Down & Dirty Oven Mitts

 

There are sewing projects that deserve precision, patience, perfectly matched points, and maybe even a little emotional investment.

 

An oven mitt is not one of them.

 

Not every project we make needs to earn us a Lifetime Achievement Award in Sewing. Sometimes I just want to make something cute, useful, and FAST... and then move on with my life.

 

I tested a ridiculous number of oven mitt shapes and sizes before landing on this one. Most were weirdly skinny. One felt like a catcher's mitt.

 

Sometimes I feel like I get too in my head about things.  Most of them were probably fine.  But they weren't fine enough.

 

But this one? This one is just right.

 

A Few Things Before You Start

 

I used regular quilting cotton for the exterior because I have approximately enough of it to survive several lifetimes, but you can absolutely experiment with other appropriate fabrics like canvas or linen.

 

For the inside, I used these terry cloth bar towels from Amazon. They’re inexpensive, easy to find, and I love that they give the mitts that real kitchen-towel feel. Plus, there is absolutely no reason for us to spend a fortune on the inside of an oven mitt. One towel is $1.50 and gives you enough terry cloth for one oven mitt. And one towel is a bit bigger than a fat quarter! 

 

You’ll also need the Down & Dirty Oven Mitt template (download is located at the bottom of this post).

 

When you print your template, check the 1-inch test square before cutting anything. The square should measure exactly 1" x 1". If it doesn’t, check your printer settings and make sure the template is printing at 100% or Actual Size. Otherwise, you may accidentally create the Down & Dirty Oven Mitt for a toddler... or a grizzly bear.

Supplies

You’ll need:

• Down & Dirty Oven Mitt template

• ½ yard quilting cotton (exterior, binding, and hanging loop)

• Terry cloth bar towel (one towel is enough for one oven mitt)(two 11"x16" pieces per mitt)

• Insul-Bright(two 11"x16" pieces per mitt)

• Batting or fusible fleece (two 11"x16" pieces per mitt)

• Binding (two 2.5"x8.5" pieces per mitt)

• Hanging Loop (one 2"x5" piece per mitt)

• Polyester thread
  

• Basic sewing supplies

• I like to use a 100/16 needle

Let's Make Some Oven Mitts

First, print and cut out the two pieces of the oven mitt template and piece them together as indicated.

Use the completed template to cut two oven mitt pieces from your quilting cotton. Pay attention to the direction of the pieces when cutting, you want the two pieces to mirror one another so you end up with a front and back rather than two mitts destined for the same hand.  Don't cut out anything from the template other than the quilting cotton!  Leave the terry cloth, insul-bright, fleece/batting as 11"x16" rectangles.

Now we're going to make our quilt sandwich.

Layer your materials in this order:

Terry cloth towel → Insul-Bright → batting or fusible fleece → quilting cotton

Your quilting cotton should be on top with the right side facing up.

Then quilt the whole thing however you'd like. Straight lines? Great. Crosshatch? Lovely. Free-motion masterpiece worthy of display at the Louvre? No, too much quilting may shrink your mitt, but you do you, boo;)

But remember what we're making here.

Down. And. Dirty.

 

Once your layers are quilted together, cut around the edge of your quilting cotton piece, through all of the layers to create your finished mitt shape.

 

Repeat the process for the other side.

 

Next, add your binding (two 2.5"x8.5" pieces per mitt) and make your little hanging loop (one 2"x5" piece per mitt). Place the two completed mitt pieces right sides together and sew around the mitt.

 

Turn that sucker right side out and voila.  You made an oven mitt.  No sewing marathon. No midnight sewing sesh. Just a really cute, really useful oven mitt.

Want to See Exactly How I Make Mine?

 

I made a full video tutorial to go along with this project, so watch the video in this post for more in-depth instructions and to see exactly how I layer, quilt, bind, and assemble my Down & Dirty Oven Mitts.

 

These are perfect for using up favorite fabrics, making quick gifts, adding to a housewarming basket, or replacing the sad oven mitt you've been using since approximately 2007.

 

Make one.

 

Make a pair.

 

Make twelve because suddenly everyone you know is getting oven mitts for Christmas.

 

Just don't turn it into a Lifetime Achievement Award in Sewing.

 

We're keeping this one Down & Dirty.

Down and Dirty Oven Mitt Template