Looking for the Perfect Homemade Gift? This Potholder Tutorial is Quick and Easy!

I really don’t like knick-knacks and other dust collectors. They take up space. They serve no purpose. I make an exception for holiday decorations, but that is about it. I have a tiny house. It’s perfect for me, but my lack of space (and closets!) encourages a minimalist attitude.

I don’t like knick-knacks myself, and I don’t like giving them to others as gifts. I want to give gifts that can be used, and also want to give a homemade gift when possible.

This is where handmade pot holders enter the picture. Pot holders are useful. I use mine (handmade by my mom!) dozens of times a week, and I don’t even make dinner every night.

Pot holders are a quick and easy homemade gift idea. They are especially perfect as a housewarming or hostess gift, but are a fun way to use novelty fabrics as a gift for anyone.

Shhhh… don’t tell them, but my family is definitely getting pot holders in their stockings this year! This stack of fabric is my pot-holders-to-make pile.

I traveled to Iceland a few years ago with a dear friend, and we got lucky enough to see puffins on a cliff side along the north coast. These little birds are adorable! They are also the most ridiculous flyers I’ve ever seen. When they come in for a landing, they are not graceful. They stick their little legs out in front of them, while still flying, and their first landing causes them to bounce forward a little bit.

I happened across this puffin fabric a few years after the trip, and just knew I had to pick some up for her and find a way to use it. I mean, seriously, how cute are these guys?

Materials:

1/3 yard of any 100% cotton fabric

1/3 yard Pellon 975 (or other insul-fleece) It’s like the batting used in quilts, but it is punched onto aluminized polyethylene so it reflects heat (or cold!) back.

Thread

How to Make a Pot Holder

Cut 2 squares of fabric and 4 squares of interfacing, all 11 inches by 11 inches.

Cut three strips of fabric 2½ inches by 20 inches.

This year has been all about saving and using scraps. Save the rest of your puffins!

Layer the 4 squares of interfacing with the metallic side always facing out. That’s the bottom two squares with the metallic side facing down and the top two squares with the metallic side facing up.

Potholder Sandwich

Place one fabric square on top of the interfacing (print side out), flip and place the other fabric square on the other side of the interfacing (also print side out), to create a “sandwich” in which the fabric is the bread and the interfacing is all the yummy sandwich fillings. If your print is directional (has a top and bottom or a left and right) make sure to align the fabric correctly.

This is what a side view of your “sandwich” should look like. 4 Layers of interfacing, all have the metallic side pointed out, and two layers of fabric, right sides on the outside.

Quilted Potholder

Place a couple of straight pins to hold everything in place, and quilt any motif to hold everything in place. I did a simple straight line (well, let’s be honest, it’s a sorta straight line) from corner to corner. Quilt as desired. You can be as simple or detailed as you prefer. This is just to hold all the pieces in place and make the pot holder sturdier.