Just saw hot water bottles at the dollar store

[canadian gardener]

For anyone coping with lower temps to save energy, get an old fashioned rubber hot water bottle for everyone in the family.

If you want, you can make a little terry cloth pillowslip for it, it holds the heat, and keeps you from feeling burnt when the water inside is a bit too hot.

fold over a terry handtowel and stitch the edges on 3 sides. I put buttons on either side of the open side kind of sitting on the "shoulders" of the hw bottle.

I made my cover years ago, now you could use velcro.

ONE CAUTION

DON'T put a hotwater bottle next to a small child, baby, elderly person or anyone who has trouble with lack of sensation. They won't know that they are getting burnt if it's too hot.

Make sure that when you use it with your older children that it's filled with hot tap water that won't scald you if you have your hand in the stream of water.

Don't fill any HW bottle with boiling water ever. (at worst it will burn someone, at best it will spring a leak and soak the bed and bedding which isn't nice)

I didn't buy mine there, I bought mine a long time ago at the drug store, and have replaced them once, as rubber ages and begins to crack and leak.

But I use mine every winter.

It's a nice way to take the chill off the bed at bedtime, and

it's terrific to cozy up to when seated at the computer during the day or on the couch. Put it up under your top, or sit against it, and cover up with a blanket.

Sheer warm bliss.

[canadian gardener]

Oh and knitted covers are SUPER simple to make and use up scrap yarn. Ditto crochet.

Just knit a tube to fit, starting with ribbing for the neck and work into plain stockinette for the body, and then do a bind off that works the tube together into a seam at the bottom. (I hate stitching my knitting)

I am not giving directions, it depends on the yarn, your needles, and how tight you knit.

Knit a square test scrap to figure out how many stitches you need to get around the thing, rip it back AND

Just go for it,

and start knitting a K 2 P 2 rib making sure you start with enough stitches to pass over the thickness of the body of the thing.

Before you finish your ribbing, make some yarn overs and knit two togethers to make some holes. For a drawstring to close it later.

Knit that body in plain,

at the bottom end where you want the seam cast off 2 opposite stitches together, making a seam and binding off at the same time.

Use a drawstring cord to close.

[Scattymum]

I love hot water bottles! I use them all the time in the winter. I just got a new one that heats up in the microwave - only takes a minute to heat and gets lovely and warm without the risks of boiling water. Its a bit like a rice sock but is in a hot water bottle shape and has a lovely fleece cover.

[Emerald_Mommy]

I gave my mom one last year with a trendy monogrammed cover. She loves it. I should have bought one for myself too but I didn't and they were gone when I went back. I really need to get some of these for us! If I see them this time I will definitely buy some for us!

[forestdale]

I love them too. Our cat has one in winter.

[Kimberlina]

Since I am so allergice to natural rubber (latex) I use a rice-filled bag instead. I'm sure the bottle holds the heat better, though. Wish I could use one!

[canadian gardener]

Rice bags are SO easy to make. I've done them. I hate keeping them in my linen closet between uses though, they take up a lot of room, and as the hot water bottles collapse to nothing when you empty the water out I prefer them.

I hang my hw bottles on nails in the bit of wood with hooks behind the bedroom doors. (the strip of wood with hooks is for nighties etc, but the nails are for the hw bottles.

Ok that said, for anyone wanting to do rice bags, find a cotton fabric you like, without metallic print bits on it as some cottons have metallics, and you need microwave safe fabric.

Sew a tube, and fill LOOOSELY with the cheapest rice you can buy.

Fill too tight and it's hard to mold to your neck or whatever and the virtue of a rice bag is it's easy to mold or flop.

Easy to microwave on a turntable if you can "bend" the loose bag in a semi circle.

Stitch the top closed, so easy if you fold the fabric down inside the tube, and top stitch the edges.

If you stuff them loosely it's easy to topstitch all round.

Microwave till warm, and use.

[Kimberlina]

And DON'T use brown rice. It will go rancid on you pretty quickly and leave you with a nasty-smelling rice bag....

[SHOPGIRL]

Restoration Hardware have them for sale in their catalog for $40. Of course, it comes with a cashmere cover.

The dollar store looks better all the time!

[Scattymum]

Also if you are making your own bags, I always add a feww drops of lavender oil to mine - makes them small lovely, and ITA about the brown rice!!!!