I wanted to learn the best way to make double oven mitts, so I went to big department stores to see exactly how professionals make them. I even bought 3 mitts and deconstructed them! This tutorial and free pattern (download pattern here) are based on this research. I’ve also included lots of tips to help you achieve a neat and professional-looking finish.
This sewing project suits advanced beginners and intermediate sewists. I think someone new to sewing would struggle to make bias binding, and lack some of the recommended equipment (walking foot, fabric glue, rotary cutter and mat, etc). I recommend starting with a small quilted potholder instead and then moving on to this.
Estimated time: a few hours a day for 2 – 3 days. Expect to spend day 1 ironing and cutting your fabric, and making bias binding. Expect to spend day 2 quilting. And expect to sew the pieces together and the bias binding on day 3. This is how I broke up the project into 3 relaxed days, rather than rushing it.
Design features:
- Approximate finished size: 36 1/4″ length x 7 1/2″ width (92cm x 19cm).
- Quilted with a diamond-shaped grid.
- Bias binding finish. No hand sewing. It’s robustly sewn with machine stitching and I use fabric glue to make sure I catch the back of the binding.
- Hanging tab.
- Uses heat-resistant batting (Insul-bright) plus cotton batting for a safer oven mitt.
- Design and construction method inspired by professionally-made oven mitts.
Contents list:
- How stores make double oven mitts
- Get the free sewing pattern
- Don’t have a printer? Use these cutting measurements
- What supplies you need
- Step-by-step sewing tutorial
How stores make double oven mitts & gloves
This info is based on 4 double oven mitts that I studied from stores, plus another 7+ oven mitts in different shapes.
What fabrics do stores use?
They all used medium-heavyweight cotton fabric for the outer layers. The fabric was still flexible though, not stiff, and normally tightly woven. For example, premium brand Le Creuset used cotton canvas for some of their oven mitts. It’s important that the fabric is thick so that holes can’t burn through.
Stores normally used the same outer fabric to make bias binding, or a similar fabric in a contrasting color. This binding was used to finish the edges. The finished width of the binding was normally 1/2″ (1.3cm).
The hand pockets were normally lined with lightweight cotton fabric. Think cotton poplin, broadcloth, or muslin (aka. “calico” in the UK). Budget stores used cotton muslin with a loose weave. It’s cheap and does the job. More expensive stores used a tightly woven cotton broadcloth or poplin instead.
Some stores used terry toweling. I’m guessing it absorbs condensation and adds some heat or steam protection. I saw stores use toweling in 2 places. The hand pocket linings, or for the back of the double oven mitt (the side that touches the hot trays and dishes).
Stores often used bias binding and cotton twill tape to make the hanging tabs.
What batting / wadding do stores use?
The batting (also known as wadding) used inside oven mitts was generally polyester, which may surprise people. But polyester batting from craft stores should not be used. They provide zero heat protection (I tested it with an iron). The version that stores use seems to be a specialist polyester batting with heat-resistant properties.
The best alternative for home sewists is a heat-resistant batting like Insul-Bright. It must be used with at least 1 layer of cotton batting according to the company.
The stores often used battings that were fluffy and quite lofty. About 3/8″ to 1/2″ thick (1cm – 1.3cm).
Related: Best Fabric & Batting for DIY Oven Mitts & Gloves (What the Pros Use)
What construction method do stores use?
They generally use the same method I’m going to teach in today’s tutorial. I deconstructed 3 oven mitts to figure this out. One thing is different though; the way that stores attach bias binding. They have industrial bias binding tools which allow them to accurately sew binding in one go. Home sewists don’t usually have this, so we’re going to sew ours differently (sew the binding to one edge, flip it over, glue it in place, ‘stitch-in-the-ditch’ to secure the back).
Get the oven mitt sewing pattern (free printable PDF)
You can download the template from my resource library. The pattern uses 3 pages. It includes 3 pieces: the “base”, the “hand pocket”, and the “hanging tab”. To save paper, the “base” piece has been cut in half, so you need to cut this piece “on the fold” of your fabric (I’ll explain this in the tutorial below).
Printer settings:
- “100% scale”, “do not scale”, or something similar. You don’t want your computer to shrink or enlarge the pattern because this will make the measurements inaccurate.
- Print on ONE side, not both sides of a page.
