The question comes up on a regular basis about the best tips for making pot holders, what to fill them with, what materials to use for heat proofing, etc. Since it is useful to anyone considering making pot holders, I thought I'd post it here for reference.

DISCLAIMER:
Please note that the information here is a combination of fact and opinion, provided as a courtesy, based on years of experience, trial and error, and input from other quilters. I've made more than 200 pot holders in the past fifteen years, but I am by no means a fire expert. Your mileage may vary, and your use of this information is at your own risk. Providing this information is in no way meant to create a liability should you try any of these ideas in part or whole.

Filling and Heat Proofing Your Pot holders:
Polyester batting, fleece, felt, or polyester or acrylic products of any sort that is polyester is ok for placemats but NOT for pot holders. Heat goes right through polyester, and if it accidentally catches fire the melting poly causes more injury and skin damage than an all cotton product.

Cotton quilt batting is ok, but you need three to four layers, and it needs closer quilting than you would in a quilt for it to hold up (I recommend every two or three inches). It also needs pre-washing, or it shrinks quite a bit, causing puckers in your finished product.

That shiny silver 'teflon' fabric similar to ironing board covers does help some with heat resistance, but it sure smells (remember, I'm asthmatic). The one I tried got a lot of weird silver dust in my machine that was difficult to clean out, and it doesn't hold up well or last long with the washing and drying that pot holders go through.

I prefer Table Felt aka "Silence Cloth". It comes in 54" width, and the Hancock chain (not Paducah, but the national chain store) carries it (as Silence Cloth, where the interfacings are). I've also seen it in the Joann Etc stores, but not the regular Joanns here. (Though a regular Joann Fabrics can order it if the bigger stores carry it). A few quilt shops carry it. I know you can mail order it from 1-888-QUILTER, a quilt shop in northern CA. It is expensive ($8-12 a yard, depending on where you get it), but there are some major advantages:

It is nearly 1/4" thick before you wash it, and even thicker when you do wash it.You get a LOT of pot holders out of the 54" width (I get (24) 8.5-inch blocks after washing per yard).

You only need one layer of it for standard pot holders, and I double it for those who use cast iron, or heavy commercial cook ware. It quilts easily with a size 90 needle.

It's all cotton, so no worries about anything melting. It also washes & dries great, and is almost impossible to wear out.

You have to prewash it and dry it twice in the hottest water and dryer you can before making it up, as it does shrink, but it's worth it. Zig zag, overcast or serge the two cut edges before washing to prevent loss of yardage in ravelling.

Alternate Filling:
If you don't want to go to the expense of the table felt, the next best filling, in my opinion, is old cotton bath towels. Again, they are cotton, and two to four layers will usually do the trick. If you don't have any towels you want to cut up, pick them up at a yard sale or thrift store.

Insul-Bright:
I've had many quilters write that they love Insul-Bright for pot holders. It is a product made by the Warm Company,makers of Warm & Natural Batting, Warm Windows, and other products. They describe the product as:

Insul~Bright consists of hollow, polyester fibers needle punched through a nonwoven substrate and through a reflective mylar. The needled material is breathable and won’t break down with washing. The hollow fibers resist conduction while the reflective mylar resists radiant energy. The energy, hot or cold, is reflected back to its source.

*At least one layer of cotton batting is recommended with Insul~Bright when used as Oven Mitts or Pot Holders. Insul~Bright is heat-RESISTANT, NOT heat-proof.
(Quoted from http://www.warmcompany.com/ibpage.html).

Many quilters love this product and use it with great enthusiasm. My own hesitation with it comes from the fact it is a polyester and mylar product, and when they do melt, the burns are more serious because the melting polyester sticks to skin where the cotton is more of a dust when it burns and can be neutralized more easily and quickly, reducing the seriousness of the burn itself. This is purely based on my own, personal experiences, and is my personal opinion. I am an avid fan of the Warm Company's products, and have used their batting for many, many years.

Backing Your Pot holder:
Use all cotton denim or twill for the back (old jeans are great), and fashion fabric or a pieced quilt block for the front. The denim adds some heat resistance, and also helps the pot holder last longer. Just remember to make sure that the denim is all cotton, as there are a lot of blends now.

Cotton Thread:
Remember to use cotton thread, as the poly threads can melt, and I've seen it come unsewn when it melts in several spots.

Using Panel Prints:
If you are in a rush, rather than piecing the block for the front, use some of the 6 to 9"cheater panels you can find in most fabric stores. If it's the smaller blocks, you can always add borders.

Loops & Binding:
I use straight grain, double fold all cotton binding. I generally cut my strips 2.25 or 2.5 inches wide, depending on whether I am binding a single or double layer hand work. Since my pot holders are generally nine inches square or smaller,a single strip will bind it. If I am going to put a hanging loop on the hand work, I use a one inch strip, sewn into a tube, and turned with a tube turner. I tack the loop to the back of the hand work with a bartack inside the seam allowance, and then when I sew down the binding, I cover the raw edges of the loop in that process.

Safety:
I can't over-emphasize SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY! Cotton fabric, cotton filling, cotton thread, cotton binding, and a thicker denim or twill cotton backing will all help make your pot holders not only well-used and welcome gifts, but safer gifts. If this is the only hint you take away from this article, then it has done the most important part of its job.

Hope this helps make those pot holders that will be great quick gifts a wonderful success!

Note from Niki: Aren't these wonderful hints from Laura? They have certainly improved my own pot holder making skills. If you find these useful, please consider a small Paypal donation to the UFO-rphanage to help keep us online. =) Thank you! (If you don't use PayPal, you can E-mail Nikifor alternate arrangements).