ADD A SPLASH OF COLOUR IN YOUR KITCHEN WITH AN EASY QUILTING PROJECT!
Pinwheel potholders are a quick, fun, and functional project that bring a beautiful pop of colour to your kitchen. In this tutorial, I’m showing you how to make a pair of striking potholders using just a few layer cake squares — even the binding comes from a layer cake!
I used Christmas fabric for mine, but this is an evergreen project that works with any colour palette or season. Once you learn the method, you’ll be stitching up pinwheel potholders all year long.
Supplies for Pinwheel Potholders
For this project, you’ll need:
- Fabric Layer Cake – You will need six pieces from a layer cake to make two potholders.
- Batting – I chose to use Insul-Brite to provide extra protection to my surfaces when using these potholders for hot dishes, but you could use cotton batting as well.
- Sewing machine
- Rotary cutter, cutting mat, and quilting ruler
- Pins or clips
- Iron and pressing mat
My suggestion when selecting your layer cake is to consider darker colours. Potholders will get used, and they will get dirty. Too much white fabric, and you’ll be making new potholders constantly. You’ll also want a layer cake that features a nice contrast of colours and patterns. The pinwheel pattern works well with two colours that really stand out from each other.
You can watch my YouTube video to see how I put together my own pinwheel potholders and get inspiration for your own.
Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my YOUTUBE CHANNEL, so you always hear about my latest projects!
For complete step-by-step instructions, continue reading below.
Instructions for Pinwheel Potholders
Start by choosing your fabrics from the layer cake. For the pinwheels, you’ll want to select two fabrics that are in high contrast to each other. For the backs, I chose to use two of the same print. Binding can be a totally different print.
To create your pinwheels, start with your two contrasting fabrics. Place them right sides together and sew them on all four sides. You do not need to leave an opening, as we will be cutting the fabric, not turning it right side out.
Layer cake squares sewn right sides together — this forms the base for your pinwheel potholders.
Once your two pieces are stitched together, you will cut as follows:
- Cut across the middle of the square, once horizontally and once vertically. As these are 10-inch squares, you will be cutting at the middle, which is 5 inches.
- Cut along the diagonal from each corner in an X.
- You will have made four cuts altogether.
- If you find it easier, draw the cut lines with a fabric pen first.
After all your cuts are completed, you will have eight pieces. Sort the pieces based on the patterns – four will look the same, and the other four will be the opposite. Press all the triangles, making sure that you press them all in the same direction, ie towards the darkest fabric. This will allow you to nest your pieces in the next step to create nice sharp points.
After cutting, press your triangle units and sort them for assembling each pinwheel block.
To build your pinwheels, use the four pieces that look the same. Arrange them into a square so that no two pieces of the same fabric are next to each other. Repeat this for the other set of pieces.
Stitch pieces 1 and 2 together, followed by 3 and 4 together, ensuring you are nesting the seams. Once those are stitched and pressed, sew the two halves together to create one block. Press your seams. Repeat this process for the second pinwheel block.
FABRIC + NOTIONS FOR EVERY PROJECT
From charm packs and jelly rolls to rulers and thread, Fat Quarter Shop is packed with everything a quilter or sewist could need. It’s one of my first stops when planning a project.
Now that you have created your pinwheel blocks, it’s time to assemble them into a potholder. Cut a piece of batting for each potholder approximately the same size as the backing layer cake piece. Place the backing wrong side up, with the batting on top, followed by the pinwheel block with the right side up, to create a sandwich.
At this stage, choose how you would like to quilt your potholders to keep the batting in place. I chose to do simple lines following the horizontal and vertical centre lines, but you could get very creative if you wanted to! Have fun with it.
After your quilting is finished, it’s time to bind your pinwheel potholders. I made my own binding using one piece from the layer cake for each potholder. Your potholders will measure approximately 8 ½” at this point, so using one layer cake piece cut into 2-inch strips will give you enough binding. Finish as desired.
And that’s it! You now have some lovely pinwheel potholders to add a handmade touch to any kitchen.
These potholders will not only add handmade happiness to your own kitchen, but they also make for wonderful gifts during the holiday season. Make a stack of them to have on hand!
For another fun kitchen project, you might like my Quilt-As-You-Go Placemats.
Want to remember this? Save “How to Make Pinwheel Potholders: A Simple Quilted Kitchen Project” to your favourite Pinterest boards!
