A Kitchen Project



Turn a pile of fabric scraps into a pot holder in under 1 hour.  I used the leftover binding pieces from my last two projects. This project is perfect if you have lots of fabric scraps and only a little time to indulge in some sewing. Also it’s a good project for the new quilter because it allows you to practice sewing a ¼ in seam allowance, make a quilt sandwich and finish with binding your piece.

Finished Potholder

 

Pot hold size 8 x 8 inch (20 X20 cm)

Materials

Fabric scraps in 3 different fabrics

Backing fabric 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches

Binding fabric 2 1/4 inches x fabric width

Batting (Insul – bright) 8 ½ x 8 ½ inches

Matching thread

Walking foot (optional)

 

Seam allowance ¼’’

 Instructions

1 Cut fabric as follows

One 1 ½ x 4 ½ ‘’strip for hanging loop

The following strips are 2 ¼’’ wide

Fabric A one 2 ¼’’’square

Fabric B one 2 ¼’’ square, one 4’’ strip, one 6 ¼’’ strip and one 8’’ strip

Fabric C one 4 ¼’’ strip and one 6’’ strip

number sequence

 

 

 

2 To make the pot holder top. Pin and stitch the two squares right sides together on one side. Open seam and press. Next sew the 4’’ strip to the left side of the two squares. Follow this by pinning and sewing the 4 ¼’’ strip to the top of your sewn piece. Continue stitching the fabric strips using the number sequence as shown in the photograph. Each new strip sewn will be longer than the last piece.

3 Make a quilt sandwich as follows – backing square right side down on work surface, insul-bright batting in the middle and patchwork square right side up. Pin to hold the layers together.

 

Quilt sandwich

 

4 Quilt the sandwich. I chose to quilt on the diagonal beginning in the centre of my pot holder. First I used a fabric marker to draw diagonal lines 1’’ apart on my potholder top. Using my walking foot I stitched on the drawn lines. (A walking foot will minimize slipping of fabric and wrinkles. A regular presser foot can be used if you don’t have a walking foot)

5 Trim the quilted potholder to 8 x 8 inches

 

 

6 To make the hanging loop. Fold the 1 ½ x 4 ½’’ strip lengthways wrong sides together and press. Open and press the raw edges so they meet in the centre. Fold the strip in half lengthways again, topstitch down both sides. Fold the strip in half so the raw ends meet. Pin the loop to the back of the potholder on one edge 1’’ in from the corner, align raw edges. Baste into place.

7 Press binding strip in half lengthwise wrong sides together. Open binding fold one short edge ½’’ towards the wrong side. Press. This is the start of your binding.

8 Place binding with folded short edge along one raw edge of the pot holder front (somewhere in the middle of the edge). Align raw edges, for the first 2 inches only stitch through one layer of binding. Sew using a ¼ inch seam allowance.

9 At each corner stop sewing ¼’’ before the edge sew off the corner of the project at a 45 degree angle. Remove potholder from sewing machine.



 

10 Fold binding upward at a 45 degree angle. Hold the fold with your finger and fold binding back down along next edge. Continue sewing. Repeat at each corner.

 

11 When you reach the start trim binding 2’’ longer than you need. Tuck the excess between the start binding and stitch through all layers.

 

 

12 Press binding away from potholder front. Fold binding around to the back side of the potholder. Stitch binding to the back. I used a ladder stitch.