Preacher's Anniversary Gift - Minus Pictures :(

Ok , I made Preachers cooling bandanna for his anniversary gift but on the down side there were *sniff* dead batteries in DD camera, mine was completely void of batteries. The good news is that DD got batteries for hers and I was able to get pictures of some canning I did. But that is another post. So I guess I will just be sharing the details about my sewing project with you.
1. measure and cut a piece of cloth that can be folded in half length-wise and be long enough to tie around your neck without "binding". Preacher has a large neck so in reality an actual bandanna works best. Just cut it in half and you have enough to make two cooling bandannas.
2.fold your cloth in half (right sides touching) and sew together to make a long tube.
3.turn the tube right side out. what I did next was make a pocket for my beads that would rest on the back of Preachers neck. So I came in about 4" from each end and sewed a seam across the tube to create my pocket. Now remember to sew one then fill the pocket with the beads, then sew up the other end of your pocket. (or you will need to find a seam ripper and undo one end. I know cause I did it lol)
4. Walmart is a cheap place to get your water crystals (polymer hydrating beads). They have a small pack of beads that will expand to 1/2 " for about $2 in the floral dept. This is enough to make two bandannas. Use about 1 1/2 Tsp of the beads (or 1/2 of the pack) to fill your pocket. Then sew up that end.
5. Once all your seams are done fill a bowl with cool water and let the bandanna soak in it for about 5-6 hours. This will cause the beads to "inflate". Once they are done, wring it out and either use it on your neck for cooling or place it in the fridge to get extra cold. these make great cold packs for sprains too.
Sorry for the lack of pictures everyone but here is a link that gives some easy instructions and has some pictures. : NOTE, this tute says soak for 45 min. but we found that the directions on the bead bag worked best for the right "inflation" size.

Cooling Tie

Blessings!~ Nikki