At the thrift store, I found a mattress pad/cover made of cotton. It was quilted, thick and in great shape. I bought this and use it for potholders, hot pads, etc. It was for a full-size bed so it will probably last me forever, LOL. So far, all the potholders I have used it for, the outsides have worn out before the liner did.

The mattress pad are great for all kinds of things. I use them to make cusions for the outdoor furniture and kitchen chairs. Washable and easy to cut / sew. Love "recycling" from the thrift shops! 100% cotton sheets in good condition are great for backings on utility quilts.

I use 1 layer warm and natural and 2 layers insul brite then layer of w/n. Never feel heat.

as you have been told you use Islu batting and it is cheaper at a Hobby Lobby

I, too. learned to make pot holders with all cotton terry cloth towels. 2 layers. I sew the front and back separetly each with their own towel layer. It's easy to quilt them individually and then I sew the whole thing together, tack them if needed and bind the edges. They work great. I especially love the towels that are like velour on one side, but any towel works.

Here's 2 I made recently. The bigger one was a large quilt square I made that I wasn't enamored with, so I just folded the 4 corners into the center, sewed them together (inside out) and turned it right side out. I cut 2 towel layers in the size it became,and put the towels in before I closed up the turning slot. When I sewed around the outside edge it secured the towels. What looks like a rainbow binding was part of the block-I didn't add it later. The yellow X was a border strip around the original block. The whole thing sure made a crazy pattern. :lol: :lol:

I used the insulbrite for 1 layer and W&N for another layer. I'm scared not to use the insulbrite when giving them for gifts.

I agree with her the insul- brite keeps the heat out and i also use the layer of warm and natural the way she said and mine came out nice

I just use several layers of mostly cotton batting (like Warm & Natural) or 2 layers of wool batting. I haven't used Insulbrite because it seems crinkly and makes a lot of noise when I handle it in my LQS. Does it always sound "Crispy"?

I am making pot holder and with insta bright it says it should be sandwiched between cotton batting./ My feeling is I will use 3 layers of cotton batting and NO insta brite.

My WONDERFUL mother-in-law, who inspires me whenever I have project ideas, has provided with me enough Insul-Bright to make several pairs of potholders, the instructions say one layer of insulbright and one layer of W & N, so that's what I'll do. Thanks so much for all the great tips and Ideas! I love you guys!!