Ready to start decorating for the Fourth of July? In this blog post I’ll show you how to make this cute DIY pot holder themed for the 4th of July.
The sewing tutorial I did for the Spring pot holder was so popular, that I decided to do another tutorial for some new pot holders. This red, white and blue pot holder would be the most perfect kitchen decorations. Instead of making another round potholder, this pattern is for square pot holders.
They would also make great gifts, and they are so quick and easy to make. Potholders also don’t take much supplies or that much fabric, and are a simple sewing project to make.
Even though this is a Fourth of July pot holder, you could use any of your favorite fabrics to make it. You could use fall fabrics, Christmas fabrics, or any style of pretty cotton fabric to make these easy potholders.
Save this sewing potholder tutorial for later on your Pinterest Here.
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Supplies
The pot holder has a 1/4 inch seam allowance unless noted otherwise.
- 5 – 2″ x 7.5″ fabric rectangles (I used this red fabric, white fabric and blue fabric, but you can use different colors if you prefer.)
- 8.5″ piece of backing fabric.
- 2 – 8.5″ pieces of Insul-Bright batting ( I like using this heat resistant batting, but you could use cotton batting instead.)
- 2″ x 4″ piece of fabric for the hanging loop.
- 2.5″ strip of binding fabric that’s at least 50″ long and remember to cut the binding strip on the bias.
And the fabric I used for the backing, binding and loop is the same red fabric that I used for the front of the potholder. You will also some sewing clips and a few safety pins or basting spray.
Another thing you’ll need is your sewing machine, 1/4″ quilting foot and I like to use a walking foot for my quilting. Here is the 1/4″ quilting foot that I use and the walking foot.
If you’re wondering what sewing machine I am using, I use a Brother ST371HD Sewing Machine. I went ahead and put the link for my sewing machine in this post, so you could see the kind of sewing machine I have.
Go!
The very first step is to cut out your fabric rectangles. I will usually cut out all my materials first thing, the backing, Insul-Bright, binding, loop and of course the front fabric.
Lay out the fabric rectangles in the order you like them. I did white, blue, red, blue and white.
Sew your first two fabric strips together right sides facing. Now, press or finger press the seam. (I press my seams open.)
Sew another fabric rectangle to the two you have just sewn together. (Remember when you’re sewing strips together to start sewing at the opposite end from where you started when sewing the last rectangle on.)
Stitch the rest of the rectangles together making sure to alternate the directions that the seams are sewn. Now, give the quilt block a good press.
Assembling the layers.
Lay the backing fabric right side facing down, two layers of Insul-Bright, and the quilt block facing up together. And pin the layers together, or you spray the layers with quilting basting spray.
Quilt the layers together with whatever quilting design you want. I just did a simple wavy quilting design.
Trim the extra batting and backing, so that the layers are even.
Making the loop.
Take the loop piece of fabric and press the two long edges toward the middle of the fabric like the picture below.
Fold the loop fabric in half lengthwise and press again. Sew the together the long edges of the fabric.
Fold the loop in half and place it about a 1/2″ from one of the corners on the pot holder.. Stitch the loop into place using a 1/8″ seam allowance.
Binding the pot holder.
This is how I did the binding for this Fourth of July pot holder. But, you can do whatever binding method you prefer for this next step.
Take your long strip and press one of the short ends 1/4″ toward the wrong side of the fabric.
Press the whole strip of fabric in half lengthwise, wrong sides facing together.
Lay the raw edges of the fabric binding against the one side of the pot holder with the folded end about 2 inches away from the corner of the potholder.
Start sewing 1 1/2″ away from the folded end of the binding and sew until you are 1/4″ away from the corner.
With the needle down turn your work and sew to the corner of the potholder. Trim the thread.
Fold the binding up, so that it’s away from the quilt, like the picture below shows. And finger press the fold.
Fold the binding back down, so that the top fold is even with edge of the pot holder. And the raw edges are lined up with the side edge of the square pot holder.
Start sewing the binding to this side of the potholder, starting 1/4″ away of the top.
And whenever you come to the loop, just make sure that the folded end of the loop is still against the front of the Fourth of July pot holder.
Continue sewing until you get 1/4″ away from the next corner. Repeat the steps above for this corner and continue repeating until you are at the side you started on.
Trim the binding, so that about 1/2″ fits inside the folded end of the binding.
Finish sewing the binding to the pot holder and secure your stitches.
Fold the folded edge of the binding over the raw edges of the pot holder and clip into place with sewing clips.
Sew the binding all the way around to secure it. Making sure to carefully sew the mitered corner to make it as tidy as possible. I use a zigzag presser foot for this step.
Now you have a finished Fourth of July pot holder with a nice finished edge. And you don’t have to make this simple potholder with 4th of July fabrics. You can use any scrap fabric you have on hand.
You could even buy bias tape that’s already made, but I like to make my own bias tape.
Extra
I like to use 2 layers of Insul-Bright batting in my pot holders. But, you can use 1 layer of Insul-Bright batting if you prefer. Two layers to me add that extra protection, so if you have to walk with a hot pan or hot dishes you won’t burn yourself.
I have also heard that you can use quilt batting for potholders as long as it’s cotton batting. If you use cotton batting you just need to use 3 layers of batting. I’ve even heard about people using old towels as batting.
You could also do straight-line quilting, instead of the wavy quilting I did.
The easy way you can cut your fabric scraps for this free pattern is to use a rotary cutter.
I had so much fun making this tutorial for this little project. I hope that you enjoyed it and use it to make yourself a lot of new potholders. And check back on my blog, because I will be doing more tutorials in the future. Right now I’m thinking about fabric coasters.
