Stay warm this winter with this homemade hot water bottle cover.
Stay warm this winter with this homemade hot water bottle cover. Taking a hot water bottle to bed helps save on electricity and energy that otherwise might be used on an electric blanket or turning the radiator on full blast. Decorate the cover with some shapes that reflect your favourite things; russian dolls, woodland animals, even angry birds or lego shapes.
Fabric
For the hot water bottle cover you can use any fabric of your choice but a thick blanket is ideal as it is safest in case the hot water bottle leaks. If you would prefer to use a lighter fabric than a thick blanket, choose one that is not too thin and just double up the layers to make the cover thicker.
Template
To make the template, place a hot water bottle over some card and draw around it in pencil. The outline should be slightly larger than the hot water bottle itself as the cover will need to fit over it. Cut the template out and place it over the blanket and cut a front panel and a back panel. Cut the back panel in half width ways so you can fit the hot water bottle inside later.
On some card draw templates for the shapes you want to sew on. Cut out the templates, lay them down on some felt and draw around them with tailor chalk. Cut out your shapes and pin these to your front panel. Sew the shapes on, removing the pins as you do so. Pin the panels together and sew everything up leaving a seam of 6mm. The back panels should overlap slightly. This will be the opening of the cover. Sew a large button on or stick on some Velcro to seal it together.
Next heat up the kettle and fill your hot water bottle two thirds full. Never use boiling water in a hot water bottle; leave the kettle to cool for 10 minutes before filling it up. Put the bottle inside the cover and place it under your duvet while you are getting ready for bed.
These hot water bottle covers also make good gifts. Make a few of them, wrap them up and give them away as Christmas presents. Sew on designs to match the occasion such as a snowman, Christmas puddings, holly leaves and robins.