Corn Pillows

Hi all!  As promised, here are some of the posts that I couldn't reveal before Christmas :)  Last year, my friend Kaitlyn gave me a "corn pillow" for Christmas... now while my orignial has since been eaten by the lovely Gunner-man, I have made more than one in it's place.

What's that you say?  What the heck is a corn pillow?  Well, a corn pillow is simply the best :)  It's  pretty much exactly what it sounds like... a pillow filled with corn (corn feed: the whole kernel kind).  It's amazing because you pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes and it gets nice and hot... and it holds the heat for a long time!  So it's perfect for snowy-days, for your cold ride to work in the morning or to throw under the covers at the foot of your bed (I'll stop now because I know I'm sounding very infomercial-like :) ), but for real, it's that awesome!

So for any of you who want to make a very inexpensive (a 50 lb bag of corn feed costs no more than $10 and a yard of fabric is about $4) but very functional and amazing gift for someone, here's a little "how-to"

First step would be to go to a fabric store and buy flannel-type fabric.  I use fabric called something like "snuggle flannel".

Measure big squares.... around 10 x 24 inches.

 This is roughly the size you want once the fabric is folded in half.

Then fold it together so the patterned side of the fabric is on the inside.

 Sew around 3 and 3/4 sides of the fabric

 Pull the pillow right-side out... you should have about 2-3 inches open still.

 Then get your corn ready.  The easiest way to fill the pillow is get a wide mouthed funnel.  If you don't have that, the next best thing is to cut the top of a 2-liter bottle of soda.  You can use that as a funnel.

 Fill the pillow so it's about half-way full.  If you fill it up any more than that, it won't hold the heat as well.

 Then pick a "fancy" stitch and sew up that 2-3 inch opening.

and here is your finished corn-pillow!

Make up a cute little tag that says to microwave for 3 minutes and you're done.  Also, for anyone who lives in a hot area, these pillows can also be put in the freezer and they stay nice and cold for a long time too!




Oh.... important side-note:  The first few times you microwave these corn pillows, they will feel damp.  That's just the corn releasing some remaining moisture.  That feeling will go away after a few trips to the microwave :)

Enjoy!