Hot Pad Tutorial

Hey everyone! I'm teaching a little demo at the Payson Quilt Show this Saturday at 10:00. It's all about Hand Quilting -- good, old-fashioned hand quilting and binding, and modern big-stitch quilting and binding. I am equal parts nervous and excited -- I hope I tip it over more on the excited side soon!

One of the things I'm planning to show is this CUTE hot pad I made this week. I've actually needed a buffer in between my Pyrex pans for quilt a while now. Every time they clink together, I get nervous that I'm going to make some sort of a crack and the next time I make a delicious dinner, it will explode and splatter all over the oven! And lest you think I'm being overly dramatic -- that actually happened once! *insert crying face here* In fact, to add insult to injury, I was feeding ALL my in-laws and it was just a huge mess and we had to break the news 5 minutes before dinner was supposed to be on the table. So sad!

So, to prevent that again, I really wanted to put a hot pad in between each pan. I have three different sizes -- the biggest is about 10x15, the middle size is 9x13, and the smallest is 8x8. Those sides taper in though, so I actually needed a set of hot pads that would end up 9x14, 8x12, and 7x7. I will use them mostly as buffers in between pans, but I realized the other day that they are ALSO the perfect size for a hot pad under the pan! Haha the original purpose is now the new purpose. :)

Since almost everyone has a 9x13 pan, I will post the tutorial for that size. I think it's the cutest one of them all anyway!

Cutting:

center (pink): 

   (1) 5" square

inner border (yellow):

   (2) 1 3/4" x 5"

   (2) 1 3/4" x 7 1/2"

middle border (green):

   (2) 1 1/2" x 7 1/2"

   (1) 1 1/2" x 9 1/2"

   (1) 1 3/4" x 9 1/2"

outsides (orange):

   (1) 2 1/2" x 9 1/2"

   (1) 3" x 9 1/2"

binding: 

   (1) 1 1/2" x WOF strip of fabric

Instructions:

1. Sew one inner border (yellow) 1 3/4" x 5" strip to each side of the center (pink) square.

2. Sew one inner border (yellow) 1 3/4" x 7 1/2" strip to the top and bottom of the pieced unit.

3. Sew one middle border (green) 1 1/2" x 7 1/2" strip to each side of the pieced unit.

4. Sew the middle border (green) 1 3/4" x 9 1/2" to the top of the pieced unit. Sew the middle border (green) 1 1/2" x 9 1/2" to the bottom of the center unit. (Note: The width of these pieces will not match up with the outer sides of the middle border. Just center these pieces when you sew them.)

5. Sew the outside (orange) 2 1/2" x 9 1/2" to the top of the pieced unit. Sew the outside (orange) 3" x 9 1/2" to the bottom of the pieced unit. 

6. Quilt as desired -- I loved hand quilting the center and inner borders, but for stability I machine quilted on both sides of all the other seams. I also used two or three layers of batting -- I have used Insulbright in hot pads before too.

7. After quilting, cut down to 8 1/4" x 12 1/2" -- this is cut a little bigger than usual, to allow for shrinkage. 

8. Single-fold binding -- *note: Please feel free to look on youtube for any tutorial that makes this easier! This is what worked for me, but I didn't take any pictures of my process.

Lay the binding strip right sides together with the top of the hot pad (do not fold!). Attach it with a 1/4" seam allowance all around, as you usually do with binding. (I usually do a straight seam instead of a diagonal one.) After you finish sewing down the top of the binding, press it towards the outsides of the hot pad. The corners will be a little tricky, just press to the edge of the seam allowance. Turn the hot pad to the back, and then fold the binding to the edge of the hot pad, and press along the fold. Fold the doubled binding edge over the seam from attaching the binding. Sew along the seam on the front side, catching the back of the binding all around.

And now you're done! Have fun using it in between your Pyrex pans, or under them!