Making a potholder with Insul-Bright is the same as making a common quilted potholder. You only add a layer or two of Insul-Bright to the batting of your potholder. You can use a wide variety of materials for your potholder, such as old heavy-duty jeans, old dish rags, or drop cloths. You can use quilt batting for your lining, but the best batting for potholders in the market today is Insul-Bright, specifically because it is heat resistant. Potholders are small, easy, and fast quilt projects to do and will make great gifts to friends and family. It is also a great way to turn small scrap fabrics into useful and practical household items. To make a square quilted potholder, these are the things that you will need. 16 pieces of 2.5 inches fabric squares of your scrap fabrics 9 inches square backing fabric (plain-colored fabric) 9-inch square of Insul-Bright 9-inch square of cotton batting 2.25 inches width of fabric strip (for binding) Sewing machine Fabric scissors Pins Instructions: Make your square quilt blocks. Measure and cut your 16 pieces of fabric squares from your chosen scrap fabrics. Lay down your squares on a flat surface and arrange them according to color that would complement each other. Lay the first pair of four patches together. Then, stitch down one side with a quarter-inch seam allowance. Join the first four blocks in a row. Make sure to press the seam allowance to one side. Repeat the first step with the next rows of four-patch blocks. Sew the rows together with a quarter of an inch seam allowance and press the seam open. Straighten edges of squares Trim your fabric squares according to the measurement of the potholder you want. Straighten the edges of your squares and match the corners. Layer your quilt Put together the parts of your quilt potholder according to this order: Back fabric (wrong side up) Insul-Bright insulating fabric Cotton batting Quilted top fabric (right side up) Secure the Layers Pin through all the layers to secure the layers for quilting. Quilt your potholder Attach a walking foot to your home sewing machine and quilt your potholder. You can either use straight line quilting or stitch in the ditch to sew your project. Cut off your potholder’s excess batting and backing layers and trim the edges to make them even. To make the binding of your potholder easier, you can baste around the edges to keep the layers together. Bind your potholder First, make the binding for your potholder by folding your fabric strip in half lengthwise from end to end (wrong sides together). Bind your potholder using the prepared binding. Bind the potholder the same way you would bind a quilt. You can also purchase ready-made binding from craft shops. Quilted potholders are easy to make, but then again, here are several of the best tips you can apply from experienced potholder makers. It would be best to use a walking foot for quilting a potholder. A potholder is a small item but has so many layers of fabrics that can shift while stitching. A walking foot will prevent the shifting of the multiple layers of fabric and batting. If you want your potholder to be extra heat-resistant, you can use two layers of Insul-Bright along with the cotton batting. Make zigzag stitches along all the edges before binding so it will be easier to bind the whole potholder. You can sew a few lines of stitching down the center to secure the fabric and insulation together. It is also a foolproof way to make sure your fabric layers do not bunch up. Insul-Bright directions specify that it does not matter which side faces out. But users recommend placing the Insul-bright batting on the side that takes the heat of the pot. The other side should have 100% cotton fabric batting. Insul-Bright is a special fabric that reflects hot and cold energy to its source. It would be best to designate a “hand” side and a “pot” side to your potholder in making a potholder. The quilted side can be the hand side, and the plain fabric side can be the pot side. If you are using a binding for your potholder, you can leave an extra length of the binding strip to make a loop that you can use to hang your potholder. Potholders may be modest household items and very easy to make, but the addition of Insul-Bright will make them more useful and efficient. Now that you know how to make a nifty, quilted potholder from fabric scraps and Insul-Bright lining, you can start making these colorful and practical items as gifts for your friends and family for upcoming occasions.