I have a small scar on the inside of my forearm from the Great Cookie Tray Debacle of 2009. If you’re a multi-tasker, and most creative folks are multi-taskers, I’m sure you can relate. Just because you’re doing your holiday baking doesn’t mean you aren’t also doing three or four other things, such as talking on the phone, scolding the children, trying to step over the dog… soooooo, when you pull those cookie trays out of the oven, you may not be paying attention like you should. Ouch! This (and a few other scars) is why I’ve switched to oven mitts. They have better coverage for my hands and continue up my arms.

We used fat quarters for this adorable set. Pre-cuts are a great way to test a collection. Pre-cut bundles are a great way to test a fabric collection. When you buy a complete fat quarter bundle, it traditionally includes forty 18″ x 22″ cuts from all the patterns and colorways within one collection.

Each mitt takes just two fat quarters, so with one bundle, you can mix and match to make oven mitts to protect your entire extended, multi-tasking family! We originally chose fabric from the Simple Marks collection by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda Fabrics. This is an older collection that is unlikely to be readily available at retail, but there are gorgeous new collections coming out from all the top manufacturers every month. Our favorite online source for pre-cut bundles is Fat Quarter Shop.

There is a free pattern download below, and you’ll find step-by-step instructions for the main mitt layering as well as the cute contrasting cuff and hanging tab.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Sewing Machine and standard presser foot
• Open Toe Satin Stitch foot with Quilt Bar; optional for more precise quilting lines

Fabric and Other Supplies

Supplies listed below are for TWO coordinating (but not exactly matching) oven mitts; you could make just one, but then your other hand would be sad.

• FOUR Fat Quarters (if you choose not to use fat quarters, you’ll need ½ yard cuts from four coordinating fabrics)
• ½ yard of 45″ wide thermal batting: we used Insul-Bright by The Warm Company
• ¼ yard of 45″ mid-weight fusible interfacing; we used Pellon Décor Bond
• TWO ¾” D rings
• All purpose thread to match fabrics
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Tape measure
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Straight pins

Getting Started and Pattern Download

1. Download and print the Oven Mitt Top and Oven Mitt Bottom patterns.
   IMPORTANT: Each pattern download consists of ONE 8½” x 11″ sheet. You must print the PDF files at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page.
2. Cut out each piece along the solid line. Aligning the arrows on the pattern, butt together the two pieces – do not overlap – and tape to create the full mitt pattern.
3. From the thermal batting, use the pattern to cut FOUR mitts. Cut two with the thumb facing left, and two with the thumb facing right.
4. Fold the exterior fabric for mitt one wrong sides together and use the pattern to cut TWO mitts.
5. Fold the exterior fabric for mitt two wrong sides together and use the pattern to cut TWO mitts.
6. From the lining fabric for mitt one, which is also the binding and loop fabric for BOTH mitts cut the following:
   Fold the fabric, wrong sides together, and use the pattern to cut TWO mitts
   TWO 3″ x 13″ strips for both binding loops
   TWO 4″ x 1½” strips for both D-ring loops
7. Fold the lining fabric for mitt two wrong sides together, and use the pattern to cut TWO mitts.
   NOTE: You are folding the fabric each time so you don’t end up with two left or two right hands.
   
8. From the mid-weight interfacing, cut TWO 2″ x 12″ strips
9. When done, for each mitt, you should have two of each layer (exterior, thermal batting, lining) that match up when placed together.
   

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. Place a thermal batting mitt right side up (shiny side up) on your work surface.
2. Place an exterior mitt right side up on top of the thermal mitt.
   
