Crochet Comfort Rice Bag Pattern

Crochet Comfort Rice Bag

I designed this simple crochet comfort rice bag out of personal necessity for myself. I suffer from headaches and any kind of relief at the moment is much needed. They do say, the best ideas come from "see a need, fill a need" concepts.

Download Yarnspirations Pattern — Free Pattern: Crochet Rice Bag

Why buy something from the store when I have the yarn, cheap pair of pantyhose and rice in my kitchen. I can do it myself. Please enjoy my free pattern and I would love to see what ideas you can come up with for colours. If you are looking for a text-only version click this link Crochet Rice Bag

Pattern Suggestions

The pillow will be about 7" high by 13" long.

Pattern by Jeanne Steinhilber

Bernat Handicrafter Cotton or Lily & Cream - 2 colours
5 mm or Size H Hook.
Pantyhose - a cheap pair from the dollar store will do
2 pounds of plain rice

Make 2 panels

Chain 40

Row 1 - Insert hook into 2nd ch from hook and pull up a loop; insert hook into 4th ch from hook, pull up a loop (3 loops on hook); yo, pull thru 2, yo, pull thru 2. Begin Linked DC (LDC) stitches by inserting the hook into the horizontal bar of the previous stitch, pull up a loop, insert the hook into the next ch, pull up a loop; yo, pull thru 2, yo pull thru 2. Repeat to end. (37 LDC) Turn.

There is a video below if you need further help with the LDC stitches, but I do start mine slightly differently.

Row 2 - Ch 2. Begin LDC by inserting the hook into 1st ch from the hook, pull up a loop, insert hook into 1st stitch, pull up a loop; yo, pull thru 2, yo, pull thru 2. Continue LDC to end, changing colour at the end of the row. (37 LDC) Turn.

Row 3 - Ch 2. Star Stitch - insert hook into 1st ch from hook and pull up a loop twice, insert hook into base of ch 2 and pull up a loop, insert hook into next 2 stitches and pull up a loop from each; you now have a total of 6 loops on the hook; yo and pull thru all 6, ch 1 (this makes an “eye” at the top of the stitch). 1st star complete. *Yo and insert the hook into the eye to pull up a loop, yo in between last 2 vertical bars of the previous star and pull up a loop, yo and insert the hook at the base of the star to pull up a loop (at this point you have 4 loops on hook), now pull up a loop from each of the next to 2 stitches to move forward (6 loops total), yo and pull thru all; ch 1. Repeat from * to end and hdc in end stitch to finish the row. (18 Stars) Turn.

Row 4 - Ch 1, sc in first stitch and sc into 1st eye from the previous row. 2 sc into the rest of the eyes across. Sc in the last stitch, changing colour at the end of the row. (37 sc) Turn.

There is a video below if you need further help with the star stitch. Use the instructions from the 3rd row and not the beginning chain.

Row 5 - Ch 2, LDC across. (37 LDC) Turn.

Row 6 thru 11 - Repeat Row 5. Finish off.

Line up panels with wrong sides together and matching star stitch stripes. Join together with a sc around, using 3 sc in each corner, starting at a long side so that one short side it open for now.

Now it’s time to prepare your rice pouch. I use one leg of a pair of pantyhose, cutting it off at the top of the leg. Fill the leg with up to 2 pounds of plain rice. I use my rice bag for migraines and prefer a heavy bag, but you may not want quite this much.

I direct the rice to the end of the hose and lay it on top of the crocheted piece to work into about the same size and shape of the bag. Tie a slip knot into the hose and then fold the hose back over the rice pouch to double the strength and tie again. If you have enough hose as I did at this point, I folded it over one more time and double tie the end to close the pouch.

Slip the rice pouch into the crocheted bag and finish the final side of sc to close and finish off. Weave in any loose ends.

I keep my rice bags in the freezer so they are always ready for when a headache hits. Another thing I have found these cold packs to be very useful for is if a leg cramp hits in the middle of the night. I toss them on the floor and stand on them for a couple of minutes and the leg cramps disappear.

Some people will microwave these packs to use for sore muscles or arthritis pain. Microwave careful so you don’t burn yourself as the rice can get very hot quickly. One of my crochet buddies sleeps with a warm rice bag on her head every night. Everyone finds their own comfort in these easy to make bags.

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Enjoy your new Comfort Rice Bag.

Be creative! 🙂 - Jeanne - The Crochet Crowd

Crochet Comfort Rice Bag Pattern