Snowball Scrap Potholder
Put those little snowball-block leftovers to work! This potholder uses the trimmed corner triangles from the "Cut From the Same Cloth" Quilt to create a tiny patchwork front, then finishes everything with a soft double-fold ruffle and a hanging loop. (For the oven mitt instructions, click here.)
To find Bari J. for Art Gallery Fabrics "My Mother's Daughter" click here.
For wholesale info visit Art Gallery Fabrics.
My favorite quilting and sewing supplies are found here. This is an affliate link.
You’ll need:
Leftover triangle pairs from your snowball blocks out of "My Mother's Daughter"
Coordinating solid or low-volume fabric for the outside triangles
Fabric for the backing
Fabric for the ruffle
Small scrap for the hanging loop
Cotton batting and/or insulated batting suitable for potholders – I use insulbrite
Fabric glue or washable glue stick for basting
Basic sewing supplies
Make the patchwork front
Using the leftover triangles from your snowball blocks, stitch contrasting triangles together along their long diagonal edges to create small half-square-triangle units. Press the seams.
Arrange the units into a 3 × 3 layout, referring to the finished potholder for placement. I like the way the design reads when the printed or colored triangles form the interior shapes while the plain fabric is positioned toward the outside edges. This gives the little patchwork design some breathing room and keeps the outer edge from feeling too busy.
Sew the units together into rows using a ¼” seam allowance, then sew the rows together. Nest your seams where possible for nice, crisp intersections.
Press well.
Layer and quilt
Layer the patchwork top with insulbrite batting and backing as you would a small quilt sandwich. If the potholder will actually be used for handling hot cookware, include an appropriate heat-resistant batting layer according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Quilt through the layers. Simple straight stitching works beautifully here—I stitched through the seams so the quilting became part of the patchwork design.
Trim the potholder to your desired finished size and gently round the corners.
Make the ruffle
Cut 2.5" strips. The ruffle will finish at approximately 1” wide.
Join strips as needed to make one continuous length. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, and press.
Gather or pleat the raw edges until the ruffle fits comfortably around the entire potholder. For an easy, controlled finish, I recommend small evenly spaced pleats rather than traditional gathers.
Working around the edge of the potholder, glue-baste the ruffle in place, aligning the raw edges of the ruffle with the raw edge of the potholder and pointing the folded edge toward the center. Glue basting is especially helpful around the rounded corners and keeps all those little pleats from shifting while you sew.
Add the hanging loop
Cut a small strip of coordinating fabric and press it into a narrow finished strap – similar to making double-fold binding.
Topstitch along the edge, then fold the strip in half to form a loop.
Place the loop on the right side of the potholder wherever you’d like it to hang, with the raw ends extending slightly beyond the raw edge. Baste it securely in place. In mine, the loop sits toward one corner.
Add the back and turn
Place the potholder backing right sides together with the patchwork front. The ruffle and hanging loop will now be sandwiched between the two layers.
Pin or glue-baste around the perimeter, making sure the ruffle stays tucked toward the center and away from the stitching line.
Stitch around the potholder, leaving an opening along one straight edge for turning.
Clip the seam allowance around the curves as needed, being careful not to cut through your stitching.
Turn the potholder right side out through the opening. Gently work the corners and curves into shape and pull the ruffle outward evenly.
Press carefully.
Finish
Turn the raw edges of the opening to the inside and press them even with the finished edge.
Topstitch all the way around the potholder, close to the edge. This closes the turning opening while also giving the potholder a crisp finished edge and helping the ruffle sit neatly.
Give the ruffle a final press, and your leftover snowball corners have officially become something much too pretty to call scraps.