- Print the correct file for your printer: A4 for A4 printers, and US Letter for US Letter printers. Using the wrong file for your printer will lead to inaccurate measurements (I’ve tried it).
- Ideally, use the free Adobe Acrobat software to print the pattern accurately (it’s a PDF management software). Sometimes printing through an internet browser will slightly shrink or enlarge patterns, even if you select “100% scale” (it’s baffling).
- Once your pattern has been printed, measure the 1″ or 3cm measuring square to make sure the pattern is the correct size. Use an accurate steel ruler to do this. Flexible tape measures can be inaccurate on the ends.
Don’t have a printer? Here are the cutting measurements
Use these measurements to draw your own oven mitt pieces on wrapping or kraft paper.
IMPORTANT: The measurements below are for the actual pattern pieces, but you should cut your fabric roughly 1″ around the “base” and “hand pocket” pattern pieces first. This gives you extra fabric to play with as you quilt the layers together. You can then trim off the excess and cut precisely around the pattern pieces.
Note: these measurements have been rounded.
“Base” piece:
- 36 1/4″ x 7 1/2″
- 92cm x 19cm
- Cut 2 of the “base” pieces out of your main fabric. Cut 1 out of cotton batting. Cut 1 out of heat-resistant batting (like Insul-bright).
IMPORTANT: This is the full length of the oven mitt and has not been cut in half like the pattern (to save paper). So you don’t need to cut this piece “on the fold”. Remember to cut the short ends in a curved shape after quilting.
“Hand pocket” piece:
- 7 1/2″ x 9 1/8″
- 19cm x 23cm
- Cut 2 “hand pocket” pieces out of your main fabric. Cut 2 out of cotton batting. Cut 2 out of lining fabric (like cotton poplin, broadcloth, or muslin/calico)
You’ll need to cut a curved shape on one side after quilting.
“Hanging tab” piece:
- 4 3/8″ x 1 6/8″
- 11cm x 4.5cm
- Cut 1 piece out of your main fabric.
Bias binding tape:
- You need a length of at least 118″ (300cm). If you’re making your own tape, you can join shorter pieces together to create this length.
- The width of the binding should be 2″ (5cm).
What supplies you need
Project-specific items:
- 0.7 yards (0.7 meters) of medium to thick cotton fabric. For example, cotton canvas. This estimate is based on 56″ wide fabric (1.4 meters).
- A fat quarter, or 0.4 yards (0.4 meters) of light-medium weight cotton fabric for the lining. For example, broadcloth, poplin, or muslin (aka. “calico” in the UK).
- 0.4 yards (0.4 meters) of cotton batting. This estimate is based on 60″ wide batting (1.5 meters).
- 0.4 yards (0.4 meters) of heat-resistant batting. I used Insul-Bright. This estimate is based on 45″ wide batting (1.2 meters). If you get the 22″ wide version of Insul-Bright, you’ll need 1.1 yards (1 meter).
- At least 118″ (3.3 yards or 3 meters) of cotton bias binding tape. The width should be 2″ (5cm). If you’re making your own tape, you can join shorter pieces together to create this length. Avoid polyester because it could melt.
- If you can’t find the right pre-made bias binding, get an extra 1/2 yard or meter of your main fabric (thick cotton) to make bias binding.
- Matching cotton thread. A 40-weight is slightly thicker than a general-purpose thread, creating more defined quilting, but a thinner general-purpose 50-weight thread should be fine too. I used Gutermann’s “Cotton 30”.
- Fabric glue (highly recommended but optional). It’s a game-changer for sewing bias binding without missing sections on the back. Get one with a narrow nozzle. This lets you squeeze thin lines of glue, giving you more control. Fabri-Tac by Beacon has this design.
Note: I’ve rounded up some of the fabric estimates. For example, 0.4 yards is technically equal to 0.36576 meters, but obviously, you can’t buy fabric that precisely. I don’t want to round down in case you need that extra bit of fabric, so I rounded up.
Fabric advice:
Your dressmaking cotton shouldn’t be used for the outer layer. It’s too thin, so you’ll probably burn a hole through the fabric at some point. You can use it to line the hand pockets though.
Look at the upholstery section of fabric stores to get the right kind of material. It should be quite thick but flexible, not stiff. And make sure it’s 100% cotton. Synthetics could melt or burn. Use a tightly woven material. A medium-heavy weight cotton canvas meets this criteria, and I’ve seen premium brands like Le Creuset use it for their oven mitts.
