Easy Scrap Fabric Pot Holders
I have a lot of fabric scraps left over from old projects, and while they’re actually fun colors and prints, none of them are big enough to turn into a larger quilt or sewing project. They’re the kind of scraps that feel too good to throw away but tend to sit in a basket waiting for the “right” idea to come along, which is what led me to try making these easy fabric scrap potholders.
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I’ll also be honest and say that I’m not a very good seamstress, even though sewing definitely runs in my family. My mom, my aunt, my grandmother, and my grandma were all excellent seamstresses, and they tried more than once to teach me. I just never quite paid enough attention when they did, so most of what I know now comes from experimenting, making mistakes, and figuring it out as I go.
Since I already had a pile of colorful scraps and some old quilt batting tucked away in the closet, I decided to see if I could turn them into something useful. Potholders felt like a good place to start because they don’t need to be fancy, they don’t have to be perfect, and they’re something that gets used hard anyway.
Materials Needed
This is a true use-what-you-have project, and there’s a good chance you already have everything on hand.
- Scrap fabric
- Quilt batting
- Scissors
- Rotary cutter (optional, but helpful)
- Iron or mini press
- Sewing machine
How I Made the Potholders
Start by cutting one 8-inch square of quilt batting and one 8-inch square for the backing fabric.
For the front, I used a simple log cabin–style design on several of them. That just means adding one fabric strip at a time, sewing the pieces right sides together, and pressing them flat as you go. I kept adding strips until the front was large enough, then squared it off to an 8-inch square.
Once the front was finished, I layered the pieces by placing the quilted front and the backing fabric right sides together with the batting on top. I sewed around the edges, making sure to leave about a 2- to 3-inch opening so I could turn it right side out.
After turning the potholder right side out, I pressed it flat with an iron. Then I sewed around the outside edges to close the opening and finished it off by sewing crisscross lines across the potholder to give it a quilted look and help everything stay in place.
A Little Honest Disclosure
I had a very hard time making these square.
Like I said earlier, I’m not a very good seamstress, and precision sewing is not my strong suit. Some of the edges wandered, and a few corners had minds of their own. But I wasn’t trying to create perfection with this project. I just wanted something fun and useful that would help me use up fabric scraps that had been sitting around for far too long.
If you’re anything like me, potholders tend to look pretty junky after a while anyway. They get food smears on them, touch hot pans, and go through the wash more times than you can count. Because of that, I didn’t stress too much about the imperfections, and I’m actually pretty pleased with how they turned out.
Would I Make These Again?
I’m happy with the results, but I’m also very confident that I am not going into the business of sewing potholders.
If I do make them again, though, I’ve learned a few things I would do differently. I would square things up more often as I go, worry less about exact measurements, and remind myself that the goal is usefulness, not perfection.
This project was a good reminder that not every sewing project has to be complicated or impressive to be worthwhile. Sometimes it’s enough to pull out the scraps, try something new, and enjoy the process.
If this inspires you to dig into your own fabric stash and use what you already have, then it did exactly what it was supposed to do.
