks and underwear because many manufacturers are now using metal fibers such as copper or silver for odor control and warmth. These could burn a patient or possibly cause a fire! So read your socks labels, I guess!
Love this! If anyone is interested in an inexpensive gift idea, and if you are a seamstress, sewing a rice bag or corn bag using flannel makes a great gift. One of my friends did that for me a couple of years ago and when the weather is chilly, I am rarely without it! I have seen them for sale and they are priced anywhere from $15 to $25. Just an idea ... the season of gift-giving is upon us!
I have one of these and love it. Mine is also hand-made — a muslin bag with a removable flannel cover, so a hybrid of Kristen's idea with this idea.
I use a Magic Bag (the long extended one but would like the Neck-to-Back). Same principle as the rice sock but has a lot more longevity. Not sure if they're available in the US.
http://magicbag.com/en/our-products
I've never microwaved a rubberband, but if that's how you've been doing it all along, it must work. The only other thing I can think of is having a long tube sock that is long enough to knot on the open end. I never would have thought of "double socking" it, so the outer sock can be washed. Of course, that makes perfect sense! I'll bet my husband, Mr. Cold Feet, would like these next to his feet at night.
How long are you heating them for?
Usually two minutes in my microwave is enough, but of course, microwaves vary drastically!
There isn't an odor after microwaving it? I received a similar gift, bought from a store, but when I heat it I can't take the smell. I cook and eat rice so maybe this would be alright. Not sure what mine is filled with.
Yes, no matter what the filling is, there is an odor. The one I bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond had an odor, and so does my corn bag and my daughter's rice bag. To me, the smell of the rice is milder than the corn smell, but smell aversion seems to be an individual thing.
Thought #2: Wonder if mine is filled with brown rice?
I know sometimes they sell these filled with buckwheat. My parents had one like that and it did have a slightly weird odor.
I feel like the rice ones have a slight smell at first, but the more we use them, the more they become scent-less.
Whole Buckwheat can be microwaved like rice or seed corn, but don't use just the hulls. It'll be all fine until you burn the house down. (true story - my old landlady had a BIG house fire from microwaving a buckwheat hull pillow.)
Brilliant! I have made a few rice bags over the years for a friend that suffered various ills with chronic Lyme disease. The last time I made her one I made a couple of covers so they could be washed. I used scrap fabric and discarded clothes. I was always too lazy to make any for us. This is so much better. Thanks for the tip.
We just bought a microwave almost entirely because I want to microwave rice socks! We live in northern Minnesota and the winters are cold!
Good idea! The heat in my apartment wasn't working for a while, so my room temperature ranged from 62-66 F, but since I knew it would soon be fixed, I filled my hot water bottle at laid it over my feet as I worked or held it in my lap instead of the hassle of going out and buying a space heater. It worked just fine. Not that I'm not grateful for the heat being on now! Getting out of the shower was particularly bad...
So glad you have heat now!
I avoid hot water bottles since I once had one break in bed. A wet mattress is no fun!
Brilliant!!!
Ooh I love the idea of using orphan socks for these! I've always sacrificed a sock before to make these and never thought to (duh) look for a renegade sock. 🙂
These are great to make for shelters! They’re used for orphaned neonates who can’t regulate their body temperatures
Orphan socks...I like that! 🙂 This sounds like a great idea, as I've had a stiff neck as of late. I did this one year with shelled corn inside, and wasn't very careful about storing them. (we live in an old farm house that is not very "tight") I got them out one day, only to find that the cupboard I had stashed them in, out in the laundry, had been visited by a mouse. Holy socks!! This was a good reminder to store them in a sealed container.
How simply brilliant. Do you add a glass of water when you heat it up?
I never have!