Linen is fine at handling the heat (I made a potholder with it), but it’s normally loosely woven, which we don’t want. The white fibers from your batting will poke through the linen and be visible on the outside.
Basic sewing tools:
- A walking foot (highly recommended but optional).
- A quilting guide for your walking foot (optional).
- Temporary spray adhesive for “spray basting” the layers together before they’re quilted. I used Odif 505. An alternative to “spray basting” is “pin basting”. You use safety pins or quilting pins to hold the layers together instead.
- 6″ x 24″ quilting ruler to draw your quilt guidelines and bias tape cutting lines.
- Fabric marking tool: pen, pencil, chalk, etc. I used a hera marker to mark my quilting guidelines. It basically leaves creases in your fabric rather than colored marks. I also found chalk helpful.
- Fabric scissors.
- Rotary cutter and mat (highly recommended but optional).
- Sewing pins.
- Sewing clips to hold bulky layers of fabric together (optional).
- Size 90 “universal” sewing machine needles. These are designed for thick fabric.
- Measuring tape.
- Steam iron and ironing board.
- Seam ripper for undoing mistakes.
- A sewing machine.
- 2 or 3 bobbins full of your cotton thread. This is how much I used to make my oven mitt.
Related: 32+ Quilting Supplies for Beginners & Beyond (Tested)
How to make double oven mitts (step-by-step tutorial)
Here’s the process in a nutshell:
- Cut the pieces out of fabric.
- (Optional) Make bias binding tape.
- Quilt the “base” and “hand pockets”.
- Sew bias binding to the top edge of the hand pockets.
- Sew the hand pockets to the “base” piece.
- Make the “hanging tab”.
- Sew the “hanging tab” on one edge of the “base” (in the middle).
- Sew bias binding around the entire edge of the oven mitt.
Full details below. If you’re not sure about a step, email me 🙂
1. Cut out all the pieces. Use my free printable template (download here).
I’m assuming you’ve already prepared your fabric for sewing (wash, dry, and iron all the creases out). Tip: If you’re struggling to iron any creases out, use water to make the “problem area” damp, then place your iron on top for a while until the crease disappears.
Print the sewing pattern out. Join the pages together. Cut out each pattern piece.
Place the pattern pieces on top of the correct fabric. Make sure the straight arrow on the patterns is going in the same direction as the “selvage edges” of your fabrics. The selvage edges are the tightly woven, finished edges that don’t fray. They sometimes have a row of tiny dots running along them, or writing. This rule doesn’t matter when you cut batting. Non-woven materials don’t have “grainlines” like fabrics do.
Cut approximately 1″ around the “base” and “hand pocket” patterns so you have extra fabric.
Why do you need extra fabric? When you quilt the layers together, there will likely be some shifting. If you cut your pieces out exactly, there is zero room for errors, so I don’t recommend this. Even with a walking foot my layers shift a little, creating wonky edges. This makes binding the edges harder. If you have extra fabric, you can cut off the wonky edges after quilting, and then bind the edges neatly.
For the “base” piece, cut out:
- 2 pieces X main fabric (this is the fabric that will show on the outside of your oven mitts)
- 1 piece X cotton batting
- 1 piece X heat-resistant batting (like Insul-bright)
REMEMBER to cut the “base” pieces ON THE FOLD. This means fold your fabric in half width-wise (so bring the selvage edges together). Line up the “cut on the fold” edge of the pattern with the folded edge of fabric. Cut around the pattern, through both layers of fabric. Do NOT cut the folded edge of fabric though. When you open the fabric, you’ll have 1 long “base” piece that’s symmetrical on both sides.
For the “hand pocket”, cut out:
- 2 pieces X main fabric
- 2 pieces X cotton batting
- 2 pieces X lining fabric (like cotton poplin, broadcloth, or muslin/calico)
For the “hanging tab”, cut out:
- 1 piece X main fabric
Note: cut around this pattern piece exactly. We’re not quilting the “hanging tab”, so there’s no need for extra fabric.
2. (Optional) Make bias binding tape
We’re going to finish the raw edges of our oven mitt with bias binding. This is a strip of fabric that’s cut at 45 degrees, along the “true bias” of the fabric. Fabric on the bias is stretchy. We need this stretch to smoothly curve around the edges of the oven mitt.
