Other Ways You Didn't Realize You Could Be Using A Pot Holder In The Kitchen

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Letting you safely remove items from a hot oven or surface, a pot holder, or hot pad, is an essential for any kitchen. Although pot holders are now commonly made of silicone, the cloth versions are still frequently sold and used. If you have a collection of random pot holders with funny sayings or seasonal motifs just lingering in the drawer, there are multiple creative ways you can repurpose old potholders around the house, especially in the kitchen. Two simple ideas can keep these old fabric potholders functional by repurposing them for a new task, with just a little thread and a needle. Quickly turn an old potholder into a kitchen towel holder, or transform it into a cast-iron pan grip.

Both of these DIY projects can solve common problems in the kitchen: finding a good way to securely display your towel or keeping your cast-iron handles touch-safe. You don't need to be a pro sewer to do these DIYs, nor do you even need a sewing machine. For these ideas, choose the square or round pot holders — not the hand-shaped ones, as these have a more straightforward design that you can easily rework.

If you love your cast-iron pans, you probably reach for them often — making this DIY a lifesaver for quickly cooking and shuffling pans around on your burners. The first project is creating a sleeve for your cast-iron skillet so you can easily grip your cast-iron when it comes out of the oven. You can find plans and patterns online for this DIY, but the easiest way is to wrap your pot holder around the handle, marking where you need to sew, then cutting and stitching your custom pattern. Ensure you leave enough space to slide it securely around the handle to fully cover the metal. If there's a hanging loop present on your pot holder, start with the side with the loop, so your finished project will have a loop. If not, you can sew a small hanging loop on so you can keep your pot grip handy.

You'll need to make sure you have a good, thick pot holder for the task. You don't want to use something flimsy, or else you could feel the hot surface through the cloth. Ideally, you want to make sure that the pot holder features a heat-resistant batting by checking the product tag for contents. Some popular options are Insul-Bright and Therma-flec. 

This next project will keep your kitchen towels organized in style and ready whenever you need them. You'll be stitching a pot holder to the center of your towel, using your square pot holder. Fold the pot holder in half, sort of like a taco, with the hanging loop side up. Lay your dish towel flat, then place your folded pot holder on top, stitching it to the towel. Once the towel is fully attached to the pot holder, you can add a button on the back side of the pot holder to attach the two sides together. This will let you clip it around the handle of your stove or cabinet pull to keep it when hanging.

While you can use any color pot holder and dish towel, even that kitschy souvenir from your last trip, consider choosing complementary colors. If you don't have a button handy or you're going for a more Scandinavian or earthy look in your kitchen, you can also use a wooden toggle like the Watris Veiyi toggle buttons, which are the perfect shape to loop through almost any potholder hanger. Now you have a handy hanging solution for any of your favorite tea towels collected over the years.