Featured Fabric: Blank Quilting Corp. Diners & Drive-Ins by Jen Bucheli

Pattern by: Lindsay Conner

Sewn by: Lindsay Conner

If it’s too hot to handle, you probably need a cute pot holder! This Simple Quilted Pot Holder is a great beginner-friendly sewing project, and it can be customized to show off fun fabric prints like this retro diner fabric. The secret to this project is using heat-insulated batting on the inside to keep your hands protected from bakeware. Add a quilted oven mitt (I used this free pattern by Made for Mermaids to sew the one pictured) to make a wonderful housewarming gift set!

Technique: Machine sewing, quilting, bias tape binding

Skill Level: Beginner

Finished Size: 8.5” tall x 8.5” wide (21.59m X 21.59m)

Fabric Requirements:

Main fabric: 1/4 yard (.23m)

• 2424-01 White Ice Cream & Diner Motifs

Binding fabric: ½ yard (.46m)

• 2430-99 Black Stars

Insul-Bright® insulated batting: 1 package

Equipment needed:

• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Fabric cutting tools (scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat)
• Sewing clips or pins
• Drinking glass or bowl to trace
• Hand-sewing needle and thread

Make the Pot Holder

1. Cut two 9” fabric squares from the main fabric, plus 2 9” squares from the Insul-Bright®. Stack one fabric square wrong side up, followed by both Insul-Bright® pieces, topped off with the other fabric square right side up. Pin or clip together.

2. Quilt the fabrics together using a grid of straight lines about 1½” apart.

3. Trim the fabric stack to 8½” square.

4. Use a drinking glass or bowl and a rotary cutter to round off three of the corners of the pot holder.

Make the Bias Tape Binding

5. Take the fabric you chose for the binding, and cut it at a 45-degree angle using the marking on your cutting mat as a guide. Once you’ve made a large cut, take one large triangle and cut it into 2½” strips along the diagonal. These fabric strips have a bit of stretch to them and will go smoothly around the curves of your project.

6. Take two strips and rotate them so the diagonal cut ends match when touching end to end.

7. Next, turn the strips right sides together as pictured. The diagonals should be aligned and the corners will overlap by about ¼” on each side. Pin in place.

8. Stitch the strips together where you pinned, backstitching at both ends.

9. Use scissors to carefully trim off the fabric corners, then press the seam open. Continue attaching strips in this way until your strip measures 45”.

10. Press the long strip of bias binding in half, wrong sides together. Then unfold and press both edges in to meet the center fold. The resulting strip will have three pressed lines. Starting at the squared-off corner of the pot holder, pin or clip the binding to the front of the pot holder. (You may have to trim the end straight first.) Continue adding pins or clips to attach the binding all the way around the pot holder, gently stretching the fabric around the curves.

11. Stitch the bias binding to the pot holder along the fold line closest to the edge, removing the pins or clips as you sew.

12. Stop sewing just before reaching the start of the binding strip. You don’t want to overlap the binding tail with the other end just yet.

13. Use scissors to carefully clip into the rounded corners of the pot holder, making sure not to clip into the seam. You can also use pinking shears if you have them to reduce the bulk and make the corners more flexible.

14. Bring the binding around to the other side of the pot holder and clip or pin it in place so the raw edges are fully enclosed.

15. Use a hand-sewing needle to stitch the bias binding to the back side of the pot holder. Make sure to insert the needle into the binding and the inner layers of the pot holder only—not all the way through to the other side.

16. Continue hand-sewing the binding until you reach your starting point. Sandwich the binding strip around the corner to enclose the raw edge.

17. You can continue to hand sew the rest of the binding strip together or switch to a sewing machine. Trim the strip so there is just 9” extending beyond the pot holder. Fold under the raw edge to hide it inside the bias binding, and stitch the length of the strip to enclose the raw edges.

18. Make a hanging loop with the 9” fabric tail, placing the end onto the corner of the pot holder. Clip in place and stitch a square where the strip overlaps itself. Trim the threads.

We hope you enjoyed making this Simple Quilted Pot Holder! The oven mitt is recommended for intermediate sewists because it requires stitching through many bulky layers and attaching binding to a small loop around the wrist. Once you’re ready to tackle a next-level sewing project, you can find the free oven mitt pattern here!

---

Fabric Details:

To view the complete Blank Quilting Corp. Diners & Drive-Ins by Jen Bucheli click here.

To find a retailer near you click here.

---

Learn more about Lindsay here.