How to Make a Pot Holder

I have to admit – writing a tutorial on how to make one of our best selling products is a bit counter-intuitive. But people often wonder how we do the things we do and it would be interesting for some of our customers to know just how much work is involved in one pot holder. (Not that we make just one at a time… we are running a mini factory here so hundreds are made during production.)

First, decide what prints you are going to use. A beautiful combination of fabrics is better than just using the same fabric on both sides – it makes for a much more interesting pot holder.

(These are hundreds of future pot holders matched and ready to be sewn)

(A pile of hang tabs waiting to be used)

Decide which is going to be the front and the back and pin the label on the back of every pot holder. Stitch in place.

(To save thread and time we don't cut the thread in between each label. Instead they stay connected in one long chain)

(Cutting the tabs the right length)

With the label on, it is now time to assemble your pot holder. Put the layers down in this order: Insul-Bright*, cotton batting, front of pot holder (fashion fabric side up), tab placed at a diagonal in the upper left hand corner, and finally the back  with the fabrics right side together.

*That is the stuff that makes our pot holders so wonderfully heat resistant but still thin enough to grip things. It is a brand name made by The Warm Company. 

(Piles of inserts: Insul-Bright on the left and cotton batting on the right)

(The white fabric is the pot holder front - you can see where we pinned the tab)

Pin this together through all layers making sure to keep it square. 

(Pinned and ready to sew)

Stitch around the square making sure to leave a decent sized space for you to turn it right side out, but remember you will have to hand sew this so not too big! When stitching make sure you keep the pot holder square and the stitching lines straight. Trust me – you will notice once you are finished if it is skewed at all.

Next, trim off the corners.

Turn right side out through the hole you left and then gently poke out the corners with a point turner. This will give your pot holders a more professional look but be careful not to poke through the fabric. Press your pot holder flat.

Lastly you want to hand sew the last bit of edge closed and then free-motion quilt the top of the pot holder to keep it looking nice for years to come. When quilting I let the pattern on the front determine what I do. If it is a basic pattern I might do a simple amoeba type shape, if there is a main graphic I might outline the image so it stands out, etc. Play around and have fun with it – this is your work of art.

(A close up of the quilting on top)

 And voila – you have a ready to use, highly functional gorgeous pot holder!

And…At this time I want to thank my mother-in-law and my mom for making thousands of these for my business. I wouldn't be where I am today without you two lovely ladies – Thank you!

As a side note my mom insists that this needs to be the unofficial production studio mascot... 

Just imagine this staring at you from the corner while you are sewing alone...at night...

Creepy right?! We need to give him a name - maybe that will make him less scary - any suggestions?