3. Align the pieces so the two mitts match up perfectly. Pin in place around the edges as well as some in the middle. The quilting steps are next and you don’t want your layers to shift.
4. Repeat to layer the remaining three exterior pairs.
5. With the exterior layer right side up, quilt parallel vertical lines, 1″ apart, across the width of each layered mitt. We recommend starting with a vertical line at the exact center of the mitt, then quilt in 1″ increments out to the right, then out to the left.
6. We used our Janome Open Toe Satin Stitch foot with a quilt bar.
   NOTE: The quilt bar runs along your previous stitch line, keeping your new stitch line perfectly parallel. The quilt bar is adjustable so we could adjust to our 1″ width. If you do not have a quilt bar option on your machine, you can simply draw lines onto the exterior to follow (make sure your fabric pen or pencil easily wipes away or vanishes with exposure to air or the heat of an iron since you are working on the right side of the fabric).
7. Repeat to quilt the remaining three layered sets.
8. The photo below shows you two finished quilted exterior mitts paired up with their two plain lining pieces. This photo is just to show you how everything matches up – the exterior and lining are sewn together separately.
   
9. Place a quilted front and quilted back right sides together, matching all raw edges. Pin around the outside edge, leaving the cuff open.
10. Place the un-quilted lining pieces right sides together, also matching all raw edges. Pin around the outside edge, leaving the cuff open.
11. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch the front and back exterior pieces together through all four layers. Double stitch the curve from the thumb to the finger area to reinforce.
12. Grade the seam allowance around all curves. Clip the curves and clip into the ‘V’ of the thumb, but be careful you don’t clip the stitching!
    NOTE: If you are new, check out our full tutorials on grading seams and sewing curves. 
13. Turn the exterior mitts right side out.
14. Using a ⅝” seam allowance, stitch the front and back lining pieces together. Trim the seam allowance back to approximately ¼”. Keep the lining mitts wrong side out.
    
15. Slip a lining mitt inside each exterior mitt. The two sewn mitt pieces are now wrong sides together. Adjust as needed so the two pieces fit together flat and the top raw edges of the open cuff ends are flush. As an option, you can baste the layers together around the cuff edge as an extra protection against the layers shifting.
    
16. Set the mitts aside.

Binding and loops

1. Find your two 4″ x 1½” hanging loop rectangles. Fold each rectangle in half (so it is now 4″ x ¾) right sides together. Using a ¼” allowance, stitch along the 4″ side of each folded strip.
2. Turn right side out through an open end and press flat.
3. Fold the finished strips in half so the raw ends are flush.
4. Find the 13″ x 3″ binding strip and the 10″ x 2″ interfacing strip. Center an interfacing side to side and top to bottom on the wrong side of each binding strip. You should have ½” of fabric showing all around. Following manufacturer’s instructions, fuse the interfacing in place.
5. Fold back each long side by ½” and press well.
6. Fold the binding strip in half, wrong sides together, so the folded edges align.
   
7. Slip each small sewn strip through a D-ring.
   
8. Find the two mitts. Place them side by side on your work surface with the raw top edges facing up, sewn rounded ends facing down, and with the thumb of one mitt facing right and the thumb of the other mitt facing left. The side facing up is what will be the “top” of each mitt so make sure you are happy that this is your “best” side.
9. Place one folded D-ring tab at the center top of each mitt. The raw edges of the tab should be flush with the raw top edges of the mitt. Machine or hand baste the tabs in place close to the raw edge.
10. Open up the folds of each binding strip so the crease lines are visible. Place the raw ends right sides together, aligning the folds and the crease lines, forming a loop. Pin in place. Stitch the ends together, using a ½” seam allowance.
11. Press open the seam allowance, turn the loop right side out, and and re-fold it along the original crease lines. You now have a binding loop.
12. Slip a binding loop over the raw edges of cuff each mitt. Pin the binding to the mitt all around the top.
13. Make sure your machine is threaded with thread to best match the binding loop in the top and bobbin. Re-set for a slightly lengthened straight stitch.
14. Stitch in place all the way around the cuff to secure the binding. Go slowly so you are catching both the front and the back of the binding in this one seam.
    
15. If you are unsure of your ability to keep a tight, straight stitch to secure both sides, you can re-set your machine for a tiny zig zag stitch and stitch all the way around, allowing one swing of the zip sag to fall into the binding and the opposite swing to land just within the mitt itself.
    
    NOTE: If your machine does not have a free arm, you can hand stitch the binding in place with a slip stitch or a whip stitch.
    
     

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Aimee McGaffey