Tutorial - Scrappy Leaf Potholders

I completely forgot to share my Scrappy Leaf Potholder pictures and tutorial. Oh my...

I've recently been trying to use scraps and made bowl cozies. Those were fun and easy to make and l really liked how they turned out using scrappy strip sets. 

Since I made quite a few strips sets, some of which were kind of small, I decided to use the same concept for making potholders. These really are fun and easy to make. And...I love how they look!

Here's the process I used for making these fun and function potholders.

 

Supplies

Fabric Scraps - at least 8” in length and in widths ranging from                               1” – 2 ½”

Backing Fabric – at least 8” x 11 ½”

Bias Binding – approximately 2” x 30” per potholder

Cotton Batting – at least 8”x 11 ½”

Insul-Bright – at least 8” x 11 ½”

Leaf Template

 

Instructions

Download and print the leaf template. 

(I'm having trouble getting the download to work properly. If you want the leaf template, leave a comment and I'll send it as a pdf to you.)

Cut out the leaf and cut the leaf in half along the dotted center line.

Cut fabric strips in various widths ranging from 1” to 2 ½”. 

The strips need to be approximately 8” long.

Lay out strips and arrange them in an order that is pleasing to you. Using a ¼” seam allowance, sew the strips together. Continue sewing strips until you have a piece that measures at least 11” long. Press seams in one direction. 

Sew at least 2 strip sets, using different fabrics, or fabrics placed in different locations in the strip set.

Lay the right half of the leaf template on one strip set, tilting the tip to the right. 

Cut out the half leaf shape. 

Rotate the strip set and cut a second right half of the leaf template. 

 

With the other strip set, lay the left half of the leaf template, tilting the top to the left. Cut out the half leaf shape. Rotate the strip set and cut a second left half of the leaf template.

Sew the left and right leaf halves together and press seam open to reduce bulk. You will have 2 potholders ready to be quilted. The more strip sets you make, the more you can mix and match the sides and have a nice variety of “looks.” 

One benefit of cutting strips a variety of widths is that you don’t need to worry about matching seams. Sometimes they will match up perfectly, while others will be more whimsical and will be playfully mismatched.

Layering the Potholder

*In my house, the side of the potholder that will touch hot dishes is always the backing. It is usually not pieced and the side that I don’t mind getting dirty or even burned. The shiny side of the Insul-Bright faces the heat source so it can reflect the energy back to its source. The cotton batting is next to the top/pieced part of the potholder and provides a barrier to protect your hands.

Layer the potholder as described below:

Backing – right side DOWN

Insul-Bright – shiny side down toward the Backing

Cotton Batting

Leaf Potholder – right side up.

Quilt as desired.  

Binding

The leaf is curved, so bias binding will make binding this much easier. I like to hand stitch binding, but you can sew it down by machine, if desired. 

Trim the potholder around the leaf edges. I used 2" bias binding and used my favorite binding method of sewing to the front and then hand stitching it to the back. 

Enjoy!!