Potholder Recovery

"My name is Mrs. Micawber, and I have hideous potholders." This confession dates from last year, and I'm sorry to say it's still true.

Here's my problem: I hate to throw things out - especially faithful old household linens that have served me well. An item may be worn, torn, stained, or otherwise unlovely - but unless it's positively in shreds, I don't want to get rid of it. (This applies to tee shirts as well.) As long as there's some useful life left, the faithful object stays in circulation, be it towel, washcloth, dishcloth, or potholder. At worst, it will be honourably demoted to the rag drawer for a continued career in the cleaning department. (The contents of my rag drawer could best be described as: "Too bad for Goodwill, too good for the trash.")

But I digress. In that same potholder post, I challenged myself to make some nicer ones - not only to make them, but to use them. So here's another confession: of the two potholders I made last year, neither is living an active, useful life. One, rather dreadful, is highly impractical and sits at the bottom of the drawer. The other is so very nice that I can't bear to handle hot pans with it, with for fear it may be scorched - instead it enjoys a sheltered existence as a mini-placemat under my breakfast plate every morning.

So the hideous potholders are still with me, still in regular use - and their appearance is a daily reproach to my kitchen aesthetic. Here is one of them (prepare to be shocked):

Dreadful, isn't it? (Its twin is even worse and will be dealt with in some later post.)

There's an old saying, often used to justify the application of cosmetics to the female visage: "If the barn needs painting, paint it." I've decided to apply this principle to my ugly potholders, and combine utility with beauty, economy with aesthetics. It's time for a little potholder intervention.

So into the fabric stash for some bits both pretty (calico) and useful (denim):

Now off with the old torn potholder binding.

A new backing is cut from the denim, with about 1" clearance all around.

And now for the makeover.

A small strip of pretty fabric, a little longer than the potholder's width, is sewn right side up to one edge of the potholder...

...and the potholder is placed back on the denim. (All future layers will be stitched through the potholder and the denim together.)

The next fabric is placed  on the first, right sides together, edges matching, and stitched...

...then flipped over to conceal the seam.

Now the second fabric is trimmed at a pleasing angle...

...ready for the application of the next strip (which is placed as before: face down, edges aligned, then stitched):

Another flip. It's starting to look prettier already.

Here it is with all the strips applied:

Since each strip has been sewn through all thicknesses, the potholder has quilted itself in the process.

Now the calico edges are trimmed even with the potholder core (leaving the excess denim intact):

And here we are - almost done. (I forgot to mention that the final fabric edge was sewn to the potholder only - the denim was folded back to allow for this.)

Time to use that extra denim. It's folded over twice, to conceal the potholder edge, and stitched down - opposite sides first:

Opposite sides stitched down first

A bit of each corner is trimmed to eliminate some of the bulk (sorry, no pictures of this part).

Now for the last two hems. But first, a little sewing hint. I keep an old zipper package insert folded up in my sewing machine drawer...

...for just such an occasion as this. Placed behind the presser foot, it gives the extra leverage needed to sew through a very thick seam or hem - like this one. Now the last two sides are hemmed:

Et voilà! Look at the pretty new front...

...and the neatly quilted utilitarian back.

Mission accomplished! And since I wasn't too picky about keeping things perfectly square - quick and dirty was my motto here - it only took about 45 minutes from fabric selection to snipping the last thread.

I have attained potholder recovery, and am happy to report that this potholder has already seen active duty in the heat of kitchen battle.

The best part? If it gets scorched or stained, I can cover it again. And again. I have LOTS of fabric scraps to use up.

Do you have trouble throwing things out? Do you ever avoid using things for fear of ruining them? If so, tell all. It will make me feel much better. : )

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