Homemade Pot Holders: A Quick and Easy, Heartfelt Gift Idea

When you are looking for quick and easy but heartfelt gift ideas, homemade pot holders are a great option!

You can customize the colors and pattern to your recipients’ kitchen décor. 

Or, do what I did and pick a fun novelty print that will make your recipient smile.

Supplies Needed

For one pot holder you will need 1/3 yard of fabric and 1/3 yard of insul-brite plus thread and pins.

Insul-brite has metallic flecks that help redirect heat which makes it great for things like trivets or pot holders. 

However, because of the metallic flecks, insul-brite CANNOT go in the microwave which makes it impractical for items like bowl cozies.

Homemade Pot Holders – Making the Interior

Cut the 1/3 yard of insul-brite into four squares 10” each. 

Layer two squares together, both metallic side up.

Repeat with the other two squares.

Pin the layers together if desired.  I think it helps keep things smooth, but it’s not necessary if you don’t want to.

Sew ¼” seam allowance around all four sides.

Place the two pairs of squares together, non-metallic sides together.  This will make the homemade pot holders double sided so you won’t need to worry about which side to use when using.

Here is another view that shows the layers better.

Quilting the Potholders

Cut two 10” squares from the fabric and place on either side of the inner insul-brite squares. 

Right sides should be facing out, and if your pattern is directional, make sure the pattern is facing the same direction on both sides.

Pin in several places so that nothing shifts while quilting.

Quilt as desired.  I used my recent quilting lines marking trick and sewed straight vertical lines.

Homemade Quilted Pot Holders

Use the remainder of the 1/3 yard of fabric (or a coordinating print if desired) to make and attach binding according to your favorite binding method.  Here’s my binding tutorial.

And that is a ready to gift homemade pot holder that can also be used as a trivet!

I didn’t take any in-use shots because I didn’t want to risk getting it dirty before gifting this last Christmas, but at 10” they are large enough for just about anything you might need to use a hot pad for.