{out of necessity }

How does that quote go? Every invention was born out of necessity?

If you know our extended family even a little, you know that we all have back problems. Ice packs are our friend! Everyone has a rotation of ice packs in the freezer ready to go at any time.

My Dad has been using an ice pack on his ankle for a few weeks after he stepped off a sidewalk wrong. He says he suggested this idea to me about two weeks ago, but I don’t remember that.

I’ve been using an ice pack this last week on my neck – I’ve had a sore neck, shoulders, and hips which have been contributing to a headache. Not fun. So this weekend, I thought out loud to my family and said, “You know, I should make an ice pack envelope out of flannel.” (Since usually we wrap it in a kitchen towel and it never stays the way it’s supposed to.)

My Dad started laughing and said sarcastically, “great idea…I wonder where you heard that before!” Oops.

So, here it is!

I had this flannel left over from the backing of a quilt – it was a pieced backing, so it already had these two pieces sewn together. I laid the ice pack on it to measure it (very precisely) and cut.

I folded it about 3/4 of the way up, right sides together. I pinned along the sides and sewed up both sides.

I sewed the edges of the flaps in about 1/4” (the white fabric part) so it had a finished look. I should’ve done all of that first, but you live and learn. :)

About 3” of velcro sewn on and wha la! An envelope just right to hold an ice pack!

I’ll be making more of these for the other members of my family!