Overview
Body cooling neck wraps aid in the treatment of sunburn, help avoid potential heat stroke and provide a quick cool down for anyone working or playing in heated conditions. You can make your own body cooling neck wraps with minimal crafting skills and special polymer granules that operate on the principle of evaporative cooling. Make several cooling neck wraps so you can wear one and keep one cool for a trade-off.
Step 1
Fold a cotton bandana in half diagonally. Iron the fabric flat, especially on the long folded edge.
Step 2
Fold the folded edge 1-1/2 inches over itself. Pin the fabric together at the seam with straight pins. Iron the fold flat.
Step 3
Stitch a seam in place along the straight pins with a sewing machine or by hand. Remove the pins as you go. This is the tube that will hold the polymer granules inside the neck wrap. This section is also part of the tie so you can hold the neck wrap in place.
Step 4
Lay flat the bandana, with the stitching facing up. Measure to find the center of the stitched tube. Measure and mark the tube 7 inches on each side of the center mark.
Step 5
Stitch a 1-1/2-inch seam through the width of the tube on one of the 7-inch marks. The new seam will be perpendicular to the long seam you created in Step 3.
Step 6
Fill the open end of the tube with 2 tsps. of medium polymer cooling granules, which are available from online retailers and in some garden supply stores. The polymer granules absorb and hold water.
Step 7
Stitch the second 7-inch mark closed with a perpendicular seam to hold the polymer cooling granules between the marks. The section of the bandana tube between the stitches fits on the back of your neck.
Step 8
Soak the bandana in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes. Work the granules inside the tube to spread them evenly between the stitches. Refrigerate the bandana until cool. Wrap around your neck.
Step 9
Store the neck wrap in the fridge or in a sealed plastic bag. Rehydrate the neck wrap with cool water as needed.