You can buy bias binding tape pre-made from stores, however, it can be hard to find 100% cotton tape. You don’t want polyester because there’s a risk it will melt when you touch hot items.
Here’s how to make your own. I’ve tried different methods and I think this is the simplest way when you don’t need large amounts of tape.
For this project, we need a minimum of 118″ (3.3 yards or 3 meters) of cotton bias binding tape. The width should be 2″ (5cm). You’ll need roughly half a yard or meter of your main fabric for this.
Draw the 45 degree cutting lines
Lay out your fabric on a table or cutting mat (if you’re using a rotary cutter). It should be a single layer of fabric, not folded.
Line up the long edge of your 6″ x 24″ quilting ruler with the selvage edge of your fabric. Make sure there’s fabric on the left and right side of the ruler that isn’t covered.
Find the 45 degree line on your ruler. Use a fabric marking tool (I used red chalk) to mark the start and end of the 45 degree line on your fabric.
Now move your ruler so that it’s going in the same direction as the marks, and draw a line between both marks. Keep drawing this line until you reach the end of your fabric.
Measure how long this line is. I used my tape measure because it’s longer than my quilting ruler. Mine was roughly 20″ long (51cm). I knew I needed 118″ of binding for this project (3.3 yards, 3 meters), so I needed to create at least 6 strips of a similar size (118 / 20 = 5.9, which rounds up to 6).
Now use your quilting ruler to measure 2″ (5cm) away from your first line. Draw a second line. Keep repeating this until you’ve created all the strips you need.
Cut the bias binding strips
Use your quilting ruler and rotary cutter to accurately cut along the lines.
Cut off the selvage edges. This part of the fabric is stiff, so we don’t want it in our final oven mitt.
Cut the other end of the strips to separate them from the fabric.
We want both ends of each strip to be a 45 degree triangle shape. Fold the edges so they create a 45 degree triangle. Finger press the fold.
Open the fabric and cut along the folded line.
Sew the strips together
Now we need to join the strips together to create 1 long bias binding tape. Place 2 strips on top of each other, so the “right” sides of the fabric are facing each other (this means the nice side of the fabric that you want showing on the outside of your oven mitts). Match up the triangular edges (aka. the short edges). Put a pin along the 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance.
Now sew along the edge with a 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance. Make sure you sew from POINT TO POINT so the strips match up perfectly.
“Backstitch” at the beginning and end to secure the line of stitching (or use a “lockstitch”, or sew the start and end with a tiny stitch length of 1.5).
Suggested sewing machine settings:
- Straight stitch
- Stitch length: 2.5
- Tension: 4
Keep repeating this until you create 1 long strip of bias binding.
Press the seam allowances open using an iron.
Cut off the excess bits of fabric to create straight strips.
Fold and iron the strips to create double-fold bias binding
Fold the bias binding in half (width-wise). Iron the fold.
Open the bias binding, and fold both edges towards the fold line in the middle. If you’re using a thin batting, leave a 1/8″ gap (0.3cm) on one side of the fold line. This gives us a little extra fabric to cover the bulky edges of the oven mitt (“turn-of-the-cloth”). If you’re using a thick and lofty batting (like 1/2″ or 1.3cm), leave a 1/8″ gap (0.3cm) on both sides of the fold line, giving you an extra 1/4″ (0.6cm) for the turn-of-the-cloth. Iron the folds in place.
Tip: I used a long quilting pin in my ironing board to keep the binding open as I ironed the folds. You may find this helpful as well to stop your binding from moving about.
Fold the bias binding in the middle again. Let one side be slightly wider than the other (see photo below to see this subtle detail). This will make it easier for us to catch the back when we sew the binding later. Iron the bias binding again to set all the creases with heat.
If there are any wobbly edges, refold and iron them to make them straight.
3. Quilt the “base” and “hand pocket” layers
Place your layers like this to create your “quilt sandwiches”.
“Base” piece layers:
If you ARE using a walking foot
- Back main fabric piece at the bottom. (The “right” side should be facing your table).
- Cotton batting.
- Heat-resistant batting (Insul-Bright).
- Front main fabric piece at the top. This is the side we’re going to draw quilting guidelines on. (The “right” side should be facing up, looking at you).
