Making a Pot Holder out of Old Towels


Thick old towels are great heat insulators and therefore, make good material that you can use to make pot holders. If you have old towels lying around the house with too many holes in it to be used, consider transforming them into pot holders that you may use in the kitchen.

  1. On a piece of old towel, cut out two squares that measure 6 in x 6 in.
  2. Cut out another piece of square that measures the same out of thick foam padding. Alternatively, you may substitute this piece of foam padding with any other form of padding that may provide better insulation than foam padding, or even use thicker foam padding for better insulation. However, your piece of padding should not be too thick as it may be hard to sew through them later on.
  3. Next, sandwich the foam padding in between the two towel squares and pin them together so that they don’t run. It is easier to pin down all your sewing materials before sewing to make work easier and to avoid errors.
  4. Quilt the three pieces together by sewing diagonal grids on them. To do this, first, sew diagonal lines that are parallel to each other, starting from one edge to another, your stitching should be continuous. Once you have reached the adjacent edge, turn your materials around and start sewing similar diagonal lines that cross over the previous lines.
  5. Next, sew the piping onto all four edges of the pot holder. Remember to fashion a hoop out of the piping on one of the corners so that you can hang the pot holder up later on. You can also use ribbon as a substitute for piping. For aesthetic purposes, you may also sew lace borders all around the edges.
  6. If you require more than one piece of pot holder, repeat the above process for another side.

Pot holders are a must-have around the kitchen, especially while cooking. They are not only used to lift pots off the stove, but to hold them in place while cooking as well. Pot holders are extremely useful especially when your pots and pans do not have plastic handles for you to hold on to. You may also make extras to keep as spares, or even give them away as house warming gifts. Pair them up with matching oven mitts to make a great personalized gift.