Free Oven Mitt Pattern: Fat Quarter Friendly Too!

Learn how to sew an oven mitt with my free oven mitt sewing pattern! This quilted oven mitt makes a thoughtful gift for someone who loves to cook or someone (like me) who tends to get burned when they use regular pot holders. This oven mitt pattern is generously sized to provide lots of protection when pulling dishes out of the oven or when using a grill. I’ll share lots of tips for making it beautiful AND functional. And did I mention that you can use fat quarters?

This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The free oven mitt pattern is included in the blog post below and is totally free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The Optimized for Printing PDF pattern for $2 is totally optional. Did you know you can get ALL the Optimized for Printing PDF files organized in a library for you to access anytime you want? Check it out.

Homemade oven mitts make a great beginner sewing project because:

• Only a few supplies are needed and not a lot of fabric
• You only have to cut 2 pieces using a free template
• You’ll learn how to do straight line quilting (great practice)
• The end result is so very useful!

Everyone needs a few of these in their kitchen so they make great Christmas or housewarming gifts. I added a hanging loop so it will always be handy just like a handmade potholder.

Oven Mitt Dimensions

This free sewing pattern includes step by step instructions and a template for making the red oven mitt shown in the photo above. It is approximately 15” tall, 8” wide near the thumb, and measures 7” across at the opening.

You may know that I love to use my Accuquilt fabric cutter. I sometimes use the AccuQuilt Oven Mitt die to make oven mitts too. The gray oven mitt shown above was cut using the AccuQuilt die (#55563), but sewn together using these instructions. My pattern is a little bit larger and I prefer my own binding method over theirs. Using the AccuQuilt is completely optional because you can download my free template below, but I will share tips for my readers who use the AccuQuilt die.

Tips for choosing fabric and thread for DIY oven mitts

Because this project is intended to grab hot pans and dishes, it is important to use 100% cotton fabric, cotton thread, and Insul-bright insulated batting. This will prevent hands from getting burned. I like to also use a layer of 100% cotton quilt batting (like Warm & Natural or Warm & White) for extra thickness. This extra layer is optional, but makes a more professional looking oven mitt, in my opinion.

Insulbright batting is made by the Warm Company and is readily available in craft stores, quilt shops, and on Amazon.

Polyester fabric or thread is not a good choice for this project because polyester is a synthetic product similar to plastic and could melt when exposed to high temperatures.

Quilting Tip: I was sneaky and picked fabrics with geometric prints (snowflakes in rows for one and large text for the other) for my exterior fabrics. This made it really easy to do straight line quilting because I could simply follow the design. The quilting looks amazing too!

So let’s get started sewing DIY oven mitts!

You will need:

• 1 fat quarter of fabric (18” x 21”) for the oven mitt exterior*
• 1 fat quarter of fabric (18” x 21”) for the lining*
• cotton thread
• a 17” x 19” piece of Insul-bright insulated batting
• a 17” x 19” piece of 100% cotton quilt batting (optional)
• quilt basting spray (such as SpraynBond)
• cutting tools: scissors, rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, and cutting mat
• a sewing machine
• sewing pins and/or clips

* If your fat quarters are narrower than 21” wide, you may need additional fabric for the binding and/or hanging loop. The oven mitt exterior (or lining), binding, and hanging loop cannot all be cut from the same fat quarter. You will have to use one FQ for the binding and other FQ for the hanging loop. Or use any 5” x 2” scrap of fabric or 5” scrap of ribbon for the hanging loop.

You may also find helpful:

• a sewing stiletto
• a walking foot for your sewing machine
• a fabric marking pen to mark quilting lines
• a chopstick or point turner

Cutting instructions are for a single oven mitt.

