If your old pot holders are falling apart, this is an easy way to replace them with something useful, customizable, and sturdy. The important thing is building the right layered interior, which should have heat-resistant batting sandwiched between cotton batting, with cotton fabric on the outside. Whether you call it a “pot holder,” “potholder,” or “hot pad,” it’s all the same thing, and it’s something that everyone can use in the kitchen, so it’s also a good thing to make as a gift.
This project is simple enough for a beginning sewer, it takes about half an hour to make one if you’re moving at an average speed, and it’s also a great scrap-fabric project if you want to make a few potholders for your own kitchen or as practical handmade gifts.
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Materials you’ll need.
You definitely need insulated batting for this! I tried it with three layers of plain cotton batting the first time, and they didn’t resist the heat for very long before I felt it on my hands. The insulated batting definitely makes a difference in protecting your hands.
Having said that, you could do this without the insulation, but the heat resistance isn’t going to be the same, and the potholder isn’t going to protect your hands for much longer than taking things in and out of the over and setting them down on the stove right away. If you want to be able to hold the pans that you’re removing from the oven for longer than about 5 seconds, get the insulted batting.
- Cotton fabric for the front and back
- Heat-resistant insulated batting or interfacing
- Cotton batting
- Fabric scissors or a rotary cutter
- Sewing machine and thread
- Bias tape or fabric strips for binding
- Bias tape maker, optional
- Quilting clips or sewing clips
- Iron, optional
Make the batting layers.
I wanted these to be bigger than the ones I was replacing, so I started with a larger piece of batting, about 10-11″ square. If you don’t want to have to cut off a lot of fabric that you’ll just throw away, make your squares about 1″ larger than the final size of the potholder you’re making so that you won’t be trimming off as much when it’s time to trim it down to size.
Start by making the inside of the potholder. Place one layer of heat-resistant batting between two layers of cotton batting. The heat-resistant layer helps protect your hands from hot pans, and the cotton batting adds thickness and keeps the insulated layer from sitting directly against the heat.
Cut these layers a little larger than your finished potholder size. Starting oversized gives you room to quilt the layers together and trim everything neatly later.
Add the outer fabric.
Cut two pieces of cotton fabric large enough to cover the batting sandwich, one for each side. Layer the fabric on the outside of the batting stack so the potholder has a finished cotton surface on both the front and back. I made mine about 9.5″ square so that I could trim it smaller later.
Choose cotton fabric rather than synthetic fabric, because potholders are exposed to heat. This is also a good place to use scraps or coordinating prints from your fabric stash. I did different fabric designs on the front and back of each one, but you can do this however you want.
Put the fabric on top of the layers and trim around it so that the edges are even.
Flip it over and put the back piece of fabric against the back so that you have all layers ready to sew.
The fabric that I used was from a collection that I designed to use for a quilt that I made (you can see that here.) They all coordinated with each other, but if you want to do different designs to use up random leftover fabric that you have, that’s perfectly fine, too. This can definitely be a stash-buster project, so be creative with it!
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Sew the layers together.
Sew through all the layers to hold everything together. A basic X from corner to corner works well, but you can use any design you like.
The goal is not to create a complicated design, it’s to keep the batting and fabric from shifting while you finish the potholder. I just sewed an X from corner to corner to keep everything in one piece.
Trim the extra.
Once the layers are sewn together, trim the potholder to the final size and shape you want. This project doesn’t need hemming because the raw edges will be covered with bias tape or seam binding.
Use sharp scissors, but avoid using your best pair of fabric scissors because the insulated batting usually contains metallic fibers. Cutting through the thick layers can be hard on scissors, so choose a pair that can handle heavier sewing projects.
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Make (or prepare) the bias tape or seam binding.
Bias tape is cut on the diagonal of the fabric, but you don’t need to do that for this use. Cutting a strip from the edge of the fabric to use is fine, it doesn’t have to be on the bias. You can also use premade bias tape or seam binding if you have some.
To make your own, cut a fabric strip about 2 1/2 inches wide and long enough to go all the way around the potholder. This strip will become the binding that covers the raw edges.
A bias tape maker makes this step easier by folding the fabric strip evenly as you pull it through. You can press the strip with an iron for a cleaner finish, especially if you are making potholders as gifts.
If you are making them for everyday use, you can also skip the ironing and sew the binding directly. I sewed mine on directly because I wasn’t concerned about how pretty these are, I just needed new potholders!
Clip the binding on the edges.
Wrap the bias tape around the edge of the potholder and secure it with sewing clips.
Clips are easier than pins for this project because the layers are thick and can be hard to pin through. If you don’t have the clips, you can use heavy pins or binder clips to hold everything together.
As you work around the corners, don’t pull the binding too tightly. Ease it around the edge and smooth any small crease or fold into place.
If you want a more polished finish, take extra time to make the corner pleats even. I wasn’t concerned about it so I just pressed the folds down around the edge. And yes, I had recently had an incident with a can of tomatoes, so that’s why I had a bandage on my thumb and finger. Just in case you were wondering.
Do you need a loop or not?
Before you finish the binding, decide whether you want a loop for hanging the pot holder.
If you do, leave extra length in the bias tape, fold it into a loop at one corner, and stitch the loop closed securely. Or you can also add a little loop to the corner after you’ve sewn the binding onto the potholder by sewing it in place after it’s done.
If you don’t need a loop, simply fold the end of the binding under so there is no raw edge, overlap it with the beginning of the strip, and clip it in place.
Sew the binding in place.
Take the potholder to the sewing machine and stitch around the inside edge of the bias tape, removing the clips as you go. A straight stitch is all you need.
Try to sew about 1/8 inch from the inner edge of the binding. If you miss one side of the binding in a few spots, go around again with a second row of stitching. A second pass also helps flatten the edges and keep everything secure.
Tips for making the potholder.
- Use thread that matches your fabric if you want crooked stitches to be less noticeable.
- Use contrasting thread if you want decorative stitching to show.
- Iron the bias tape before attaching it if you want a neater final product.
- Practice on scrap layers first if you are new to sewing through thick batting.
- Make the potholders slightly larger than usual if you prefer more hand coverage.
These DIY potholders are quick, practical, and easy to make for people who are learning to sew. The insulated batting and cotton batting layers make them more protective than plain cotton batting by itself, and the bias tape gives the edges a clean, durable finish.
Once you make one, it’s easy to make several more in different fabrics. Keep them in a drawer for everyday cooking, or make a matching set to give as a useful handmade gift.
Watch the video of me making these here:
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