Neck Warmer, Boot Warmers, and Door Socks!

Hey folks,  This 'ible for the SEW WARM contest can help others (yes, you can help kids learn!).  I work with Newton North High School Greengineers,  greengineers.wikispaces.com/, steering the algae to biofuel project.  One of their other fabulous projects is recycling plastic bags into reusable totes.  The sewing machine that is the grand prize for SEW WARM, will be used for this project.  So please vote, for the kids.

Yes my friend, you too can make a neck warmer, boot warmers and THREE door socks from just one pair of old sweat pants!  With some smart cutting and a few quick runs of the sewing machine you and your home can be even warmer!  

So there are LOTS of fantastic 'ibles on rice bags. I wanted to post this not to be redundant, but to illustrate how much you can make (from ratty old clothes) if you cut wisely!

I know it's still hard to believe, but let's focus

Bill of materials:
Old sweat pants (I guess fleece pants or flannel pants would work just as well)
-Make sure you don't have lots of holes, or you'll have lots of rice, all over the place.

Sewing machine
Rotary cutter or scissors
Rice, the cheaper the better, you'll need a lot.  I used exactly 1 10lb bag
Pins and thread

Step 1: The Cutting Begins

 1. Cut one leg off, just under the waist, and just to one side of the crotch seam.

2. My pants had side pockets, so I cut those out as close to the seam as I could.  If your sweats don't have pockets, pretend this step never happened

3. Cut up the length of the leg, ankle to hip
NOTE: make sure you cut an inch or so to the side of the existing seam, so that you can sew beside the existing seam. without having to remove it.

4. Flip the pants inside out

5. There will be a slight curve to a point that was once the inside of the crotch. Cut the point of this curve to make the leg a rectangle(ish)

6. Unfold the leg and cut in half length-wise
NOTE: make sure you line your legs up before you cut so that you get straight rectangles.

7. repeat with the other leg

Step 2: Cut and Sew

 From the last step, you should now have 4 rectangles.
1. Sew 3 of the rectangles into tubes.
NOTE: Use a tight stitch so strength, and double sew the end to avoid rice leaks.

2. Double check for holes, and close any you find.

3. Take the 4th rectangle and cut off one third.  cut this in half and sew into two pouches for your boot warmers. Take the other two thirds and sew to make your neck warmer.
For more details on sewing the mitten warmers, check this out www.instructables.com/id/Microwavable-Mitten-Warmers/

4. Fill your tubes with rice and heat em up!

The rice door socks work great because they don't move when you open the door (even when you open it a million times letting the dogs in and out and out and in and so on, and so on!)