Butterfly Heat Pack

This butterfly heat pack is super easy to make.

You will need 

• a copy of my butterfly pattern, available HERE,
• a fabric scrap about 25cm wide and 50cm long
• a fabric scrap of a contrasting colour, about 10cm x 5cm
• 500g of linseeds (flax seeds)
• thread and scissors
• essential oil (optional - I used lavender, but you might also like rosemary or other scents).

This butterfly is really simple to make. 

Fill a bowl with the linseed, and add a few drops of the oil and mix it in. Be sparing with this - I added too much, and it keeps giving me a headache because there is too much oil in there.

Cut out the body (two), and the dots (six or twelve).

Pin the body together, wrong sides facing, marking the points to start and stop sewing. I do this by putting two pins in the one spot at the start and end points.

Sew around the body, then clip the seams to turn out.

Turn the body out, and fill with the linseed. I used a spoon to get the seeds into the body, although a funnel may work.

Sew the opening closed using a ladder stitch. A tutorial for ladder stitch can be found here.

Now, position the dots. I doubled the dots up, with a plain colour behind a contrasting pattern. I used a different contrast for the upper and lower wings.

Once you are happy with the position of the dots, pine them in place. The position is really to do with aesthetics, so it depends on what you think looks good.

Sew the dots on. You have two choices here. You can either sew through the top layer only, leaving the heat pack fairly loose, or you can sew through the top and bottom layers pulling the thread tight, to make the heat pack firm. I chose to make mine firm, which caused the spots to bunch up, giving them a bit of texture.

Lastly, heat in the microwave for about one minute. This will dry the linseed out, so that the heat pack doesn't go funny if you don't use it immediately. Store in a cool dry place, and heat for 1 - 2 minutes to use. Do NOT overheat, as it may cause the heat pack to catch fire.