I guess you could call me the 'queen of pot holders' lately! I've made a million and with each set I mindlessly piece, layer, quilt and bind. It's second nature and should be expected after so many sets.
There has been interest in a tutorial for these culinary delights, so yes...I put together a tutorial along with a pattern for this set of pot holders.
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1/4 Log Cabin Pot Holders
9" x 9" |
I couldn't resist the chance to share my process and come up with a design that I could share with you. Log cabin blocks can be as simple or as complicated as you want. The 'logs' can be the thick or thin, light or dark, mixed width or the same size...this is one of those blocks that will always be a 'go to' for most any quilter. Pattern available here!
For this block, the corner square starts at a whopping 1 1/4" square. Pretty tiny, but very doable. This kind of block is put together on two sides. You continue to add strips until it grows to the size you are after. I like to press my seams open to reduce the bulk.
The smallest width is 3/4" and the widest is 1 1/2". There are 14 colors used that will eventually grow to 9" square. Yes, a little ambitious and I wondered why I needed to take it to that level more than once. My answer is I like a challenge, I like color!
This is the result of building those logs! After a good hot steam pressing, the time has come to layer the pieces!
I use a layer of cotton batting and insul-bright in every pot holder. Insul-bright is a product from The Warm Company. It 's heat resistant, not heat proof. At least one layer of cotton batting is recommended when used for pot holders and oven mitts. Insul~Bright is not recommended for microwave use. This product is widely available. Jo-Anns, Walmart and many online shops carry it.
To make the quilt sandwich, I lay my backing (right side down if using a print), insul-bright, batting and top right side up. There isn't a right or wrong side to insul-bright.
Pin to secure the layers together and quilt as desired.
I didn't do anything special in the quilting department. Random straight lines with a lot of thread color changes!
I've never had problems quilting pot holders using this many layers. I recommend using a walking foot or dual feed.
Once the quilting is finished I square up each pot holder. I don't know if there is a standard size, but I tend to make my sets 8 1/2" to 9" square.
The pattern I designed is for a 9" block. But we all know depending on how accurate you are with piecing or how accurate your 1/4" seams are, size may vary. Which is why I make the outside log wide enough to play with.
Finishing off with binding in yet another color is always welcome in my book! My personal choice for binding is 2 1/4" strips. I always use a scant 1/4" when stitching the binding to the front. This allows a little extra binding to wrap around the thicker than usual layers.
