Potholders with a Punch 101 {The Layered Effect}

Sometimes I just love my fabrics too much to part with the scraps so I have to make something out of them, sad, I know. Its a fettish and some day it will be my undoing, I tell ya!  So today, let's indulge my fettish and make some potholders with these great Kumari Garden scraps.  These are left overs from the rag quilts I make.  The blocks are 9"x9" so these scraps are the perfect size! I like to call this one, "The Layered Effect". Go gather your scraps, some heat resistant quilted backing and your scissors and pins and lets get started.  

Start by layering your fabrics vertically.  These are a double thickness so this is two layers of fabric for each fabric swatch you see.  Line these up so you have a pretty layout. Pin the layers in place.

Zig zag the over lapping edges, removing the pins as you go.  Whenever I decide I don't need to remove pins while zig zagging, I inevitably break my needle so I'll warn you now so you can avoid it.  :)  Trim the edges so you have a square.  I like to make mine 9"x9" but you can do 8"x8" or 10"x10" too.  Now your front is done. Cut a 9"x9" block out of the quilted heat resistant fabric for the back.

Lay the front on the back, right sides together.  Pin around the outside edges leaving a hole to turn the potholder inside out.  Back tack when you start and stop.  When finished, clip the corner at a diagonal to remove the bulk.

Turn right side out and top stitch around the edge.  You will stitch the hole shut that you used to turn it right side out when you do this top stitching.

Now go make a couple more so you've got a matched set and your scrap pile is a tad bit smaller.  Cheers!

Potholders with a Punch 101 {Bermuda Triangle Potholder Tutorial #1}

So in February I did my fabric destash and studio clean up.  It felt sooooo good!  I cleared new space in my studio, donated some fabric to worthy causes (for me this is school, daycare, church or my nieces) and did a little organizing and catch up on projects.  It always feels good to do some spring cleaning and I've made leaps and bounds in the last 30 days.  This month I get to share some of my projects I made with my stash.  So, strap on your flip flops (its 80 degrees here so flip flops are NOT optional) cause fabric is about to start flying!

The first potholder I'm going to show you is the Bermuda Triangle.  This style shows off up to 4 fun prints.  Go gather your scraps, some heat resistant quilted backing and your scissors and pins for this project.

Start with cutting 4 squares all the same size of your front fabric and cut one square in the same size of the heat resistant quilted fabric for the backing.  The block can range in size from 8-10" square. I made mine 9" square.  

Fold the front fabric square into a diagonal, matching corners and press well. Repeat this with each front square.

Layer pressed triangles on top of each other into square.  When you are finished it should look like this.

Put heat resistant quilted backing on top of this square with pretty sides together and pin. If you want to add a tab to hang the potholder, pin this in one corner before stitching the front to the back.  Leave an opening so you can turn this right side out.  Stitch with 1/4" seams, back tacking at the beginning and end.  Don't forget to leave the hole!

Clip corners at an angle to remove bulk, be careful not to cut into the seam. Turn right side out. Top stitch outside edge, sewing opening shut where you turned it right side out.  I also top stitched around edges of triangles in the center for extra durability.

All done and ready to use or give as a gift.  Hope you enjoyed this quick little tutorial and you pack your potholders with a punch!