Cutting:

1. From the fat quarter for the oven mitt exterior, cut:

• 1 rectangle 17” x 19”
• 1 strip 2” x 5” for the hanging loop

2. From your fat quarter for the lining fabric, cut:

• 1 rectangle 17” x 19”
• 1 strip 2 1/4” x 15” for the cuff binding

3. Here is the free oven mitt pattern template download that you’ll need after the fabric and batting layers are quilted:

Tips for AccuQuilt users:

A little bit more quilted fabric is required if you will be cutting the oven mitt shapes using the special AccuQuilt oven mitt die. Cut 16” x 20” pieces of fabric and insulbright instead of 17” x 19”. Also, the Accuquilt instructions do not call for an additional piece of cotton batting. Perhaps that is too many layers for the die.

Quilt the Layers of Fabric and Batting Together

Note: If you like you can skip the quilting step. Just make sure the layers are sufficiently basted together with quilt basting spray (see below) so they don’t come apart while you are sewing.

1. Place the 17” x 19” batting piece against the wrong side of the 17” x 19” lining rectangle. Place the 17” x 19” piece of Insul-bright against the wrong side of the 17” x 19” exterior fabric rectangle. Then sandwich all the layers together with the fabrics facing out and the batting on the inside. Adhere the fabric layers with quilt basting spray to prevent them from slipping while you quilt.

2. Using a medium stitch length of about 2.5-3, sew straight or wavy parallel lines everywhere on the quilt sandwich. You could also do free motion quilting if you like!

Optional: Use the fabric marking pen to draw quilting lines on the right side of the fabric. Since I wanted to keep this project as stress free and easy as possible, I skipped this step and used fabric prints that I could follow instead.

Cut out the Oven Mitt Pieces

1. Print the oven mitt template pieces provided above at 100% (do not enlarge or reduce). Cut around the lines and tape Parts A and B together.

2. Cut two quilted pieces using the template, making sure to turn the template over for the second piece so that the pieces are reverse image of each other.

If you want to use the AccuQuilt cutting machine and oven mitt die, cut your 16” x 20” quilted piece in half to make two pieces that are approximately 16” x 10”. Cut each piece on the die separately. Make sure to turn one quilted piece over so that the two pieces are mirror images!

Sewing

1. Pin the two quilted oven mitt pieces right sides together.

2. Sew around the mitt with a 1/4” seam allowance. Do not sew along the opening of the mitt (the bottom edge).

3. Carefully clip almost to the stitching in between the hand and thumb areas. Do not cut the stitching.

4. If desired, use a zig zag stitch to finish the seam.

5. Turn the oven mitt right side out. Baste the layers together around the opening about 1/8” away from the raw edges.

Make the Hanging Loop

1. Fold the 2” x 5” strip of fabric in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) and press. Open and fold the long raw edges to the center and press again. Fold in half and press again to make a 1/2” x 5” strip.

2. Topstitch along both long edges, about 1/8” from the sides of the loop.

3. Fold the hanging loop in half. Sew it to the outside of the oven mitt near one of the seams, with the raw edges lined up with the opening of the mitt.

Easy Binding for the Cuff Opening

1. The last step is to add binding to the opening. Fold the 2 1/4” by 15” binding strip in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) and press.

2. Open the strip and place the short ends right sides together. Sew the short ends with a 1/4” seam allowance.

Press the seam open. Re-fold the binding as before to make a circle.

3. Turn the mitt inside out. Place the binding circle over the end of the mitt and pin (or clip) in place with the raw edge of the binding lined up with the raw edges at the opening of the mitt. Match the seam on the binding to one of the seams on the mitt.

4. Sew around the cuff to attach the binding using a 1/4” seam allowance.

5. Turn the oven mitt right side out. Flip the binding around to the outside and secure with pins or clips.

6. Attach the binding to the outside of the mitt by sewing close to the folded edge. A sewing stiletto helps to sew neat binding.

And you are done! These easy oven mitts are so fast and fun to make – you are going to make lots more and need to give them away to all your friends!

As always, I love to see what you make with my tutorials. Please post a picture of your finished mitt to Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe or #sewcanshe so I can see!

Are you looking for more kitchen related sewing projects? Check out:

• Fun Log Cabin Hexi Potholders
• My easy casserole carrier pattern
• Stay-put dish towels
• 2 Ways to Sew Cloth Napkins

Or see all 10+ Cute Things to Sew For Your Kitchen.

Happy sewing,

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