my sister Laura is getting married this spring! we’re super excited, he’s a great guy. oh and i get to make another flower girl dress! yay! Em and her cousin are co-flower girls actually, so depending on the design complexity, i might be making two or my mom might make the second one. we’ll see. anyway.
she had a bridal shower last weekend, and i was actually on top of the present-buying for the most part. i had thrifted some great big vintage doilies for table decorations a while ago, as well as a mason jar with bubbles in the glass, both of which fit with her decorating scheme. i also got her a Silpat, since Laura loves to bake. and then because something had to be handmade, i made her some pot holders (starting the night before and finishing the morning of the shower).
i subconsciously matched the colors to the Silpat. haha. the main fabric is from Denyse Schmidt’s Hope Valley line, and i’m not sure what the binding is (if you know, please tell me!). both are from Bolt.
here’s a quick words-only tutorial for these simple pot holders, which are a great way to use fat quarters, practice quilting if you’re scared of quilts, or to whip up as a quick gift if you have a few supplies on hand. super easy, super fast.
this tutorial makes two hot pads that are quite large, you can scale them down in the “trim to square” step if they’re seeming unwieldy to you:
- grab two fat quarters (FQs) – one for the body and one for the binding – some batting, and twill tape
- cut four 9.5″ x 9.5″ squares of FQ, and four 10″ x 10″ or so squares of batting (for two pot holders)
- make a sandwich – one FQ face down, two layers of batting, one FQ face up (try to line the FQs up on either side as best you can)
- mark a diagonal grid starting corner to corner using tailor’s chalk or disappearing marker – mark lines 2″ apart
- pin baste between the lines
- quilt using a walking foot along the lines
- trim to 9″ square (or smaller – i think 8″ square is standard)
- cut 2.5″ strips of the second FQ for binding on the grain, enough to go around each pot holder (you’ll probably have to piece two strips together)
- baste a loop of twill tape to the wrong side of the pot holder, and bind using your favorite method. i usually hand stitch to finish my quilt bindings but this time i zigzagged them for speed and stability – this tutorial is great if you need it
- make another one
- DONE
not too bad, eh? i love how puffy the double layer of batting makes them, and the zigzag stitch will keep them secure through washings.
mmmmm pillowy.
and here’s how i wrapped the gift up. i’m a huge fan of the old “make a wedding rehearsal bouquet from shower ribbons and a paper plate” tradition, and really love to wrap shower presents with fun toppers to add some pizzazz to the practice bouquet.
i wrapped the gift with simple brown craft paper, topped with white grosgrain ribbon and a pom pom flower with felt leaves! i hot glued the leaves to the bottom of the flower to make sure it all stayed put, threading the tails of yarn from the pom pom through a small slit i cut into the felt to tie it to the ribbon.
i’m so looking forward to Laura’s springtime wedding!
oh and if you make a pot holder using this mini tutorial, please add it to the flickr group. thanks!
skirt as top 
you get to sew ANOTHER flower girl dress!?! {squeal} how I wish I could be in your shoes.
really like your gift wrapping ~ I’ll have to steal that idea some day.
Oooo I love those color combos. So funny that they do totally match the silpat! 🙂 and with all the pompom craze going on now I don’t think I’ve seen one turned into a flower? Love it! Ill have to tuck that idea away for v’s birthday gifts! (And others too of course!)
Making new pot holders has been on my ‘to do’ list forever (mine are disgusting and even a bit burnt – oops). Yours turned out so lovely. I love the idea of using the zigzag stitch on the binding. I may just have to steal that 🙂
I’m pretty sure that the binding fabric is from the newer Les Amis line from Patty Sloniger. Thanks for the tutorial! I could definitely use a few more potholders and these seem really quick and easy to whip up 🙂
YES! That’s it! Thanks!!
I recently blogged about that zigzag tutorial and said nearly the exact same thing! It’s the best! Cute potholders – I love the quilting!
i am in desperate need of new potholders/oven mitts. like, they are not even close to the right color anymore desperate. for some reason i never think to buy them at the store… i really should just make some. these are great inspiration 🙂
Very cute! Love this handmade gift. Everyone always needs hot pads. Mine are looking really sad right now. Some new ones would be great. Thanks for the idea. Your pom pom flower is a great finishing touch to your gift as well.
Just today I saw this pretty quilt with that fabric, but in teal.
http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2013/01/foxy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CluckCluckSew+%28Cluck+Cluck+Sew%29
those are great! love that wrap job. and your new rug! 🙂 congrats to your sis!
Love the pot holders! I really need some new ones as mine are stained and *ahem* burned.;) Can’t wait to see what the flower girls will be wearing!
Cuteness! And I can’t wait to see the flower girl dress(es) – your first one was gorgeous!
These are great! I made some pot holders for Christmas presents, but my step mom doesn’t want to us them! 🙂 I love love the ribbon for the hook!
Adorable, and I love the packaging. That pom pom flower…I will be using that!