“It never fails – the food in the oven is getting ready to go from amazing to burned in a matter of seconds, and there’s not a single potholder to be found. How many of us have hastily grabbed a kitchen towel to use in its place, only to burn your hand or worse yet…set the towel on fire? So, needless to say, you can never have enough potholders.
Laura Coia, with the Sew Very Easy YouTube channel, offers weekly sewing tips and tricks as well as very easy-to-follow sewing tutorial projects. In this video, she shows you how to quickly and easily make a beautiful, quilted potholder.
While this potholder is a great way to use up leftover quilting fabrics, you need to check your fabric blend first. For safety sake, you need to make sure your fabric will withstand the heat, obviously. The best choice is 100% cotton for your fabric, thread, and any trimming you would like to use. Also, the batting you use must be a special type of batting if you want to avoid unwanted fires. Regular quilting batting is not suitable; special batting is available with an aluminum component in the middle.
You’ll need to gather a few items before you start. Laura gives some recommendations for the batting and thread, so be sure to check those out.
Supplies:
● 8” square of fabric (6 squares)
● 8” square of batting (remember to get the right kind)
● Heat-resistant thread
It looks nice to use contrasting fabric colors or designs, so use your imagination. For this easy design, fold four of your squares in half diagonally and give them a quick press with a hot iron.
Next, put the special batting between the two remaining, unfolded squares of fabric and pin in place with straight pins. To sew the batting in, sew diagonally both directions on the square, in essence creating a giant “X.” For a little extra strength, also sew a 1/8” hem around the entire square. This creates the main body of your potholder.
To get a quilt-like pattern, Laura shows you a simple technique to get beautiful results. Some things are just easier seen than read, so check out how she does this.Now, just sew at least a ¼” hem around the outside edges of the square. Snip a tiny little piece off each of the four corners to allow you to turn it right-side out, and you’re done.
Such a simple way to make a unique, one-of-a-kind potholder. They look so nice and are so easy to make, that everyone in your family might end up getting one from you for Christmas this year.”