If you’re NOT using a walking foot
- Front main fabric piece at the bottom. (The “right” side should be facing your table).
- Heat-resistant batting (Insul-Bright).
- Cotton batting.
- Back main fabric piece at the top. This is the side we’re going to draw quilting guidelines on. (The “right” side should be facing up, looking at you).
I put the front main fabric piece at the bottom so it touches the feed dogs and is fed through the machine properly. Without a walking foot, the top layer will shift as you sew, creating little pleats between your lines of quilting. At least this way, any pleats will be on the back of the oven mitt where it’s less noticeable.
After you’ve drawn the quilting guidelines, hold the “quilt sandwich” layers together with quilting pins, safety pins, or a temporary spray adhesive like Odif 505.
And in case you’re wondering, there isn’t a “right” or “wrong” side of Insul-bright (unless the packaging says otherwise). The insulation is sandwiched between two pieces of thin batting which are then needle punched, making either side the “right” side.
“Hand pocket” layers (you’ll have 2 hand pockets):
- Cotton batting at the bottom.
- Lining fabric at the top. The “right” side should be facing up, looking at you. This is the side we’re going to draw quilting guidelines on. (Sometimes the fibers of fluffy battings get stuck in the presser foot, so that’s why I put the lining fabric on top instead. It’s also easier to mark your guidelines on fabric rather than batting).
After you’ve drawn the quilting guidelines, hold the “quilt sandwich” layers together with quilting pins, safety pins, or a temporary spray adhesive like Odif 505.
Note: we only need to quilt the batting and lining layers together to reduce bulk. I’m also not sure how well the batting will survive washing if it’s unquilted.
On the outside, it will look as if the hand pockets are not quilted. If you want your hand pocket to have a quilted look on the outside, put the main fabric piece at the top of the quilt sandwich if you’re using a walking foot, or at the bottom if you’re not. You’ll need to pay extra attention when you mark your quilting guidelines to make them match the quilting on the “base” piece.
Draw the quilting guidelines
Fold the “base” pattern along the quilting guideline (it’s a grey dashed line).
Select the fabric that will be facing up while you quilt (the front main fabric if you’re using a walking foot, or the back main fabric if you’re not).
Place the “base” pattern on top of the fabric, in the middle (so there’s excess fabric at the top and sides to allow for shifting).
Place a weight on top of the pattern, and use your hand to hold it down. Use your other hand to mark the fabric along the folded “quilting guideline”. I used a hera marker, but chalk and fabric pens are fine too (just test them on the same type of fabric first. We don’t want them to leave permanent lines).
Move the pattern up and down to complete the line from fabric edge to fabric edge.
Flip the pattern around and repeat this for the opposite side, so now we have 2 intersecting lines.
Use your 6″ x 24″ ruler to mark lines that are 1 1/2″ (4cm) away from the previous line. Keep doing this until the entire piece of fabric has quilting marks.
Alternatively, you could use a quilting guide for your walking foot. This is a curved bar that slots into your walking foot (there’s a hole for it at the back). Rather than marking every single quilt line, you can just mark one (on opposite sides), and then use the bar to sew evenly spaced lines.
In the same way, mark quilting guidelines on the hand pocket lining pieces. You can be less precise here because the quilting won’t be visible on the outside of your oven mitt.
“Baste” the quilt sandwich layers together
Now that you’ve finished marking your guidelines, “baste” the layers of your “quilt sandwich” together. In sewing, baste means to temporarily join layers together to reduce shifting. You can use safety pins, quilting pins, or a spray adhesive like Odif 505.
Start machine quilting
If you have a walking foot, attach it to your machine now.
Let’s start quilting the “hand pockets”. They’re small pieces that are going to be hidden, so it’s best to practise with them. Quilt the “hand pocket” layers for 1 hand pocket together. Start in the middle. Try to quilt in one direction to avoid puckers and drag lines. There’s no need to backstitch.
Suggested sewing machine settings:
- Straight stitch
- Stitch length: 3.5
- Tension: 4 or 5
Repeat this for the second “hand pocket”.
Repeat this quilting process for the “base” piece layers. I recommend increasing the tension to 5 and a half though (so between 5 and 6 on the dial). The standard tension of 4 didn’t look right when I started sewing through double the layers. The stitching looked loose and undefined at the back.
