Making Oven Mitts From Pot Holders

Do you have a collection of pot holders that you don't use ?  If you're like me,  I prefer oven mitts to get cooking and baking out of the oven.  I also use chopping boards to rest hot food on.

Those pesky little pot holders are just annoying when they come in a pack with an oven mitt and tea towel. I tend to buy two of those packs so that I can have two oven mitts to use.  I'll admit that I've thrown out a few pot holders over the years and donated some to the local op shop.

Not any more.  One day a few months ago I was looking at my collection of pot holders and thought there has to be a way to use them.  Because I buy two oven mitt sets,  I end up with two matching pot holders.  So I got out my sewing machine thinking I could sew them together to form an oven mitt.  Unfortunately they were too thick to fit under the machine foot ( I think that's what you call it ).

I was a little annoyed but not deterred.  So I got out my collection of sewing needles.  After a bit of trial and error I found a sharp yet thick  needle to sew through all the layers.

I put the right sides out and sewed around the pot holders leaving enough room to slip my hand in.

Yay  !! They worked.  For about 10 minutes of my time I was able to make something useful for my kitchen.

Here's what they look like.

Fancy Face Washers

Fancy face washers make lovely presents for females of any age.  My Grandma gave me face washers and hand towels with crocheted edges for birthday presents when I was little.  They were beautiful and I loved them.  It was twenty years before I was able to unpack them for use in my own home.  Every time I used them I thought of my Grandma.

I can't crochet ( yet ) so here's my version of a fancy face washer.  All you need is-

*  Scraps of material about 10 cm wide x the length of the face washer or hand towel.

*  New face washers or hand towels.

*  Sewing machine or neeedle and thread

*  Iron

Cut the material strip to the desired width and length allowing an extra centimetre for a seam around all the edges.

Fold and iron the one centimetre allowance back onto the wrong side of the material.

Sew the material onto the right side of the face washer.  Quite often face washers have a strip of detail woven across.  I cover this with the material.

Trim all cottons and there you have it,  a lovely present that cost $1 - $2.  My girls have requested one in their Christmas stocking.