Every year I try to make something handmade as a gift for family and friends. This year, I went with oven mitts! Everyone can use a good oven mitt and who wouldn’t want one catered to their personal style. They’re super easy to make and can be a great scrapbuster too. This tutorial will walk you through how to create a basic oven mitt. I used the pattern that comes on the Insulbright batting package, but there are tons of patterns floating around online for free!
The following instructions are for creating a single oven mitt.
Materials Needed
For the exterior and lining, pick a woven fabric. Quilting cotton is a great choice, but you could also do a canvas, linen, ikat, etc.
- 1/4 yard fabric for the exterior
- 1/4 yard fabric for lining
- Fabric for binding – very little is needed, could be a great use for a scrap!
- Insulated batting, l use Insulbright
- About 1/4 yard cotton quilt batting
- Sewing machine and basic supplies (scissors, thread, pins)
Making the Oven Mitt
1. Cutting the pieces
Create a pattern by tracing around an existing oven mitt. Add 1” extra seam allowance around the perimeter. If you would rather use an existing pattern, there are tons available on Pinterest. If you’ve purchased Insulbright lining (here’s a link), there is a pattern included in the package.
Use the pattern you’ve traced or printed to cut the following pieces:
- 2 pieces of main fabric
- 2 pieces of lining
- 2 pieces of Insulbright
- 4 pieces of quilt batting*** Some patterns will direct you to only use a single layer of batting. I personally like to add a layer on either side of the insulation to ensure that the oven mitt can be used on either hand without risk of burns.
2. Quilting the Layers
Make a sandwich of fabric and batting by placing the pieces in the following order:
- exterior fabric
- batting
- insulbright
- batting
- lining
The insulbright should be surrounded by a layer of batting and a layer of fabric on either side. Pin the layers together. I quilted straight lines on my oven mitts, so I used a washable marker to mark the lines as well.
Quilt layers together by sewing straight lines or a pattern across the material to secure all layers.
3. Attach a binding
Cut a strip of fabric about 2 inches wide and long enough to go around the opening of the mitt plus some extra for overlap.
Fold the strip in half lengthwise and iron. Pin the strip to the edge of the mitt matching the open edges. Sew together with a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Once sewn, fold the strip over to the other side of the mitt and sew it down, encasing the raw edge of the oven mitt.
If your binding was wider than your oven mitt, trim the excess.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with remaining pieces
You should have 2 sides of the oven mitt quilted and bound.
5. Sewing the pieces together
Place the quilted pieces together with the right sides together.
Sew around the mitt with a 1/2” seam allowance. I recommend 1/2” here instead of the standard 1/4” used in quilting, because there are a lot of layers and things may shift. Leave the bottom unsewn and open.
Clip the curves, particularly around the thumb, for a smoother edge when turned right side out.
6. Finishing
Turn the mitt right side out, push out the thumb and fingers, and iron flat.
Congrats! You’ve made an oven mitt! Now you’re ready to bake all the quilt cookies that your heart desires 😉
