Fall has arrived, or at least in my world it has… school started, so the first half of my day is homeschooling the boys. They’ve been great sports so far and I love the regular schedule as we settle into routine again.
With fall comes colorful leaves, chai tea, and casseroles 😋. What yummies will you be making for the fall? Are you working on Christmas already or did you cringe when I said that 😆?
I will definitely be trying out versions of the Casserole Hot Pad from Faith-Family-Farm in trivet and table runner sizes. I feel very Blessed to be asked to collaborate on this quick and easy project! Check out Dorene's original post here. Even with all the picture taking pauses, posing, and re-arranging for this blog post I was able to make this adorable 9x13” hot pad in about an hour.
Materials Needed
Here’s what you need to start:
2 pieces of 10x14” fabric
2 pieces of 10x14” 100% cotton batting – NO polyester
Thread in coordinating color, also in cotton – NO polyester
Topstitch 90/14 Needle for sewing machine, I like chrome as they are a bit stronger
Walking Foot would be very helpful here
Pins
Scissors
(see the first picture above)
To get started lay your two pieces of fabric Right Sides Together (RST) making sure to line up so they match. Then lay the two pieces of batting on top of the fabric, also making sure to match the edges.
I suggest pinning around the edges and a couple times in the middle, so nothing moves on you during sewing.
Tip: Double pin or use a different color pin (like red) where you want your 3-4” opening to be (not encompassing a corner), so you don’t accidentally sew through that space.
Sewing on the fabric side (batting side down) of your trivet, sew a ¼” seam around your trivet starting at the bottom pin of your opening being sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.
Trim your corners making sure to NOT cut into the seam, this will reduce bulk when you’re turning it right sides out.
Turn your trivet right side out. Using a point turning tool or chopstick to carefully push your corners out.
Press your trivet ensuring your seams are flat.
Saving the “best” for last carefully turn in the fabric at the opening a ¼”, so it can be sewn closed. I find it easiest to do this one side at a time pressing each side before going to the other.
Tip: The double layer of batting can be problematic for staying where it’s supposed to, so it may be easiest to pin it before pressing and sewing.
Sew a topstitch around the entire trivet starting just before the pins—let’s get the opening sewn up first 😅 and pull out those pins just before our foot runs them over.
I use a 1/8” seam allowance when doing topstitching.
We now have the trivet closed up, but it’s not quite ready for use yet. Every batting is a little bit different, but most require quilt stitching to be from 4-10” apart—this means that every 4 to 10” you need to have stitching that binds all the pieces together and since this project is well over 10” we need to do at least some quilting on it.
Doing some simple straight-line quilting or using a fancy, pre-programmed stitch on your machine is great, especially if you’re new to quilting your works. The thing to know is how far apart your batting will allow you to go and making sure to stay inside those parameters.
Once your quilting is done you can tie them off or hide them inside your trivet.
Viola! You’re done! Enjoy your Casserole Hot Pad/Trivet!
💜 Tracy
PS. If you'd like more sewing tutorials you might like these: