Pot holders for gifts or for yourself are way to personalize a kitchen with fun prints. This is a great fat quarter project. Making a pot holder it a manageable way to practice how to quilt and master binding. Give them away for teachers gifts, Christmas, thank you gifts, or housewarming!
The binding technique I use is clean and all done by machine. Sewing with accuracy is the goal here, perfect 1/2″ seams will give crisp corners and even edges.
Tools needed:
scissors
pins
fabric
marking pen
sewing machine
rotary cutter and mat (optional)
Materials needed:
1/4 yard cotton fabric or 2 fat quarters
1/4 yard of batting 100% cotton if you want to use it in the microwave or insol-brighte which is much more isolating.
1 1/2 yards biased binding
thread
spray baste (optional)
Getting started
1. Layer Fabric and Batting. Wrong sides of fabric should face the batting.
I used spray baste so I didn’t need pins when sewing.
2. Quilt using longer stitch (about a 4 on most machines)
Quilting involves sewing though all layers so the batting does not shift. You can use a walking foot if you have one for your machine.
3. Cut one an 8”x8” square
4. Make the another 5”x8”
5. Lay binding open along the long side of 5”x8” piece on the back and Sew 1/2 “ in along crease .
6. Fold binding to right side, pin in place then top stitch from the front.
7. Pin the pocket to the larger piece in from the edge so the pins don’t interfere with the stitching
8. Pin binding to the back of the pot holder along the single thickness
9. Start sewing 1” down (Indicated by the pin) and sew at 1/2” in stopping 1/2” from the edge
10. Fold the binding so it lays flat across the top with the previous binding piece and lines up with the next side to be sewn. start sewing at the very top
11. Repeat process on all sides. when sewing on the last side, fold binding back on itself and sew top layer of binding directly on top. Trim off leaving overlapped about 1″
12. This is how it will look on the back when done
13. Fold binding to the front
14. Pin in place creating the mitered corner
15. Staring at the join, top stitch around edges
16. When turning the corner lower needle into the work , lift the presser Foot and pivot
17. Finished!
