Recycled Denim Potholder

Give your kitchen a touch of eco-friendly style with this unique upcycled denim hot pad. Made from recycled denim jeans, this hot pad is not only durable and heat-resistant, but also adds a trendy and sustainable element to your kitchen decor. The denim material provides a sturdy base for handling hot pots and pans, while the upcycled nature of the product helps reduce waste and promote a more sustainable lifestyle. Whether you're cooking up a storm or simply need a stylish way to protect your countertops, this upcycled denim hot pad is the perfect addition to any kitchen.

Old recycled denim makes great potholders. All you need is an old pair of jeans, some cotton for padding and I added a piece of insul-bright. Insul-bright is an inexpensive reflective material that is designed for providing padding for potholders, oven mitts etc. Use only 100% cotton towels and cotton crafting batting. Do not use polyester batting or towels as the heat passes right through that material. I paid less than a dollar for a small piece of insul-bright so I figure this is a bargain to provide a good insulation for my potholder. Plus I have leftovers for my future oven mitt project.

Below you will find my step-by-step picture tutorial on how to make this recycled denim potholder.

Cut a piece of denim from an old pair of jeans about 9 inches long with the leg seams intact. If your pant leg is too wide, just sew a seam down each side to make the denim shell as shown.

Fold over and press a hem on both unfinished edges as shown.

A picture that shows the insul-bright I used.

I used an old cotton towel for additional padding for my insert inside my denim shell. Cut your cotton towel and insul-bright piece just slightly smaller than your denim piece. I zig-zag’d around the towel and insul-bright piece to secure them together.
Trim your edges and insert this inside your denim shell.

Here is the denim shell shown with the towel and insul-bright inserted inside.

I then pinned and stitched around the top and bottom hems once to close them off and again to secure the insert inside in place. Finish by sewing a trimmed jeans pocket on the outside of the potholder around on 3 sides of the original pocket stitching.

Here is my denim potholder in use.