 |
| Christmas Hot Pads/Pot Holders |
In between making tea cup candles with my daughter, I've been making some hot pads/pot holders to give as Christmas gifts! On Sunday, I pulled out all the Christmas fabric I had in The Stash. I had thought of making a really simple table runner (or two) to give as gifts. But, I was distracted by a gallon sized bag of bits and pieces leftover from previous projects and thought I should try to use up some of those, first. I thought I'll make hot pads. They could be used as pot holders, too, but, I didn't have the special heat resistant batting that is recommended for pot holders. Then, again, the pot holders I've bought from the dollar store usually don't have them, either!
Anyway, I spent Sunday afternoon playing with fabric, sorting out the fabric, and deciding I will make hot pads based on the Log Cabin pattern. A "scrappy" log cabin, because I was using the fabric I had on hand, without sorting them out by color, etc. I decided to use fabric strips that were 2 inches wide, which, when sewn with 1/4 inch (approximately; I'm hopeless at keeping my seams even) would end up being 1 1/2 inches wide.
Some people pre-cut their fabric into strips of different widths and sort them in containers by width before storing them. I don't. Which meant I had to spend some time measuring and cutting and ironing because everything had been crammed into the gallon sized bag for storage!
By Monday evening, I had finished sewing the tops of five scrappy log cabin hot pads:
 |
| One of the pieced tops |
I decided that the hot pad would look better if the very last round of strips would be the same fabric and cut the strips from a larger piece of leftover fabric, for all the hot pads.
I also cut out the batting and the backing fabrics; four of the hot pads have this fabric for the back:
 |
| Backing Fabric (Leftover from a dress my mother made for my daughter) |
I ran short of that fabric for the fifth hot pad and cut out a different piece of fabric to back that. It doesn't matter because I will be giving the hot pads to different people.
Today, Tuesday, I put the hot pads together, first cutting a short strip of fabric and sewing it to make a loop:
 |
| Fabric Loop |
Then, placing it on the right side of the pieced top of the hot pad, so that the loop points inside and the ends of the loop are along the outside edge of the pieced top:
 |
| Loop Attached to the Corner |
I decided to attach the loop to the corner, but, it can be attached to the middle of the top edge, as well.
Then, lay the backing piece on top of the pieced top, so that right sides of the fabrics are together and the wrong side of the backing piece faces up:
 |
| The backing piece placed on top, with right sides of fabric together |
Next, place the piece of quilt batting over the backing fabric:
 |
| Quilt batting placed over the backing fabric |
And pin all the layers together, leaving a gap of about 3 or 4 inches on one side:
 |
| All the layers pinned together, with a gap along one side |
The finished hot pad measures about 8 inches square.
I am rather pleased with how they turned out. I had fun sewing them and since I used supplies I had on hand, all they cost me was time and some electricity to run the sewing machine. I consider them to be frugal gifts. I am thinking of pairing a hot pad with a solid colored kitchen towel to give as a token gift with perhaps a jar of my homemade jam to some of the people on my gift list. What do you think?
By the way, the gallon size bag is still quite full of scraps!
Today, I am grateful for:
- The Fabric Stash!
- A working sewing machine
- Time to sew
- Frugal gifts
- Leftovers for meals
Today's joyful activity was sewing Christmas gifts.
Do you make handmade gifts to give at Christmas and other holidays?
I think your hotpads are really lovely & what a wonderful gift with the towel & jam. I do make a few gifts but not many as we don't exchange gifts with most, this year it will only be 3-4.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Lou. I enjoy making gifts and every year, I tell myself, I will start earlier in the year, but, of course, never do! I have managed to bring my gift list down to about 30-35 people, now that I no longer give to colleagues at work, etc. :)
DeleteI agree. They turned out great. Anyone would be happy to get them, especially with some of your homemade jam. I try to make some of my gifts, but don't always have a good idea to match my skills. Luckily, I can enlist my husband to help sometimes.
ReplyDeleteThank you, June. I'm thinking I might have to make another batch of jam with some of the frozen peaches to have enough to give, this year! Your husband makes some lovely things; I'm glad you are able to enlist his help with making gifts to give. :)
DeleteA hot pad, a kitchen towel and a jar of homemade jam sounds like the perfect gift. I can't sew although I used to knit and crochet but never made handmade gifts to give at Christmastime but it's a lovely thing to be able to do,
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; it's the sort of gift that I like to receive. :) I try to give useful and/or consumable gifts and homemade rather than purchased. Do you still knit and crochet? I prefer to knit than crochet, my mother preferred crocheting to knitting and so does my daughter!
DeleteThose turned out very cute and I know will be appreciated by anyone that receives one!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diana. :) I'm quite pleased with how they turned out!
DeleteWonderful hot pads! They will certainly make lovely gifts with a plain towel and some of your delicious jam.
ReplyDeleteI don't make a lot of gifts. but I am currently knitting a multicoloured scarf for a friend and I know it will go with one of her warm jackets at least.
Thank you, Bushlady. :)
DeleteThe scarf you are knitting for your friend will be a much appreciated gift, I'm sure. Not only will it keep her warm, it will be like a hug from you every time she wears it. :)
They look lovely. And what a useful gift. X
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. Everyone can do with an extra hot pad/pot holder, right?
DeleteThose are wonderful gifts! How sweet of you. I love the Christmas fabric.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. It's a good way to use some of the small pieces of fabric leftover from other projects, isn't it? :)
DeleteI think a towel and a jar of jam is perfect for one of your hot pads. I have found the gifts I remember the most are the homemade gifts such as those. That someone took the time to put together a homemade gift is always remembered more don't you think? At least for me. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your daughter. Denise
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise; I appreciate handmade gifts, but, not everyone in my family likes them as much! But, I am not willing to spend the kind of money it will take to buy them the type of gifts they like, so I go ahead and give them homemade "token" gifts. They are free to keep them, pass them along to someone else, or whatever. It's the thought that counts, I always say! :D
DeleteHappy Thanksgiving to you, too, Denise, and your family.
How lovely! Those make really nice gifts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. I love it when I can make something with what I have on hand. :)
DeleteThank you for taking the time to give us your instructions for making the hotbed. Including pictures!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice gift you made, Bless. I think anyone receiving this combination gift would be very pleased. I know I would!
You've got a nice supply of handmade holiday gifts.
You're welcome, Debra. I'm sure there are plenty of how-to instructions and videos online, too. :)
DeleteThank you. I hope the gifts I make will be well received. I want to make a few more gifts if time permits. If not, I'll have to figure out something else! :)