How to Make and Sew DIY Potholders

If it’s too hot, get out of the kitchen!

Nah, you don’t have to leave the kitchen with this collection of tutorials showing you the best ways for sewing a potholder, trivet, oven mitt and pot handle cover!

You will quickly learn how to make a potholder, along with the items listed above.  Sure, you can purchase a heat-proof item for your kitchen, but why settle for the cheap stuff that allows the heat to pass right through?  

Or worse, why pay the extravagant amount for a professional oven mitt when you can quickly create your own that is equally functional and especially designed to match your kitchen?

Look for the Veggie Potholders Link below

A DIY potholder is a great way to bring your own personal touch to the room that sees the most guests.  You can customize any of the heat-proof projects to match with your own kitchen color and design.

These creative potholder patterns will guide you in sewing a potholder AND they will look good hanging in your kitchen if you choose not to keep your finished work in a drawer.

Trust me on this; once you make your own personalized potholder or oven mitt, you won’t want to hide it in a drawer, ever!!

If you’re looking for the perfect gift, this is it!  Customize them for the recipient, add a few kitchen tools or a gift card, and you are ready when you need a hostess, birthday, or holiday gift!

Grab the right fabric, and your sewn or quilted potholders can be unique to each holiday that you celebrate in your home. 

One of the tutorials below uses Halloween fabric to sew the potholder, and you will see just how adorable these practical items can be.

We’ve gathered the best and most creative potholder patterns for you on this page.  Most are easy enough for a confident beginner and can be sewn up quite quickly, but there are a couple of tutorials that recommend intermediate sewing skills, such as the mini potholder at She Pot the Motion.

Things to Consider When Sewing a Potholder

• FABRIC:  Use only cotton, linen or a canvas material that can be washed. Do not use any synthetic fabrics like polyester which will melt. 
• THERMAL BATTING: Use at least one layer of thermal batting. I prefer a double layer of thermal batting or cotton batting, but it is not necessary.  Regular batting is not the same as thermal batting which is heat resistant.  Look for brands such as Insulbright.
• COTTON BATTING:  Use only 100% cotton batting. Once again, polyester or poly blends will melt. The cotton batting is in addition to the thermal batting.  You cannot use only cotton batting without the thermal batting. 
• BIAS BINDING: Once again, make sure to use only 100% cotton for your bias binding which you will probably need to make.  Most of the packs of binding that you can purchase are made with polyester. However, not all of the potholder patterns on this page require a binding.

Look below to make a cover for your cast iron skillet handle

Look Below for DIY Potholders and More!

Now that you know what you need to sew a potholder, check out the links below.

We have a great collection for your kitchen.  You will find several potholders with pockets to protect your hands, as well as the traditional square potholders.

You can get fancy with the hexagon potholder pattern, and we even have some potholder patterns that will provide you practice with applique. 

My favorite is the double potholder with hand pockets.  I’ve seen these handy potholders used in other kitchens, and I think it would be perfect for me.

In addition to the potholders and oven mitts, you’ll find a cast iron handle cover that will fit your pan handle perfectly, unlike the silicone covers that are sold.

Check out the trivets that can be put to good use and are the cutest you’ll ever have!

Some of the potholder patterns involve paper piecing.  If you have never tried this fun technique, visit our paper piecing page for help getting started!

So scroll down to find the perfect craft for your kitchen and don’t forget the Insulbright!!