How to Sew Quilted Fabric Scraps Pot Holders

“To be creative is to let little pieces of your heart go and place them into each project you make.”
– Pat Bravo

Hey Salvagers.  Today we are fortunate to have Jessica sharing another wonderful repurpose project.  Here are a few she has done in the past.Denim Skirt From Jeans and this Denim Vest.  Awesome, right?  Today is no exception with these Quilted Fabric Scraps Pot Holders.

Hi! I’m Jessica from ChambrayBlues.com. Here’s one of my favorite recycling projects…….

You can make good use of your fabric scraps when you re-purpose them into something new. Here’s how to make a quilted fabric pot holder with your quilting leftovers.

I’ve been trying to re-use and up-cycle more of my fabric scraps for projects. I used to throw them away, but fabric is sooo expensive. Recently, I learned that fabric doesn’t decompose in the landfill and fabric waste is a growing global problem. Rest assured, I no longer want to waste anything that can be sewn into something useful!

These adorable potholders are made from my most recent quilt project leftovers. You can learn about how I made the quilt blocks that I used here. It doesn’t matter what fabric scraps you use, pretty much any fabric will do for this project. Here are some recycling ideas:

Recycled Fabric Sources

*We use affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. This will assist you in finding the same, or similar items used, while we may get a few cents to keep the content free. You can read our full disclosure policy here.

• left over quilting cotton
• old t-shirts
• men’s dress shirts
• worn out jeans
• kids shirts
• old table cloths
• thrifted fabrics or clothes with pretty patterns
• flannel sheets or pillowcases
• Worn out blankets
• quilt batting pieces or leftover fiberfill stuffing from craft projects

There are lots of options for fabrics! I used a couple of left over quilt blocks and some quilting cotton scraps. You will need fabric and batting about 9″ square. If your pieces are smaller, simply stitch them together until you have a 9″ square. This is a great way to learn to sew or quilt!

Woven pieces of fabric can be single needled stitched together until you have a large enough piece. You can even sew small pieces of quilt batting together with a zig zag stitch (shown above by overlapping the pieces) to get a 9″ square needed for this project.

Pot Holder Supplies Needed:

•Two 9″ fabric squares for front and back of potholder (any fabric or pattern)

•10″ square of quilt batting

•Strip of binding fabric, 2 1/2″ by 44″ (can be pieces of other fabrics sewn together)

•Straight pins, safety pins

•Fabric basting adhesive (optional)

•Sewing Machine, free motion quilting foot (optional)

Pot Holder Sewing Directions:

1. Layer backing fabric, quilt batting or a thin layer of fiberfill stuffing, and top fabric together. You can use a spray basting adhesive to hold them in place or use a few safety pins to secure.

2. Using a free motion quilt foot, quilt as desired in a random pattern. You can quilt with straight rows stitches every few inches across the fabrics if you do not have a free motion foot. The quilting holds all of the layers together and makes the pot holder more durable.

3. Trim edges of fabrics even.

4. Press and fold binding in half lengthwise. Apply to front of potholder matching raw edges, folding binding at corners to fit the corner. Pin in place with straight pins. Stitch around all sides with a 3.0 single needle stitch, leaving a 3″ tail of extra binding at the last corner.

5. Trim seams to 1/4″. Turn folded binding edge to back side of potholder, pin fold over first seam. Fold under excess fabric at corner to get a mitered fit. Top stitch on right side, 1/8″ away from inside edge, sewing all the way to the end of the fabric loop piece (encasing raw edges).

6. To make the hanging loop, fold back extra fabric to make loop and secure with 3-4 back and forth stitches.

A huge thanks to Jessica for sharing her quilted fabric scraps pot holders with us.  Here are some more fun recycled projects she has made:

Mens Thrifted Shirt Upcycle Hack in 7 Steps

Make an Upcycled Denim Hat from Old Jeans

How to Make a Recycled Denim Ruffled Purse with Cricut and Simplicity