The other day I needed a quick gift for a friend and decided I’d make a couple of hot pads / pot holders for her. These are a quick project and make a nice gift because you can completely customize the fabrics to fit the chef! (fabric used is Serenata from Riley Blake) Easy Hot Pad Tutorial by Andy Knowlton www.abrightcorner.com Materials Needed (for two hot pads) 1/4 yard each of two complimentary fabrics OR 2 fat quarters 1/6 yard coordinating fabric for binding 1/4 yard Insul-Bright** two 9”x 9” pieces of thin cotton batting **Insul-Bright is a thin batting-like material that has an insulating layer. It is made for items such as this. In the photo you can just barely see the thin insulating layer (where the red arrow is pointing.) The Fabric Mill carries Insul-Bright! Step 1: Cut two 8.5” squares from each coordinating fabric. Then cut (about) 9” squares of the thin cotton batting and the Insul-Bright (you’ll need two of each) The rest of the instructions will be for just one hot pad but your supplies will be enough to make two. Step 2: Layer the fabrics and the batting to create a sandwich: fabric 1 (right side down), Insul-Bright, thin cotton batting, fabric 2 (right side up) Pin layers together in 4 to 6 places to hold together. Step 3: Quilt the layers together. You can do either some straight line quilting, or some free motion quilting. I like the look of the straight line quilting but the fmq goes a bit quicker for me. Once the quilting is done trim the hot pad. Step 4: From the binding fabric cut 1 strip that is 2.5” x width of fabric. Fold it in half and press to make a long strip that is 1.25” wide. (Each binding strip will bind one hot pad) Step 5: Place the binding strip along one side of the hot pad with the folded edge pointing toward the center of the hot pad and the raw edge of the binding strip matching up with the edge of the hot pad. Start sewing (1/4” seam) about 1.5” from the corner of the hot pad. Stop when you get to 1/4” from the edge. Backstitch. Clip threads. Fold the binding strip to the right so that it is perpendicular to where you were just sewing: then fold it back on itself to the left so it lines up with the next edge of the hot pad: Turn the hot pad 90 degrees and begin sewing the next side (1/4” seam.) Start right at the edge and backstitch just a little as you begin: Sew all the way down this side, stopping again 1/4” from the end and repeating the above steps for the corner. Continue all the way around the hot pad: After sewing the final corner, sew down the last side only about 1.5”, then backstitch. Remove hot pad from machine, clip threads. On that last side, you should have about 5 or 6 inches with no binding yet: Next we need to join the two ends of the binding. Lay the binding down and unfold it just a little so you can mark where they meet up. Pin in place Carefully sew across the two binding ends to join them. Trim extra binding off, leaving about 1/4”: Lay binding down on edge of hot pad, finger pressing the seam you just created. Sew in place. Step 6: Beginning in the middle of one side, flip the binding over to the back so that it covers the stitching line. Hold in place with pins or binding clips. Sew on the other side, right in the ditch. This will catch the folded edge of the binding on the opposite side. When you get to the corner, stop about 2” from the corner. Leaving the needle and the presser foot down, fold up the corner so you can see the underside. Fold the binding down as shown: Then fold the other side over as shown to create the corner. Hold in place as you sew to the corner, leave the needle down, pivot and continue sewing down the next edge of the hot pad. Continue sewing around until binding is sewn. Enjoy your hot pads! I LOVE mine. When they need a wash just toss them in with your dish towels.