It’s Cooks Week here on the Purl Bee, the time to share great sewing patterns (that you still have time to make!) for all of the chefs and sous chefs in your life. Today we present one of the most crucial kitchen accessories: the hot pad!
These Simple Stitched Hot Pads may be ultra-easy to make, but they’re so elegant and cleanly finished that no one will guess how little time they took. They’re made of a gorgeous array of denim blues on one side and soft wool on the other, a sum that equals understated beauty!
The subtle fabric and pretty handstitching may not seem cut out for hard work, but lined with heat resistant Insulbrite, these Hot Pads are built for the reality of blistering handles and burning pans., And with their long rectangular shape our Simple Stitched Hot Pads work equally well as hot pads, oven mitts, or trivets!
To see our previous Cooks Week installment, the Simple Linen Apron, click here. And to see what’s cooking next, stay tuned… -Molly
Update: September 2014
In September 2014, we made a new set of Simple Stitched Hot Pads in the wild and painterly prints of the newest Nani Iro fabrics! For the full story, additional pictures and the materials list click here!
Materials
1/4 yard of each of the following Robert Kaufman fabrics:
- Railroad Denim, Small Twill, Denim
- Chambray Union, Dot, Indigo
- Railroad Denim, Fine Stripe, Indigo
- Railroad Denim, Slub Stripe, Denim
- Chambray Union, Slub, Indigo
As well as…
- 1 yard Dorr Mill’s Wool Yardage
- 1 yard of Insul-brite Lining
- 3 yards 14mm Twill Tape, Ecru DMC Pearl Cotton, Size 8, Cream
- 1 small spool Gutermann’s Cotton Thread, color 1040
You’ll also need…
- An erasable fabric marker
NOTE: These are enough materials to make twelve Hot Pads.
Size
Finished dimensions: 7-inches by 12-inches
Note
Pre-wash and dry all the fabrics. Do not wash the Insul-brite lining. Washing and drying the wool will felt it and make it nice and fluffy!
Pattern
NOTE: This pattern is also available as a printer friendly PDF. Just click here!
Cutting
From one of the cotton fabrics cut a rectangle, 8 inches wide by 13 inches tall. From the wool cut a rectangle, 8 inches wide by 13 inches tall. From the lining cut a rectangle, 8 inches wide by 13 inches tall. From the twill tape, cut a 7-inch length.
Sewing
Orient the cotton rectangle so that the long sides are vertical, the short sides are horizontal and the right side is facing up.
Fold the twill tape in half so that the two raw ends meet and there is a half twist in the tape, as shown above. Place the raw ends of the twill tape at the center of the top short side of the cotton rectangle, as shown above.
Place the wool rectangle, wrong side up, on top of the cotton rectangle, making sure that the twill tape stays in place. Then place the lining on top of these layers and pin all three layers together along all four edges.
Using your machine’s walking foot and a ½-inch seam allowance, sew all the layers together along both long sides and the top short side (including the twill tape), leaving the bottom short edge unsewn. Turn the hot pad right sides out. The cotton will be on one side, the lining will be in the center, and the wool will be on the other side. Next you will mark the hot pad for the hand-stitched quilting. You have three options:
Four-stitch diamond option: On the cotton side, make four small marks (represented here by white x’s), as directed above.
Mark the wool side of the hot pad in the same way and then connect these marks to create a diamond shape, as shown above.
Four-stitch rectangle option: On the cotton side, make four small marks, as shown above. Mark the wool side of the hot pad in the same way and then connect these marks to create a rectangle shape.
Six-stitch rectangle option: On the cotton side, make six small marks, as shown above. Mark the wool side of the hot pad in the same way and then connect these marks to create a rectangle shape. Thread a length of pearl cotton and tie a knot at the end. Pull the needle through the bottom open edge of the hot pad, exiting on the cotton side at one of the top-most marks. This hides the knot inside the hot pad.