5 and a half created defined stitches at the front and back, without creating any tight puckers along the stitch line.
Make the first line of stitching in the middle of the “base” piece. This is to reduce shifting.
Keep quilting in 1 direction.
Keep going until you’ve done the entire length.
Start quilting in the other direction to create the diamond grid design. Start in the middle again.
Here’s what it will look like once the quilting is complete.
Note: I used up 1 full bobbin when quilting the “base” piece.
Draw around the pattern pieces
Once you’ve finished quilting, place the pattern pieces on top and draw around them. I used fabric chalk.
For the “base piece”, I put some washi tape along the “cut on the fold” edge of the pattern. I drew around the pattern, flipped the pattern over (making sure it lined up with the same edge of the washi tape), and drew around the other side. The tape helped me make sure both sides were symmetrical. I didn’t want to accidentally skew the pattern when I flipped it over.
Do this for the “hand pocket” pieces too.
Tip: I found using a hera marker to draw guidelines at this point fiddly. It was harder to create a defined crease over this many bouncy layers, and when I did, it was harder to iron them out later. I found chalk easier to use.
Sew a line of stitching inside the outline
Sew 1/8″ (0.3cm) or 1/4″ (0.6cm) inside the marked outline of the patterns. This line of stitching will secure the lines of quilting before we cut the pieces out, and create a defined edge that’s easier to bind. Don’t go beyond 1/4″ (0.6cm) because we need to keep this stitching hidden inside the seam allowance.
Cut out the pieces using the pattern outlines you drew
Cut out your pieces now (1 “base” piece and 2 “hand pockets”). Focus on making smooth cuts. We don’t want jagged edges that will make binding harder later. I found that a rotary cutter created more accurate cuts.
Sew the “hand pocket” layers together
When we quilted the hand pocket, we left the main fabric piece out (aka. the outer layer). Sew the “hand pocket” pieces from your main fabric to the quilted batting/lining pieces. Sew around the entire edge by 1/8″ (0.3cm) or 1/4″ (0.6cm); so stay inside the 3/8″ (1cm) seam allowance.
This is to stop the layers from shifting as you attach them to the “base” piece later on. If you find the main fabric wants to pleat a bit at the end, stretch the layers slightly to “ease in” the main fabric layer.
Repeat this for the second “hand pocket”.
4. Sew bias binding to the top edge of the 2 “hand pockets”
Start by sewing one side of the binding to the front of a “hand pocket”. Use a 1/2″ (1.3cm) seam allowance, because the hand pockets aren’t as lofty as the “base”, so we don’t need that extra width in the binding to go over the fold of the fabric.
Press the binding up using an iron.
Turn the hand pocket over. Use fabric glue on the top edge of the back (see arrow in the photo below). Fold the binding to the back. Press it down so it “smushes” the glue. Make sure the binding covers all the lines of stitching by at least 1/8″ (0.3cm).
Note: my “hand pockets” in the photos are not quilted, but please don’t copy this. This is my test sample.
Iron it so the glue sets.
Flip the hand pocket over. Sew the binding from the front by “stitching-in-the-ditch”. (basically right next to the binding), so the stitching isn’t visible.
Repeat this for the second hand pocket.
5. Sew both hand pockets to the “base”
Use a 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance so the stitching is hidden by the bias binding later. I used sewing clips to hold the bulky layers together whilst sewing. The “right” sides of the “hand pocket” and “base” should be facing up, looking at you.
Trim off any jagged bits that stick out. We need the edge to be smooth. This will make it easier to bind the edges later.
6. Make the “hanging tab”
Get your “hanging tab” piece.
Fold the raw edges in, lengthwise, by 1/4″ (0.6cm). Leave a gap in the middle so it’s easier to fold later.
Fold it again in the middle, lengthwise.
Sew along the long edge that’s open (not the folded edge).
Suggested sewing machine settings:
- Straight stitch
- Stitch length: 3.5
- Tension: 5, or 5 and a half (I found the standard tension of 4 created slightly loose and undefined stitches at the back)
Fold it in half, width-wise. Press with an iron to hold the crease.
7. Sew the “hanging tab” on one edge of the “base” (in the middle)
Fold the oven mitt in half. Mark the center point on one edge. I used fabric chalk.
Place the folded hanging tab where the mark is. Use sewing clips to hold it in place.
