Pot Holders and Mug Rugs

For my first stitches in my new studio, I chose to get my machine set up to finish quilting Frost Filigree. And then I saw Debbie @aquilterstable blog post about some recent Pot Holders she finished (amongst other makes) and I realized that a few quick finishes would feel great AND allow me to make some much needed functional needed items for our kitchen.

Fabric Pull

My husband and I currently use one small mug rug sized hot pad and one pot holder to hold on to the hot handles of pots and pans on the stove, pull casserole dishes out of the oven, etc. (we also have a tile hot pad). The colors of the mug rug and pot holder aren’t our favorite colors, so I figured I might as well make something to add a dash of our favorite colors into the kitchen. Clearly, that starting point for us (me) is blue.

Mug Rugs – Front

The sizes of the mug rugs and pot holder that I made were dictated by batting scraps that I had on hand. These mug rugs finish at 5″ x 6″ and were pieced with (mostly) 1″ wide scraps. After making the first one in solid blues, I made a rainbow-esque version that my husband says reminds him of his synesthesia (he likes this one very much).

Mug Rugs – Back

I used a solid navy blue for the back of both mug rugs, although it looks a bit purplish to my eye in the photo above.  I chose to simply stitch in the ditch in the seams created on the front of the mug rugs, and I used my go-to mini mini quilt binding method for finishing.

Pot Holders – Front

To make the larger pot holders, I pieced strips of blue prints together with gentle improv curves. Once I had 2 strip sets, I then layered them on top of one another and cross cut gentle curves to create a “woven” effect. The quilting started as simple stitch in the ditch and but as these are larger, I opted to add an additional quilted line between the others for a little bit more security.

Pot Holders – Back

For the backing of the pot holders, I used a solar system print, and the remaining strips I cut but did not use for the pieced tops were put together into scrappy bindings for the finishing touch.

Pot Holders and Mug Rugs

Speaking of finishing touches, just like Debbie, after trimming the pot holders to ~8″ square, I used my 3½” convex drunkard’s path template to trim opposing corners. Debbie says that the two rounded corners and two square corners are her favorite shape for pot holders, and I can see why. They are really attractive and fun! I did some digging around on Debbie’s blog, and it looks like she was in turn inspired to try this shape by Hannah @verdigrissewing.

Mug Rugs and Pot Holders

We liked the mug rugs so much that they are now on our kitchen table as actual mug rugs, so I needed to make a few more to have on hand for pot handle holders (small pot holders).

Small Pot Holders

I found some insulbrite remnants from the passthrough cover I made at the beginning of the year and used those to dictate the size for the two small pot holders. The small pot holders are 5½” square and I used fabric remnants from my Effervescence quilt top; those Banyan Batiks are truly delightful to work with and lovely, rich colors! I sure appreciate a few quick finishes to feel productive. I have quite a backlog of quilts that need to be finished, so now I feel ready to get back to Frost Filigree and see what I can get accomplished before the end of the year.

Linking up with Favorite Finish.