Potholder Ideas
Potholders are those useful little kitchen helpers that keep us from burning our fingers when we take hot things out of the oven. Although most kitchens have at least a few potholders, every kitchen could benefit from a few potholders made especially to decorate and add flair to the kitchen.
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Experiment with Fabrics
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Try nonstandard potholder materials like denim, a sturdy fabric. Use the pockets of an old pair of jeans to make a potholder, with the belt loop as the hanging loop.
Alternatively, transfer a photo onto muslin with photo transfer paper and a color printer. Construct a standard square potholder, with the photo as the front of the potholder and a plain piece of muslin for the back. Place batting in the center and sew a seam binding around all four edges. A photo potholder can double as wall decor in the kitchen.
Quilted Potholders
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A quilted potholder can be a perfect way for a beginning quilter to practice new quilting techniques and skills because the project is small and simple. When a quilted potholder is finished, though, it can either be hung on a hook as a country decoration or it can be used proudly as a finished project. Cut out 6-inch squares from two different cotton fabrics and two 6-inch squares of batting. Place one fabric right side down, then the two squares of batting and then the other fabric square with the right side up. Pin all of the layers together securely. Determine what kind of quilting pattern you want to stitch into the potholder. A geometric shape would be an easy shape to quilt. Simply stitch a square outline 1 inch in from the outer borders of the square. Stitch another square 1 inch smaller than the first square. Continue stitching smaller and smaller squares to fill the potholder with stitched squares. Then, sew a seam binding around all four edges to finish the potholder.
Dish Towel Potholder
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Make the prettiest dish towel you can find into a potholder. Lay out the dish towel and carefully trim off all of the hems, making sure they are straight. Place the dish towel on a flat surface so the wrong side is facing up and the long edges are at the top and bottom. Fold the bottom long edge one-third of the way across the dish towel. Fold the top long edge one-third of the way down the dish towel, stopping this fold 1/2 inch away from the bottom edge. Fold in each side edge to meet at the center point of the dish towel. Fold the dish towel in half one more time. You should end up with a potholder-sized square.
To make a hanging loop for the potholder, cut a 5-inch length of 1/2-inch wide ribbon and fold it in half. Place this ribbon at one corner of the folded square, tucking the raw edges of the ribbon within the folds of the dish towel. Pin the ribbon in place. Stitch around the outer perimeter of the square 1/4 inch away from the edges making sure you catch the ribbon in your stitching.
You can now embellish this potholder in a variety of ways. You could applique a picture, stamp a design, add a strip of quilting, or even embroider a design to the front of the potholder.
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