Sew the “hanging tab” to the “base” with a 1/4″ (0.6cm) seam allowance. Backstitch over it a few times for added strength.
8. Sew bias binding around the entire edge of the oven mitt
Attach the bias binding tape from the front of the oven mitt. Place the binding on a straight edge in the middle, not a curve. I picked the opposite side of the hanging tab. Leave a 6″-ish (15cm) tail of bias binding at the start. We’re going to need this excess tape to fold and sew the ends of the binding at the end.
Make sure the side of the binding that’s slightly wider is going to be sewn to the back, not the front. We’ll need the extra width to catch the back of the binding when sewing.
I used sewing clips to hold the layers together.
Start sewing, making sure you don’t include the tail. Sew along the nearest folded line on the bias tape. Depending on how you folded your bias tape, the seam allowance will likely be 3/8″ (1cm) or 1/2″ (1.3cm). Backstitch at the beginning and end.
Suggested sewing machine settings:
- Straight stitch
- Stitch length: 3.5
- Tension: 5, or 5 and a half
Try to keep your line of stitching straight so it’s easier to fold the binding over evenly. If you have any big wobbles, don’t worry, you can re-sew that section.
When you’re nearly finished, leave a 6″-ish (15cm) gap with no binding, and backstitch.
Join the ends together
I’m going to show you how to create a diagonal seam. This allows the seam allowance bulk to spread evenly, rather than create a big hump in one spot. This is especially helpful when working with thick fabrics.
Open up one end of the bias tape with your fingers.
Fold it so it goes down at a right angle. Don’t do this right next to the line of stitching like I accidentally did. Leave a 3″ or so (8cm) gap before you make the fold, otherwise the sewing bit will be fiddly. Finger press the fold to create a crease.
Lay the other section of bias tape on top. Make sure the 2 strips of binding align at the top and bottom.
Take a quick look on the other side to make sure the join looks right, and nothing has been twisted.
Lift the bias tape on the right side off for a moment. Use fabric glue on the folded edge.
Again, lay the other section of bias tape ontop. Make sure the 2 strips of binding align at the top and bottom.
Place something flat and heavy ontop and leave it for a minute or so for the glue to stick to both sides.
Press it with an iron to set the glue.
Sew the bias tape ends together along the folded diagonal crease.
If you didn’t use fabric glue earlier, pin the tape together along the folded crease instead.
Use a sewing clip to pinch the oven mitt temporarily. This will give us some wiggle room to sew the binding together.
Sew along the folded crease, from point to point. Backstitch at the beginning and end.
Cut off the excess bias tape.
Trim off the corners that are sticking out.
Remove the sewing clip that was pinching the oven glove. Push the seam allowance to one side (because of the fabric glue you can’t open the seam allowance). Sew the gap closed. Backstitch at the beginning and end.
The seam you just created may have messed up the folds inside the bias binding. Re-fold and press the creases again with your fingers or an iron.
Fold the bias tape to the back. Make sure it covers any stitch lines by at least 1/8″ (0.3cm).
If you’re having trouble getting the binding to go to the back and cover the stitch lines, the seam allowance may be too big in some parts. Slightly trim down the seam allowance (of the oven mitt, NOT the binding) to make it easier to get the binding to the back. Cut in small amounts. You don’t want to overdo it.
Turn the oven mitt over so the back is facing you. Start gluing the edges of the oven mitt with fabric glue. Glue in sections. Fold the bias tape over and press it down so it touches the glue. Then glue the next section and fold over the bias tape there, etc. Try to keep the bias tape an even width.
Once you’ve finished gluing and folding over the bias tape, iron the bias tape so it sets the glue.
I added some sewing clips too just to keep everything in place whilst I sew. You don’t have to do this though.
From the front, “stitch-in-the-ditch” (so right next to the bias tape). This will give you a neat and almost invisible line of stitching.
If you didn’t catch part of the bias tape at the back, you can re-sew that area. If it’s easier for you, just sew from the back so you know you’ve caught the bias tape this time.
That’s it! I just gave my oven mitt a final press to make everything look crisp and neat.
I’d love to see how your oven mitt turned out! Please do email me some photos if you’re happy to, and let me know how you found the process. Did you struggle with any parts? I’m always looking for feedback to make my patterns and tutorials more helpful to you.
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