Here's how to make a rice bag. You'll need to know how to use your sewing machine for this project. If you are not familiar with your sewing machine, I recommend a) reading the manual and b) taking an in person class at a fabric store near you. Once you get started sewing, keep sewing on a regular basis or you'll forget and have to start back at reading the manual.
If you're already familiar with your sewing machine, this is a quick and easy project. It took me 20 minutes to make a bunch of rice bags.
Cut your fabric to 5x5 inches. I used scraps leftover from another recent project I did but you can also buy precut 5x5 inch "charm squares". I did not prewash my fabric for this project.
Place two squares right sides together. Start stitching about 1 inch from the bottom right corner. Backstitch then stitch around 3 sides of your square.
Turn your fourth corner and then stitch 1 more inch and backstitch. You want to have about a 3 inch opening on one side of your square.
Turn your bag right side out and fill with half a cup of plain uncooked rice.
Fold the raw edges in along your 3 inch opening and pin. I like to put one pin at each end of the opening and one in the middle.
At this point I switch to a zipper foot on my sewing machine and move my needle to the far right position. Stitch all along the side of your square with the opening to keep it shut. Backstitch at the beginning and the end.
That's it. I think contrast stitching is really fun so I picked a thread that matched the mermaids tails, but I could have picked one that matched the dark blue background so it'd be almost invisible.
Supplies (I did not buy anything new for this project, just used what I already had from other projects but if you see something you like): Dear Stella Seaworthy Mermaid fabric, Aurifil Jade thread, Bernina 350PE sewing machine, Olfa ergonomic rotary cutter, Ofla cutting mat, Omnigrid quilter's ruler, Gypsy Gripper, Clover flower pins