Pretty Little Pot Holders

Hi guys!  One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how long I am willing to live with things that I hate in my home.  Some things are too expensive to tackle right now, so I have had to make peace with those for the time being.  I'm talking about the little things, though, like hot pads. They are not super expensive to replace.  Nor are they hard to make, and yet I have continued to use the same old, stained hot pads that I have used for the past . . . LOT of years.  The ones that don't match my current decor {not sure if they ever did match any decor, ever}, have burn marks from that time I got a little too close to the heating element, and are starting to unravel in one corner.  Sure, we've had a lot of dinner making, treat baking adventures together, those hot pads and I, but I'm not emotionally attached to them.  It was time for them to hit the road!  Then I found the perfect fabric the other day -- it had all the colors I want to bring into the room in a pretty floral pattern -- and it gave me the push I needed.  To make new pot holders.  Yes, this is my life . . .

You will need:

• Pretty Little Pot Holder pattern {available to purchase and download on Craftsy for $1.00}
• 1/4 yard of durable cotton home decor fabric
• 1/4 yard of Insul-Bright insulated batting
• 1 package of coordinating 1/2" double fold bias tape
• coordinating thread

Wash, dry and iron all your fabric before cutting to  preshrink it.  Cut out pattern pieces according to pattern directions.

Step 1:  Cut 1 piece of batting in half along center line.  Fold one piece of fabric in half, right sides out, and press.  Insert 1 of your cut batting pieces in between the folded layers of fabric.

Step 2:  Top stitch along folded edge to hold batting in place.  Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the remaining half-piece of batting.

Step 3: Sandwich the remaining whole batting piece in between the two remaining fabric pieces, making sure fabric is right side out on both sides.  Then place the two half pieces on top, with straight edges touching in the center {as shown below}.  Place a few pins around the edges to hold it all in place.

Step 4:  Unfold bias tape and, beginning on one of the straight edges, pin in place, folding edge back about 1/2" {as shown below}.

Step 5:  Continue pinning bias tape all the way around outside edge, overlapping the ends by about 1/2".  Cut off excess bias tape.

Step 6:  Sew around the edge, following the first fold line of the bias tape.  Your stitching should be about 1/2" away from the edge of the pot holder.  Trim seam allowances to 1/4".

Step 7:  Flip the pot holder over and fold the bias tape toward the front side.  Pin it in place all the way around.  You may need to fold and tuck the edges a little around the curves.

Step 8:  Sew the bias tape down on the front side, stitching close to the edge of the tape all the way around.  Press everything well and you're finished!

To use the pot holder, fold in half and insert your thumb and fingers into the "pockets", similar to using a sock puppet.

If you look closely, you can see that my stitching is not perfectly straight all the way around, but it still makes a much prettier pot holder than what I have been using!!  You'll also notice that instead of using plain bias tape that you will find in stores, I created my own using a coordinating fabric.  It's really easy to do and gives a super-custom look.  I'll be sharing a tutorial for that soon.  Now my kitchen is all ready for the holiday baking that is coming in the next few months and I couldn't be more excited.

Have a great day, friends!

Amy