Polkadot Potholder

Here is the second portion of the Polkadots, Pompoms and Potholder post. Whew. That’s a lot of “p”s. If you like to see the tutorial for the Apron, click here.

So on to the potholder tutorial. Sorry about the lack of photos in these steps. I finished this up last night and totally forgot about taking pictures as I went. (Still getting this whole tutorial thing down. :)

Cut out of your base fabric 2 rectangles 8 1/2″ x 7″. I rounded the edges of the rectangles.
Cut the same size rectangle out of batting. There are lots of things you can use for batting. You can use multiple layers of cotton batting (You don’t want to use polyester batting. Heat will melt it) You can use layers of sweatshirt fleece, or batting from an ironing board cover. I wanted this little potholder for holding on to the handles of pans on the stove, so it didn’t need to be very thick. I used a single layer of cotton batting.
Cut out 4 pieces for your scalloped ends 3 1/2″ x 7″. Cut two pieces of your batting fabric this size also.
Decide how you’d like to bind your potholder. I used binding that I made, but you could also use store bought bias tape. If you are making your own, cut out a strip 2″ by 30″. You can piece this together if you need to. The binding needs to be cut out diagonal to the selvage.

Sewing:

Layer your base fabrics together right sides out, with the batting between. To quilt these together, I sewed diagonal lines down the rectangle an inch apart. You could quilt it any way you liked, you just want to keep the layers together. Sew around the outside of the rectangle, 1/4″ from the edge.  Set this part aside.

Make both scallop ends the same. Trace your scallop edge onto one side of the rectangles and cut out. I did this freehand, but I think it would look better if you used a little spool of thread or something similar to trace for your scallops. Use this edge as a pattern for all the end and batting pieces. So you’ll cut a scalloped edge onto one long side of the 4 fabric rectangles and one long side of the 2 batting rectangles.

To sew them together, place 2 end pieces right sides together and place a batting piece on top of that. Sew all three layers together along the scalloped edge only. Clip this seam well and turn right side out. Press the seam. Repeat for the other side.

Place a scalloped end on each end of the potholder. Stitch these on with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Trim all the way around the potholder close to the stitching.

Now prepare your bias tape. If you are using store-bought, you can skip this step. (Obviously ;)
If you’ve had to piece together your bias tape, sew the pieces together. This works better if you sew it in a diagonal seam. 
Next you need to press your sides in on the bias tape. I have a little trick for that.
Cut a piece of parchment paper and fold it into a flattened cone shape. Similar to if you were going to make your own pastry bag. Measure up from the tip and cut off the end so it leaves a 1″ hole. This is the size your bias tape will be when you fold and press each side in 1/2″.
Feed your bias tape through the hole, folding in the sides as they go through. This will hold the sides in and allow you to press them down without steaming your fingers. Ouch.

Once you’ve pressed the sides in 1/2″ all the way down, fold together the bias tape in half, wrong sides together, and press.

Pin your bias tape on the potholder, easing around the corners. If this is your first time applying bias tape, I would recommend basting it on, then stitching it on. You’ll stitch about 1/4″ from the folded edge. When you get close to the starting point, fold over (and trim if you need to) the end of the tape and sew to the end, then sew down the folded end.

Ta da! You know have a finished scalloped potholder and a snazzy matching apron. Go you! I’d love to see them if you give them a try and as always, please feel free to send me an email if you get stuck or something is confusing. Or if you just want to say hi. :)

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