Hot Pads / Trivets Japanese Inspired
Hello Dear Friends and Readers and a warm welcome to todays post!
Today I would like to talk about Hot Pads and Trivets – this can also extend to coasters and Mug Rugs. Earlier this year, I attended Craft tour in Japan. One of the parts of the tour was a workshop making fiber art using a technique called confetti quilting. I have detailed some of this here in this post.Confetti Scraps which was conducted by renowned art quilter Noriko Endo.
During this workshop, Noriko also gave us each a Mug Rug/trivet which she had made in a folding style. I have seen this method before on quite a number of different sewing posts online. She explained to us that these are traditionally made from Japanese men’s shirts. So, rather than discarding the shirt they would be cut up and repurposed to make these hot pads or trivets or mug rugs. Although I have seen these online, I couldn’t help thinking that maybe their origin really is Japanese. After all, the Japanese are very adept at origami folding techniques and the respect for not wasting cloth. This is pure speculation on my part, but to me it makes sense. Therefore, today, I thought I would share with you this technique, but with the reflection of it possibility originating from Japan.
Naturally, you do not have to repurpose men’s shirts, however, it is a good way of making use of this fabric and it does always make for a very pleasant appearance. Noriko also did a little bit of quilting in the centre of each pad to prevent the folded rectangles from moving. This is a good time to embrace Wabi Sabi of that which is not perfect.
Here is how it is done. Bear in mind you can choose any size you like, just make the batting square half an inch smaller than your fabric squares. This project is actually very quick. This post took way longer to write than to actually make them.
Finished size approximately 8 ½” x 8 ½”
Seam allowance ½”
Requirements for one Hot Pad / Trivet Japanese Inspired
Six of 9 ½” x 9 ½” squares of men’s shirting
One of 8 ½” x 8 ½” square of batting
Making the Hot Pad / Trivet Japanese Inspired
Fold four of the fabric squares in half.
Place one fabric square right side down. Centre the batting square on top. Place the second fabric square right side up.
Place the four folded squares, one on each side of the square with the raw edges aligning.
Half of the last folded squares will need to be tucked under the first one.
Sew a ½” seam allowance around the entire perimeter.
Clip the corners.
Working from the opening which exists between all the folded squares, turn the whole piece so that the seams are now on the inside.
Use a chop stick to push out the corners.
Top stitch around the perimeter of the Pot holder / Trivet.
Optional – add some simple quilting to the pot holder to keep the layers stable. I quilted a diamond which was easy and pleasing to the eye except for this one which is a bit wonky!!
I hope you enjoyed this little project. These do have a lovely feel about them because of the six layers of fabric.
Here are some other posts for similar projects
String Pot Holders or Trivets for Christmas
Quick Kitchen Quiltlet and Tutorial
Scrappy quilted coastal coasters
Crazy Little Log Cabin Coasters
Hope you are feeling inspired or able to sew today!
Susie
© Susan Stuklis 2025