Perfect when using your cast iron pans
If you’ve ever cooked with cast iron pans, you might have noticed how incredibly hot they can get. And since they hold so much heat, I’ve found that most pot holders just aren’t good enough. That is why I made my own extra heavy-duty pot holders, specially designed for use with cast iron pans.
So often, I’ll be frying up a delicious meal in my cast iron pans while constantly worrying when the pot holders will let the heat seep through. Most often at the start of the cooking process, the pot holder will do a reasonable job and I will only feel a slight warmth. But as I continue cooking, I feel more heat coming through the pot holder, until at a point, it becomes too hot to pick up again. This is a problem, especially when baking thin pancakes since you want to be able to pick up your pan quite often. So that you can spread the batter around evenly and get deliciously thin pancakes. I’m sure that if you too like to cook with cast iron pans, you will have also come across this problem or will when you start to use them more often.
Why create handmade items?
I love making my own handmade things for my home because it allows me to completely design it to my own tastes. I never have to settle for subpar fabrics or other materials. Since I get to choose exactly how and what I want to use. If you want your items to match or complement each other then it’s as easy as choosing the right fabrics. Like, my apron and my linen tea towels. I made them both from the same fabric, which means they perfectly match, which just makes me so happy.
So I made my own pot holders that are thick and tough enough to do this job and look good while doing it. So you never have to worry about burning your hands again on your lovely pans. They are super easy to make and all you need is a bit of spare fabric and a sewing machine. And within one afternoon you can make yourself some lovely heavy-duty pot holders.
Another great upside of creating your own items, whether they be pot holders, aprons, or even whole outfits is that you have the perfect gift. What could ever be a more personalised gift than one you made yourself? The receiver will feel so special and honoured that you took the time to create something especially for them. And you can have fun while making your gift. If you like you could make these potholders and give them as a housewarming gift to friends or family. That way, whenever they are cooking in their new home they can always think of you. Who wouldn’t love that?
What you need to make your heavy-duty pot holders
Since pot holders are relatively small they are perfect for some scrap busting. For the outer fabric, I used some old linen I still had lying around that wasn’t enough for a bigger project. But since it is coarse linen I was worried that you might see the batting underneath. So I put another layer of unbleached plain cotton underneath so that you would not be able to notice the batting inside. For the batting, you can, of course, use proper batting but since I’m let’s say frugal, I used an old blanket. This was a blanket that we never used anymore but it was still in good enough condition to be used as batting. So why not have a little look around your home for odd scraps and maybe an old blanket or an old stained bath towel. You might as well put them to some good use right.
- 21 by 42 cm outer fabric of sturdy cotton/wool/linen in a colour you like.
- 21 by 42 cm inner fabric of close-woven cotton in a neutral colour (only necessary when the outer fabric is not very closely woven)
- 42 by 42 cm batting of thick fabric like terry cloth or any fluffy fabric (think of old bath towels or old fluffy fleece blankies)
- 5 by 70 cm binding of matching sturdy fabric to go with the outer fabric
- Some matching thread
How to make your own heavy-duty pot holders
Once you have your fabric picked out you can start tracing the pattern onto it. You can do this either with the downloadable pattern or grab something round like a bowl and trace around that.
You will need to cut out 2 pieces of outer fabric as well as 2 pieces of the inner fabric.
For the batting, you can cut out anything from 1 to 4 or more pieces. I’ve gone for 4 pieces. I felt that this would be sufficiently thick to withstand the heat of my cast iron pans without becoming overly bulky. Depending on the thickness of your fabric you might need more or less than me.
For the binding, you can either use some bias tape or cut your own strip of fabric. I found that 5 cm wide by 70 cm long was adequate to cover the edge of my pot holder. If you’re using your own pattern you will need to measure the circumference of your fabric. Then add 3 to 5 cm so that you can have a bit of overlap, which will ensure that you won’t be able to see the rough edges.
Putting your pot holders together
Make a sort of fabric burger by first lying down a layer of outer fabric, followed by your inner fabric, then followed by your batting layers, and finishing off with another layer of inner fabric and outer fabric.
If you’re afraid of your layers won’t stay in place, you can secure them with a handful of pins.
Put your fabric bun under the sewing machine and sew a line in the middle of the pot holder. After which, you can sew parallel lines on both sides. I kept them about 3 cm apart, but you can choose whatever width you prefer.
If you prefer a waffle type pattern, you can also sew some diagonal lines. Or make it completely your own by freestyling your quilting.
Once you are satisfied with your quilted fabric burgers, you can start with putting on the binding.
If you’re using bias tape, you can skip this step. If you’re using your own strip of fabric, you will need to at least somewhat press it or ideally iron the raw edges inwards.
Pin your fabric strip onto your pot holder, making sure all the while that both edges align up. When you come to the end, fold your edge over so that the raw-edged end is hidden inside and pin it in place.
Then carefully sew your binding onto the pot holder. If you like to hang your pot holder up, you can add a little loop with an extra bit of binding. I prefer to store mine in a drawer, so I didn’t add a loop.
Let me know how you got on
I hope you enjoyed making your own heavy-duty pot holders. And if you did, please tag me on Instagram so I can see your beautiful creation. I would love to see your twist and hear how you got on.
Now you can go into your kitchen and enjoy cooking with your beloved cast iron pans. Because you now have the knowledge that your pot holder will protect you from any heat.Â
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