Corn Heating Bags

Learn how to make your own corn heating bags for sore muscles, aching backs, or just something to warm your feet in the winter. It's a great way to use up scrap fabric and simple enough for beginner sewers. Make some for yourself and a few to give to your family and friends.

When my kids were little I bought my first "corn bag" from a local craft fair. If you haven't heard of a sore muscle corn heating pad, it's a simple bag filled with corn that you microwave. Then you place it on your back or neck etc.. to provide heat to your pain or sore muscles. 

Here's the one I bought years ago and we still use it today. That's right, they last a long time. However, it is a bit ragged and my daughter was saying that she wouldn't mind having one for herself. Then we thought why not make one that is long and skinny to put in the bed at night to keep your feet warm for a little while.

So I set out to make a few different sizes to give to my girls. In one I even added a little lavender to make it smell nice. Not that they smell bad. They smell like corn.

Making Corn Heating Pads/Bags

Supplies

• Feed Corn or Whole or Cracked - not popcorn
• Cotton material - Below is a diagram of the ones I made, but you can make them any size you want.
• Lavender flowers or essential oils for scent (optional)

The Pattern

Step 1. Cut out your fabric allowing 1/2 inch on all sides for a seam allowance.

Step 2. Press under 1/2 inch one of the short sides.

Step 3. With right sides together sew the two long sides and the other short side.

Step 4. Cut corners and turn right side out.

Step 5. Fill 2/3 - 3/4 full with corn and lavender. If you want to use essential oils mix them in the corn ahead of time.

Step 6. Close the opening by topstitching with a similar color thread or a contrasting one.

That's all there is to it.

I also used the same sample quilting squares in two complementary fabrics to make smaller corn bags. Too pretty for the game corn hole?

How to Use a Corn Bag Heating Pad

To use, set in the microwave, and heat on high for 1-2 minutes. Shake slightly to distribute any hot spots. Reheat as necessary. You could also use the corn heating pad as an ice pack. Just set one in the freezer. However, I would cover it with a plastic bag first to keep it dry.

How to Wash a Corn Heating Pad

You can spot clean it with a towel and some soap. However, if you really want to thoroughly clean it after a while. I would suggest opening the hand sewn seam and removing the corn. Clean the corn in a bowl of soapy water and then spread it out to dry thoroughly. In the meantime, throw the cover into the wash. Once both the cover and the corn are clean you can refill the bag and hand sew it closed again.

Where to Find Feed Corn

You can easily find the cracked corn at any hardware or big box store, in the bird food aisle. Since this is cracked corn, it may have some powder in the mix from the ground corn, so you might want to rinse and dry it first, before filling your bags.

If you live in the country, feed stores would also be a great place to find feed corn for your filler. Just don't use popcorn. Additionally, some people have used rice which I've read works well, only I don't believe it lasts as long.

Wouldn't they make great gifts?