Potholders
07-28-2010, 12:23 PM
#11
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Washington State
Posts: 27
I love making potholders from my scraps. My MIL prefers flannel ones, and they definintely get used. I use 3-4 layers of flannel.
One thing I do is to baste the back and batting together before sewing on the top. That keeps the batting from slipping around and bunching up.
One word of warning: If you combine flannel and quilting cotton in a potholder, it will shrink and warp. This is because flannel shrinks much more than cotton, even after a couple of washings. I have been told that in the "old days" this was sometimes done on purpose.
One thing I do is to baste the back and batting together before sewing on the top. That keeps the batting from slipping around and bunching up.
One word of warning: If you combine flannel and quilting cotton in a potholder, it will shrink and warp. This is because flannel shrinks much more than cotton, even after a couple of washings. I have been told that in the "old days" this was sometimes done on purpose.
07-28-2010, 01:01 PM
#12
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brick, NJ
Posts: 819
Would you give a little crash course in 'turning' the potholders, please?[/quote]
I trimmed the top, backing, one layer of Insulbrite (insulated batting, from Joann's), and one layer of 100% cotton (Warm and Natural) so they were all the same size, say 7" square. Make the sandwich:
insulbrite
cotton batting
backing, right side up
top, wrong side up.
If you want a loop for hanging, make it and insert between the backing and top, at one corner. It will get caught in the edge seam.
Sew around the edges, maybe 1/4" seams (or a little bigger), leaving about 4" open so you can turn it. I went a tiny bit diagonal across the corners, which worked out well (and it made the loop very tidy).
Trim the seams to 1/4" if needed. Turn right side out, hand sew the opening, and then do some quilting/top stitching as desired. I top-stitched about 1/2" from the edge, but you might do as little as 1/8".
I trimmed the top, backing, one layer of Insulbrite (insulated batting, from Joann's), and one layer of 100% cotton (Warm and Natural) so they were all the same size, say 7" square. Make the sandwich:
insulbrite
cotton batting
backing, right side up
top, wrong side up.
If you want a loop for hanging, make it and insert between the backing and top, at one corner. It will get caught in the edge seam.
Sew around the edges, maybe 1/4" seams (or a little bigger), leaving about 4" open so you can turn it. I went a tiny bit diagonal across the corners, which worked out well (and it made the loop very tidy).
Trim the seams to 1/4" if needed. Turn right side out, hand sew the opening, and then do some quilting/top stitching as desired. I top-stitched about 1/2" from the edge, but you might do as little as 1/8".
07-28-2010, 01:31 PM
#15
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,520
Originally Posted by Linda B
Question to you and others making potholders -- They are so lovely, but do you actually use them? I really need some new potholders, but if they looked as nice as yours, I wonder if I'd use them or be afraid of getting them dirty!!!
I did have one potholder i liked so much that i hung it on my sewing room wall for awhile first, before I used it and got it dirty, but eventually I wanted the pretty in my kitchen and not on the wall, so I'm using it now.
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