Hi everyone! My name is Hilary and I blog over at Young Texan Mama. I am really excited about sharing my first project with you over here at the Moda Bake Shop. I love working with pre-cuts and this is a simple and quick project that uses the adorable Moda Mini Charm Packs.
1 – Moda Candy Mini Charm Pack
2 – Fat Quarters
1 – 6.5″ x 6.5″ piece of cotton batting
2 – 6.5″ x 8″ piece of cotton batting
or
1 – 6.5″ x 8.5″ piece of batting & 1 – 6.5″ x 8.5″ piece of Insul-Bright batting
Cutting:
Out of one Fat Quarter cut the following:
2 – 6.5″ sqaures
1 – 6.5″ x 8.5″ rectangle
Out of your 2nd fat quarter:
3 – 2.25″ x 22″ strips (they don’t have to be exactly 22″ just cut them from the long side of your fat quarter).
Step 1: Select 9 mini charms to be the main panel of your pot holder, and 3 mini charms to be the accent of the larger piece.
Stitch the 9 minis into 3 rows of 3. I like to chain piece my squares over sewing one at at time.
Press your seams in alternating directions, then sew the 3 rows into a 9 patch block. I like to press the seams between the rows open to reduce the bulk. You’ll be left with a 6.5″ square.
Step 2: Take your 3 remaining minis and sew into a row of 3. Press your seams in one direction, you’ll be left with a 2.5″ x 6.5″ strip. Sew this strip to one of your 6.5″ squares of fabric from your FQ.
Step 3: Using your 9 patch block, a piece of 6.5″ batting, and the remaining 6.5″ fabric square, make a quilt sandwich & quilt as desired.
I like to baste the layers together with a couple of safety pins to keep the layers from shifting while quilting.
I quilted my piece with diagonal lines through the points of the squares, but you can quilt it however you want. I think it would look cute with loops or an all over meander.
Step 4: Take your pieced 6.5″ x 8.5″ rectangle, your 2 – 6.5″ x 8.5″ pieces of batting (or Insul-Bright), and your 6.5″ x 8.5″ rectangle. Sandwich the 4 layers together, baste with safety pins, and quilt. I used 2 pieces of cotton batting for the interior of my pot holder.
I’ve never had problems with 2 layers of cotton batting not being enough insulation, but if your worried, then a layer of Insul-bright would definitely protect your hand from heat.
Step 5: Sew your 3 binding strips together, end to end, so you end up with on long strip. Press the seams open to reduce the bulk. Fold binding in half, wrong sides together, and press. Cut a 4 inch piece of binding for your loop, and cut a 6.5 inch piece of binding for the top of your square panel.
Take the 6.5 inch strip and sew it to the top edge of the main panel with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Once sewn, fold it around to the back and stitch in place. I like to machine bind mine, but if you prefer you can hand stitch it down.
This is what your main piece will look like when you’re finished. Set it aside.
Step 6: With your mini charms facing up, baste your 2 panels together with a 1/8″ seam allowance. That will prevent shifting when you sew your binding on. Sew slowly because you’ll be sewing through several layers of fabric.
Take the 4.5″ piece and fold the ends to the center and press, creating a double fold binding. Sew along the open long edge to close it together.
Pin and baste the loop you just created to the back of the 6.5″ x 8.5″ quilted panel.
Step 7: Take the remainder of your binding and stitch it to your potholder with 1/4″ seam allowance. Again, sew slowly because you will be sewing through several layers of fabric. A walking foot might be beneficial for this step.
When you get to the loop, make sure it is laying flat on the back of the pot holder.
Step 8: When you get back around to your starting point, make sure you have enough binding so that the 2 edges overlap about 3/4″. (I had already trimmed out the remainder of my binding at this point.)
Fold over the raw edge of one strip, and then tuck the other one inside. That way when you sew it together there are no raw edges showing. Fold the edges flat and continue sewing your seam, making sure to back-stitch where you started.
Step 9: Once it is stitched down, fold binding to the back and pin or clip in place. If you pin, try not to sew over your pins because it could break your needle and mess up your machine. I learned that the hard way when I first learned how to sew.
Again when you get to the loop, make sure it is laying flat.When you get back around to your starting point back-stitch to secure the stitches, and you’re done!
Hilary Smith
{www.youngtexanmama.com}
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