Potholder Dishtowel

You’ll need to purchase a potholder. You can choose one that’s round, square, or rectangle, but don’t buy an oven mitt. You’ll need to be certain that you potholder comes with a loop. Most of them do. Be sure that the loop is sewn on a side, not a corner.

 You’ll also need a standard dishtowel. This towel already came with a pretty edge. But if you’d like to add trim, such as ribbon, do it now.

Fold your dishtowel in half so it’s short and fat. Then sew along the folded top edge with a running basting stitch. In other words, make your stitches as long as possible, and don’t backstitch when starting and ending. Leave the thread long when you cut it.

Now tug on the bottom thread to gather your fabric. Adjust it to be the same width as your potholder.

Next we’ll pin the towel to the potholder, right sides together. The patterns should be touching. Unfold the towel and pin in the center of the potholder. Once it’s pinned, pick it up and make sure that the gathers look nice and even. Also, be sure that your loop is on the BACK side of the potholder, as it will wrap around the bar to attach on the front.

Switch to a zig-zag stitch, and sew down the middle. As you sew, flatten the fabric on both sides of the needle as you feed it through. Remove the pins.

 Finally, we’ll add a button closure. Sew a button to the front of the potholder. I like the thickness and durability of embroidery floss for this, but you can use regular thread if you’d like.

To use, simply wrap the loop around the button, attaching it to the handle of your oven or dishwasher. You’ll always have a potholder handy, and a place to dry your hands. And you don’t have to worry about it slipping to the floor!