I do the silver fabric and then W & N. It works great.

Insulbright has 2 sides, one that reflects the heat, and one that absorbs the heat. You would use one side for cold items and the other side for hot items. Don't ask me which side is which, I think it tells in the instructions. I solved it by using 2 layers, or as others have said, add warm and natural. Just make sure you are using cotton batting, not synthetic.

JoAnn's sells the silver fabric off the bolt, too. Works great, no bulk. It's actually ironing board cover fabric, 44" wide.

Just checked my Insul-Bright wrapper. Here is what it says : Insul-Bright is the ideal insulated lining for many projects. It consists of hollow, polyester fibers neddlepunched through Mylar. The hollow fibers resist conduction while the reflective Mylar resists radiant energy. The energy, hot or cold, is reflected back to its source. In other words, you would want the shiny mylar side out for hot pads.

The best 'filling' I had for hot pads was table protecting padding - after I shrunk it (which I think shrank about 30 (yes 30) percent.

It was nice and thick - and only one layer of 'middle' to deal with.

Another great 'filling' was wool knit sweaters that had been 'felted' - whether intentionally or accidentally.

I have always made hot pads out of scraps and use old towels or 3 layers of batting and so far have had no problems. I have never tried insulbright.

Is that the same silver cover used on ironing boards?

The older ironing board covers used it, now the cover are mostly pretty print cotton.

I just use 2 layers of the insulbrite. Never had a problem!