Hot Pads

As mothers and wives we don’t always have time in the different seasons of life to accomplish all we want to do. Sometimes we need to downsize projects. Making hot pads is a do-able, downsized quilting project for me at this season of life. They are fairly quick. I can make them out of scraps. And they make wonderful, usable gifts.

My dear daughter-in-law is in desperate need of new hot pads. I had hoped to make her some in time for Christmas. It didn’t happen. But I have made two with a Valentine theme for her for Valentine’s Day.

I simply appliquéd a white heart, which I cut using a cookie cutter for the pattern, on the center of the 8” green square. Then the fun part, I made patterns of her two daughters hands one day when I was watching them. I cut their hands out of red fabric scraps and then appliquéd these pieces on top of the white heart, over-lapping the palms slightly to imitate a vague heart shape. I used a fabric marker to write their names and the date.



I used two layers of a special batting that protects from heat in the center of the hot pad. You could also use old wool army blankets to make the batting. I machine quilted around the girls’ hands and inside the white heart. The binding matches the back of the hot pad. But any coordinating fabric works.



In the past I have made heart hot pads using a portion of a Thimbleberry block pattern.



Any block pattern approximately 8-8 1/2” works great. If it is smaller just add sashing around the edges.