Stitch Exchange: Potluck Topper Tutorial!

Last week we received our fabric order from Cotton and Steel! We ordered their linen/cotton light weight canvas fabric in three lovely prints.

This fabric is great for bags, pillows or garments that need a sturdier fabric. 

Another great project for this fabric is a pot luck topper! It's a very quick project, a lot of fun to make, and makes a great gift for the upcoming holidays. 

I have made several pot luck toppers and I use them all the time. They are perfect for popping on top of salad bowls, pie plates or baking dishes if you are headed to a potluck and the dish you are bringing is still warm, or just needs a little protection on the ride! 

Here is a brief tutorial with all the information you need to make your own!

Materials

  • 1/2 yard light to medium weight fabric (more for larger bowls)
  • 100% cotton thread
  • 1/2 - 1 yard double fold bias tape
  • 1/2 - 1 yard 1/4" elastic
  • Chalk or fabric pen
  • Clear 2" wide ruler
  • Bodkin
  • Sewing kit: scissors, pins, etc
  • Sewing machine
  • The dish you will cover

A bodkin is a small tool used for threading elastic through a sewn channel -- much easier than using a safety pin! We carry a great one from Merchant & Mills in our shop, along with all the other supplies you need.

Directions

1. Place your dish upside down on the fabric and trace around it with chalk or fabric pen. I placed mine on the printed side of the fabric so I could fussy cut the lions (make sure your pen is erasable if you do this)!

2. Using the clear ruler, add 2" all the way around the first circle. This will give the cover the extra fabric it needs to go over the edge of the dish.

3. Using the outer circle, cut out your fabric. 

4. Pin bias tape around the edge of the fabric circle, making sure you have 1-2" of overlap where the two ends meet. 

5. Starting at one end, sew bias tape onto fabric circle to create a channel for the elastic, stopping 1" before you get back to the starting place.

6. Stretch the elastic around the circumference of the bowl to determine how much you need. I pulled mine a little snug, to make sure the pot luck topper will stay on. Tack one end of the elastic to the fabric within the seam allowance that the bias channel will be covering. This way you can't accidentally pull the elastic all the way through! 

7. Now grab your bodkin and thread the elastic through the channel all the way back around to where you started.

8. Tack down the second end next to the first one.

9. Fold the raw end of the bias tape under, and finish by sewing it in place (by hand or machine) to cover the elastic ends. 

10. Make a dish to share and take it to a friend! 

Happy sewing everyone! 

Tasa