How to Make Pot Holders

Pot holders are handy tools that help prevent you from being burned from a hot pot, pan or casserole dish. Making your own is simple and fun. You can customize them to match your decor, for upcoming holidays or personalize them with names or initials. Pot holders also make a great gift for anyone special in your life that likes to cook.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Old blanket, towel or rags
• 1/4-inch binding tape
• Sewing machine
• Cotton thread

Instructions

1. Choose your fabric. Select something that is thick and sturdy but isn't abrasive or will bother your skin. Avoid anything metallic that would conduct heat, so no shiny gloss coats, sparkles or dangling strings. Cut two pieces of this fabric into 8-inch-by-8-inch squares.

2. Find an old blanket, towel or rag and cut out a layer or two of it in the same size (8-inch-by-8-inch). Lay one piece of your chosen fabric wrong side up. Place the "filler" (rag, blanket, towel) on top. Use as many layers of fillers as you see fit. This determines the thickness of your pot holder. Lay the second piece of your chosen fabric on top of the filler, right side up. Check the edges to make sure everything lines up properly.

3. Thread your sewing machine with a cotton thread spool in a color that coordinates with your chosen pot holder fabric. Sew along the four edges of fabric using a simple stitch. Trim away any excess outside of the seam lines. Quilt the pot holder by stitching across the fabric in rows or in a criss-cross fashion.

4. Tear off a length's worth of 1/4-inch binding tape. Fold the binding tape over the edge of the potholder and press down to secure. Repeat on all sides. Sew a simple stitch again along the edge of the binding tape, making sure to go all the way around.

Tips & Warnings

• Make them to coordinate with holidays or your kitchen decor

• Don't make them too thin or it will defeat their purpose.