Yesterday on QUILTsocial I used the Dreamweaver XE from Brother to embellish a store bought tea towel with some beautiful jewel-toned half square triangle units (HSTs).

Today the fun continues as I use a few more of these HSTs to make a fast and easy matching potholder.

The first thing to do is to figure out how many HSTs we need to make the potholder the correct size – somewhere between 8″ and 9″ square. Since my HSTs are about 3″ square, I’ve decided to use 9 to get the right size. If your HSTs are smaller, you may need to use 16, or likewise, if you have larger HSTs, maybe you’ll only need 4.

Next, I’ll have to decide on a layout. Use any layout you like, but I’ve decided the simple layout shown below works nicely with the different colors of fabric.

First I used the Dreamweaver XE to sew the nine units into three rows.

I made sure to press the seams in the adjoining rows in opposite directions so that the seams will match up nicely when I sew the rows together.

To make the potholder heat resistant, I layer the quilt block with two layers of UNIQUE QUILTING Therm Fleece (heat resistant fleece).

I used my favorite Odif 505 Adhesive spray to stick the two layers of fleece together and to adhere the block and backing fabric to the fleece.

Now that my block, fleece and backing are layered together, I can get ready to start Machine Quilting with the Dreamweaver XE from Brother.

I love to use the dual feed foot on the Dreamweaver XE whenever I’m doing any straight line machine quilting. It pulls all of the layers through evenly and makes machine quilting a dream! Check out my post, Machine quilting with a serpentine stitch, to see more about the dual feed foot.

The guideline marker (aka laser pointer) on the Dreamweaver XE is also a great feature to use when machine quilting as it helps you to visualize where you are going!

I did some simple quilting in the ditch between each of the HST units and now the excess fleece and backing need to be trimmed away from the block.

I cut a 2½” strip of fabric and pressed it in half lengthwise to make a binding for the outside edge. I sewed the binding to the back of the potholder and then folded it over to the front. I then used the “J” foot on the Dreamweaver XE to topstitch the edge. If you want more detailed instructions on sewing binding, check out my post from September 21, 2018.

I used the leftover piece of binding to make the loop for the potholder. I folded the raw edges into the center of the strip and pressed it with a hot iron and then folded in the two ends so no raw edges were exposed.

Next, I used the Dreamweaver XE to topstitch along the open edge.

I attached the fabric loop to the back of the potholder in the top corner, making sure to match the bobbin thread in the Dreamweaver XE with the fabric on the front of the potholder.

Here’s the matched set of tea towel and pot holder made with HST units using the Dreamweaver XE from Brother.

I really love how these turned out, but then again, I REALLY love batiks!!

As I said yesterday, these would look amazing made out of any combination of fabrics – just use your imagination and use up those scraps!

Tomorrow I’m using the Dreamweaver XE to start making a microwaveable hot pack using HSTs! Can’t wait!