Microwave Plate Potholder Tutorial

Are you interested in making some of these:

If so, this is my first tutorial and this is what I made!

I love leftovers because I can just nuke them and have more time for quilting!  But I really hate burning my fingers or my lap (sometimes you just have to sit in the recliner and eat, right?) with a hot plate, so I figured out how to make these plate potholders!

You will need:

Fabric – my Dad’s plates are 10.25” in diameter and I cut the fabric 14” square and you need 2 per potholder

Batting – I used this Wrap and Zap that I bought at Joann’s that I cut 13” square.  You need two of these too!  Until we put them together, you do the same thing to both “sandwiches”!!

Walking foot for your sewing machine – you will be sewing through 2 layers of batting and 4 layers of fabric!

Pins, rulers, turning tool and thread…you know you always need those!!

Something to mark sewing lines on the batting – I used Expo’s Vis-à-Vis Wet Erase that will disappear when I wash the pot holder, but I really don’t care because I use darker fabric (light shows messes too easily) – you just don’t want something that will bleed or show through your fabric.

On my square of batting, I drew a line from corner to corner and then from the center of each side so I had a lovely pinwheel that looked like this:

The cute little triangles are made by measuring in from the side 2” and measuring 1” from that center line…then draw a line to connect the dots.

Place your fabric pretty side down and put a piece of your marked batting on top of it.  I eye-ball placement about ½” from the edge of the fabric when placing the batting down.  I put pins in the large triangles for stability and sew on the long lines from corner to corner and side to side.

(Sorry, I had forgotten to mark where the darts will be made on this – no worries, you can do it after you sew all 4 lines.)  It is easy to chain sew these.

When all four lines are sewn, fold the right sides of the sandwich together on one of your side to side lines – time to make the darts!

I put the pins on the side that will be on top when I put it through my sewing machine so I can easily remove it.

Chain sew those darts, right on the line!  You can come at the dart from either side.  Sometimes it is easier to sew it from the point.  Both ways work!  When all four darts are sewn, it will look like this:

Time to trim off the darts – they would make it much too thick!!

There is about ¼” left on there…perfect!  Time to nest the two sides.  One side has the batting side up, the other side has the pretty side up – nest them together with pretty side to pretty side!

You are going to “nest” the seams from the darts.  I have the top seam facing left, so that when I run it through the sewing machine the seam I can’t see will be facing me and I can make the top seam face away from me.  I pin on the corner lines and on each dart.  I start sewing on one of the dart seams, using the edge of the batting to determine my seam allowance – I shoot for ½”!

Do lock or back stitch there – we will be leaving that half of that side open so we can turn the right side out.  Sew all the way around to the point on the same side you started on, leaving that ½ a side unsewn, do a lock or back stitch there as well.  Take it off your machine, snip those threads and stick your hand in the hole to grab the opposite corner and pull it through the hole.  Grab something you can poke those corners out with.

This great tool was made for me by a quilting friend’s husband in Florida – thank you, Jim!!!

When you have the corners poked out so they are as square as possible, fold the edges of the hole over each side’s batting (you don’t want the batting to be visible) and pin.

Start sewing about ¼” from the edge of the potholder…don’t start in a corner or where there is a seam or you run the risk of a lovely mess of thread on the bobbin side (ask me how I know!).  The corners and where the darts are, well, are thick!

Smooth from where you start to the dart seam, sew to there then turn your potholder so the sewing line to the corner will be straight and smooth that out.  I do a lock stitch at the beginning and end of this sewing line.

I also do a square of sewing in the middle, about 2” from the center.  I don’t measure, I just guess!  I do stay away from the darts.

And you are finished!

This stack is 2 bowl and 2 plate potholders I made.  If you make them, please let me know because I want to see them!!  If I made a mistake or something wasn't clear, please let me know as well!!

Have a fabulous, healthy and blessed new year!!

I am joining with Jenny of ELEFANTZ and her 

 


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