At each mark you will stitch a cross stitch through all three layers of the hot pad, securing the layers together. You already exited the hot pad at point 1, now with the cotton side facing up, re-enter at point 2, exit again at point 3, re-enter at point 4. These stitches should be approximately 3/8 inch long. The wool side of the backstitch looks like two parallel, vertical lines.
Having exited on the wool side of the hot pad, now sewing just through the lining and wool layers, stitch an approximately ¼-inch running stitch every inch along the straight marked line towards the next marked point. At the next marked point make another cross stitch and then travel along the wool side in the same manner to the next marked point. Keep going like this until you have made it all the way around to the first marked point.
The needle should now be on the wool side at the first marked point. Tie a small knot into the first stitch. Then insert the needle at the last exit point and pull it under just the wool layer and then out an inch or so later. Clip the thread at the exit point to hide the end.
Fold the remaining raw edges a ½ inch inwards and pin them together. Using the sewing thread, handstitch the edge closed with a blind stitch.
Erase the fabric markings on the wool and you’re all done!
What fabric can I substitute for the Door mill cloth.?I live in the UK
Hi Liz-
We ship to the UK all the time! But if that's not a good option for you we recommend finding any soft felted wool. You even cut up an old sweater that has been shrunk and felted in the wash.
Thank you!
Molly
What wonderful hot pads, a great and easy tutorial. I love making useful and beautiful items for the home. Thank you for the post.
Can these hotpads be washed after they are sewn together?
Hi Donna!
The Warm Company (who makes the insulated batting) states it is machine washable and dryable so as long as the fabrics are pre-washed, I would say yes! I personally may machine wash and lay flat to dry 🙂
Thanks!
Jen
purlsoho.com
does this insul-brite lining make a crinkly sound? hoping to make oven mitts/ hot pads that don't make that sound.
thanks!
Hi Franny-
Yes, the lining does make a crinkly sound. Sorry! You might try making these with two layers of thick cotton batting to avoid the sound.
Thanks!
Molly
Hi,
Could the wool be replaced with standard felt?
Thanks,
Hannah
Hi Hannah-
Sure! As long as the felt is 100% wool. (If it has any synthetic in it it will melt!)
Thanks for your question!
Molly
Can the wool be replaced with canvas or will that not provide enough insulation from heat?
Hi Andrea-
If you want to substitute canvas for the wool I would also include a layer of cotton batting, just to be extra safe!
Thanks for your question and please let us know if you need any more help!
Best-
Molly
I love the hot pads I made from this kit! Only thing I did differently is that used the sewing machine to stitch in about an inch or so on each side of the bottom before turning. It made turning only slightly more difficult but it made stitching the bottom closed by hand a lot easier. I read the questions about the insul bright being ‘crinkly’ and after they are finished i could not detect the crinkle at all. These make great gifts for a hostess gift or gifts for friends if you can bear to give them away, lol.
Is the lining on these hot pads which way do you put it the insulbrite
Hi-
You can sew it in either way!
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
first the directions say to place the wool rectangle on the cotton rectangle and then the lining, but next it says the lining will be in the middle…how does it really go together I wonder?
Hi Ly,
You are reading the directions correctly! After you have created this fabric sandwich, you will sew it together and then turn it right side out. At the point the wool and the cotton will appear on either side of the lining.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
These are gorgeous, thank you for the pattern! Could you forgoe the quilting stitches, if you were feeling lazy, or are they important to keep the layers together?
Hi Alice,
Thanks for the question! We do think that the quilting stitches are necessary to keep the layers together and create a structurally sound pot holder. Fortunately, they do not take a lot of time to accomplish and we think that they add a nice little design touch!
Happy sewing!
Cassy
Thanks Cassy!
These are so cute! Can you substitute the wool for 100% cotton flannel?
Hi Kate,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, as long as your flannel doesn’t have any synthetic content, you could use it for these hotpads. Flannel won’t be as heat resistant or isnulating as wool, but the vast majority of the insulating properties of these hotpads comes from the Insul-Brite Lining, so they should still be lovely and useful!
Best,
Julianna