Singer 403 and a Scented Hot Pad

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We're going to build a scented hot pad; we'll use cotton batting and potpourri to do so. The plan is that a hot teapot will kick that potpourri into high gear scent-wise! This is maybe a 20 or 30 minute project -- you can get fancy embellishing the sides if you want -- but the basics are pretty straightforward.
Here's our raw materials -- two 6 inch squares of colorful cotton fabric, two 6 inch squares of cotton batting, and some potpourri. Be sure and use cotton, not polyester! We'll be placing a hot teapot on top of this pad -- you don't want it to melt!
We'll begin by matching the cotton fabric squares right-sides together. Sew a 1/4" seam along three sides of the square.
When we're done, we'll have a small "bag". Turn the bag rightside out and set it aside for right now.
Now, do the exact same thing with your two cotton batting squares -- except that we don't really are about right/wrong sides here. Once we're done, we'll have another small "bag" ... but we're going to fill this one! Invert the bag, then fill it with ...
With Potpourri! Dump a handful or two of potpourri inside the batting bag. My potpourri was very bulky -- it made for a very fat and lumpy bag. I set it on the floor and stomped on it a couple of times, but it still was a little fatter than I had thought it was going to be.
Stitch the potpourri/batting bag closed. It's okay to leave a seam, because we're going to stuff it inside the fabric bag we made earlier! Insert the batting/potpourri bag -- work it all the way inside, then handstitch the bag closed. I had originally planned to machine stitch this bag closed, then I had planned to decorate it with embellishment stitches. However, I hadn't planned for the bulky/lumpy potpourri! Decided to do the handstitching because of this.
And here's your completed scented hot pad! You can see how fat this pad is! Even though it's fat and lumpy, it works really well as a hot pad. Because it's so lumpy, it holds the teapot very securely.
As you can see right here -- the teapot just snugs into it's own little spot. This was the only kind of potpourri I had on hand. I made another hot pad, but used some tea from tea bags for the scent. Made for a much flatter hot pad, but the scent didn't last as long.
So, how did the 403 do? This machine was very easy to use; it sewed very steadily and strongly. Machine was easy to thread and the controls were very simple. When you add in the cams, you can do every stitch you'd ask a modern machine to do. Nicest, you know this machine is capable of making those stitches for years and years and years to come! If you're looking for a strong and trustworthy machine -- one you can count on -- and don't want to spend a bundle, it'll be hard to do better than a Singer 403. If you get a chance to try one, give it a look! Click here for the Singer 403 ... or, Back to the Home Page!

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