Diy cooling vest
 

Not sure how many sewing folks are out there, but I was rather disappointed by the expense and look of the cooling vests out there so I decided to make my own. I used and underbust corset pattern (butterick 6114) but any similar style would work. Left an opening in the back between the lining and the outer fabric, and did the same on the two front sides. And then simply used the clay ice packs cut down to size and resealed with a vacuum sealer as my cooling packs. Will update after I finish experimenting with homemade clay packs that seem to be a ratio of natural clay and mineral oil (going to try sand too to see if it’s lighter and will still hold the cooling effect as long and remain as mealiable)

All told it cost $20 for the ice packs, $1.00 for the pattern since Joann’s had a $1 butterick pattern sale and $2 for the light fleece material also on sale at Joann’s and you only need 3/4 a yard for lining and outer pieces. It’s worn under the cloths and is close fitting enough that no one will even know and took only about an hour to make start to finish. Definitely going to be making lots more of them 😊.

Anyways thought I would share since the cheapest cooling vest I’ve found to date was a bulky one with hard ice packs that lasts about 2 hours and was still over $50. Sure it takes the sales to make it for $23 ($20 in just the ice packs) but even without the sales prices I could make it for under $30. And if I really wanted to be frugal I could have made my own pattern and gone for more of belt type style and used a goodwill sweatshirt or large flannel shirt. So if you can sew or have family or friends that know their way around a machine, it’s a great alternative.

That sounds pretty cool. Let us know how you like it after you've tested it out for a bit. Summer is just so brutal here! But, from the looks of it, it's been rough all over with high temps and humidity.

Yeah it’s been a brutal summer here in southeast ga, but went down to Jacksonville for about 4 hours mostly outside with my cooling vest, it was 90 degs not including heat index, which would normally have me locked up in my house with the ac on full blast and instead I was able to wander around the shops a little warmer than I’d like to be, but still able to be comfortable. And only had to take about an hour nap when we got back for the fatigue, where last year we went down for about two hours and when it was only 85 and I was wiped out the rest of the day.

Then went to Gainesville with my mom and dad yesterday for his cancer follow-ups. It was a bit cooler, 83 I think, but wore my vest and my mom and I went all over the place outside catching Pokémon :D and I didn’t even need a nap when we got home. I was completely comfortable the whole time, even through I did have to use some instant ice packs since we left the house at 6am and didn’t get back till 6pm

Well, the vests are still working out great, I modified the pattern slightly so it laces on the side for the next couple of vests I’ve made, but still haven’t had a chance to play with making my own clay packs for it. Been dealing with a sick kitty 😿. But now that he’s on the mend I’ll probably start experimenting this weekend.