deluxe microwave neck/shoulder cozy

Here is a little project that I made this morning. This feels heavenly when heated in the microwave and draped around your neck. I had one of those plastic "cones" from the vet when my dog got fixed. I used that as a template. The fabric is this really cool scrap that I had that has Canadian tourist destinations all over it. Since it is quilting fabric, I thought may be a little bit too light weight. Therefore I put an extra layer of lightweight canvas that I had lying around behind it. The other side of the cozy is just a plain brown medium weight fabric that I had lying around.  I used my walking foot on my sewing machine and it was easy to sew through all of the layers.Once I sewed the front and the back together I drew lines on it with this great little white mechanical pencil that I picked up in fabricland in Richmond. The lines come out really easily after you sew over them. Next I filled up each little compartment with 1/4 cup of split brown lentils.

I pinned the top of each chamber closed as I filled them up so that they wouldn't spill out. Next I tucked the edges under and sewed them closed. (This seemed like the most challenging part of the whole project). When I sewed my divider lines I stopped 1/2" from the top. I think it would have been easier to tuck in the edges if I would have given myself 3/4". Next time I'll try that. These can be made with different fillings. Some people use flax seed or quinoa or barley. I think when I make more I may experiment with different fillings to see which retains the heat the longest. I heated my cozy up for 3 mins about 1/2 hr. ago and it is still quite warm.