An Outfit for my Hot Water Bottle

I must profess my love for my hot water bottle. It may not be as cute as a cat but it’s a lot more cooperative. It’s done so much for me, keeping me warm and soothing my aches, that I decided to show it a little love in return.

So I made it an outfit! I wanted it make it even more snuggly and what is more snuggly than nice worn flannel? We have a pile of decrepit but soft flannel shirts which I won’t let anyone throw away because they feel so nice. I put two of them to good use by making them into this cover.

(These are the two flannel shirts before I rescued them. See the nice green stain on the right?)

(Here it is naked.)

I started by measuring my hot water bottle. I measured it top to bottom and then side to side. I added seam allowances to the measurements and then doubled the width so I could cut a piece of fabric that was the right height but twice as wide. I cut one of these each out of two different flannels. I then folded each piece of flannel over and sewed up two of the three remaining sides so I had two bags that fit over the hot water bottle with unfinished edged where the bags open at the top.

But wait there was one more thing! On one of the bags I left about a two inch gap in the stitching at the bottom. This will be important later.

I then put one bag inside the other with the “right sides” (those without raw edges) facing each other. I then pinned the unfinished edges at the tops together and sewed all the way around. Now I had a double layered bag but with raw edges. Here is where that hole comes in handy. You just reach through and pull both bags inside out. Stuff one back inside the other and you have a reversible bag that you hot water bottle fits in with no raw edges! (Well you will after you sew up that small opening at the bottom which I did by hand.)

Now all that was left was to devise a way to keep the hot water bottle in the bag. I ended up finding two pieces of cloth that had button holes on them. (They had been those ties that you get sometimes inside a shirt that are meant to allow you to roll up the sleeves and button them.) I cut the two strips to right length and sewed them together so I had a strip with a button hole at either end. I then sewed a button onto the bag right where the neck of the water bottle is (actually I sewed a button on each side since it’s reversible.)

Reversible!

Now all I do is flip the bag whichever way I want and button the collar on and my cover keeps my hot water bottle nice and cozy so it can keep me nice and cozy! I would make these as gifts but I don’t think I know anyone else who uses a hot water bottle.