Potholders not only as utility to kitchen but also can add cheer to it, especially those with bright fabrics and kitchen-themed prints. Here will show you 2 projects on how to make the potholder.
DIY Square Potholder
Materials & Tools
- 1 fat quarter of basic cotton fabric
- 9-inch (23 cm) square of fusible cotton quilt batting
- 9-inch (23 cm) square of Insul-Bright
- Basting spray
- Basic sewing kit
- ½-inch wide masking tape
- Thread that matches the dominant color of your fabric
- Thread that matches your binding
- One yard of coordinating ½-inch (1.3 cm) or 1-inch (2.5 cm) double-fold bias binding
- 5 inches (13 cm) of ribbon which for loop to hang
Steps:
- Cut two 9-inch (23 cm) squares of fabric and one 9-inch (23 cm) square of batting. Place batting between the wrong sides of the two square fabrics, and press until it’s fixed. (The batting won’t stick to the Insul-Bright, but it will adhere to your iron or ironing surface. So use the Insul-Bright as a barrier.)
- Temporary move out Insul-Bright, spray adhesive onto the batting, put Insul-Bright back on top of batting. Spray with spray binder on the opposite side of the second fabric block, and then place it face up on the Insul-Bright. Smooth it with your hands to make sure the materials stick together.
- By the help of a ruler, tape diagonally in one direction across the square at 1½-inch (4 cm) intervals.
- Keep the edges of the sewing machine’s pins in line with the side of the tape and sew them straight along one side of each diagonal line. The 3 mm line length is just nice. If you want the stitches to be less obvious, use a line color that matches the fabric design background. Remove the tape.
- Perpendicular the new line to the freshly stitched line (photo A). Repeat, sew along one side ofthe tape guides. Remove the tape. If necessary, trim the edges of the fabric to make the size same. Cut the four corners to round(photo B).
- Unfold/Expand your bias binding and (front facing fabric) align the original edge of the bias binding with the original edge of the quilted square. Backstitch and then straight stitch in the fold of the binding.
- When come to the next rounded corner, tuck in loop of ribbon (I use 4 inches [10 cm] lengths to fold between half to 2 inches [5 cm] of fabric and bias constraints). This is to create a loop for later hanging the potholder.
- After this, overlap about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) of bias bindings, backstitch, and cut off the excess fabric.
- Turn the square over and refold the bias binding around the original edge to make sure you cover the visible stitch trace. Use a straight or zigzag stitch (picture C) to pin and secure around the bias binding, and then reverse stitch when you reach the finish line.
DIY Circle Potholder with Pocket
Materials & Tools
- Compass to create a 9-inch (23 cm) circle
- 1 fat quarter of cotton twill fabric
- 9-inch (23 cm) square of fusible cotton quilt batting
- 9-inch (23 cm) square of Insul-Bright
- 5 inches (13 cm) of ribbon
- Basting spray
- Basic sewing kit
- ½-inch (30.5 cm) wide masking tape
- Thread that matches the dominant color of your fabric
- 1 yard of coordinating ½-inch (1.3 cm) or 1-inch (2.5 cm) double-fold bias binding
- Thread that matches your binding
Note: A 54-inch (137 cm) wide yard yields two round pocket potholders—just double the other materials.
Steps:
- Use the compass to draw a 9-inch (23 cm) circle on the paper. Cut it off.
- Use this pattern to crop out three 9-inch (23 cm) fabric circles. If you have more than a fat quarter on hand, try contrasting the opposite side of the pocket (a circle) or the insulating potholder.
- Cut 9 inches (23 cm) of fusible batting and 9 inches (23 cm) of Insul-Bright circle. Clip the cotton wool between the wrong sides of a circle of fabric and the circle of Insul-Bright, and press until it sticks. Please note that the batting will not stick to the Insul-Bright, but will stick to your iron or ironing surface. Therefore, the use of Insul-Bright as a barrier.
- Remove the Insul-Bright, spray basting adhesive to the cotton wool, and then put the Insul-Bright back on top. Spray the wrong surface of the second fabric with a spray binder, and then place it face up on the Insul-Bright. Smooth it with your hands until everything sticks together.
- Quilt as described, or leave unquilted.
- Sew the back side of the bias binding around the circle in the same way described previously for the square potholder. Tuck a loop of ribbons into the position where you want the insulation potholder to hang.
- Fold your circle pattern in half and use it to cut out the half-lap batting. Fold up the outside of the right side, fold the pocket cloth in half, then tuck the cotton wool into it, just like a taco. Press. Sew a 8-inch (20 cm) long bias binding (photo A) along the straight edge of the folding pocket.
- Flip the item over to align the raw edge of the pocket with the circle’s raw edge that is directly opposite to the ribbon loop. Re-fold the bias binding around the raw edge, including pockets and pins. Topstitch around the entire circle and be very careful that when you stitch around them, make sure the side of the pocket does not slip out (photo B).