To start, I will prepare the front of the hot pad for the embroidery. To position the embroidery design, use an air-erase pen or other marking tool and draw a 9" wide by 9" high square onto the cotton fabric (I used quilter's cotton). Next, measure and mark the center of each side of the shape by measuring and dividing by two.

Create a paper template of the design by printing it at full size using embroidery software. If you are new to working with templates to position designs, see these handy instructions for more information about making and using templates. Poke a hole in the center of the template and align it with the center point on the fabric. Allow at least one inch of space in between the outer edges of the design and the edges of the shape. 

Now it's time to hoop the fabric and stabilizer and embroider the design! Spray a piece of medium weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly aligned with the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design.

When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery

Cut out the shape. Now it is time to create a "sandwich" of lining, batting, and fabric. Lay the embroidered piece on top of the Insul-bright, pin in place, and cut out the shape. Repeat this for the cotton batting and the print cotton fabric. Next, layer the pieces together: lay the print cotton flat with the wrong side facing up. Lay the Insul-bright on top of the print cotton fabric with the shiny side facing down. Add the cotton batting on top of the Insul-bright and then align the embroidered piece on top of the batting with the right side facing up. Pin in place.

To create the rounded corners of the hot pad, place a 4" to 5" round object at each corner and trace the shape. I used a roll of masking tape.

Cut along the lines you just drew. Be sure to cut through all four layers.

Zigzag stitch around the entire shape. This binds all four layers together.

To add the bias tape, first lay the hot pad flat with the right side facing up. Unroll the end of the tape and place it along the top straight edge of the pad with the wrong side facing up. Pin in place.

Sew a seam along the first inner fold (the fold closest to the outer edge of the pad). Sew around the entire pad. Stop when you reach the start of the tape. Then, trim the tape leaving a 5" tail.

Roll the inner edges of the tape flat again and then roll the tape around the edges of the pad around to the backside. Also, overlap the tail over the start of the tape. Pin the tape in place leaving the tail extending out so it will not be sewn over in the next step (this tail will be the loop).

With the embroidered front side facing up, sew a 1/8" seam along the inner edge of the tape. Start sewing at the base of the tail, sew around the entire pad, and continue sewing out to the end of the tail. Fold the end of the tail in 1/4", form it into a loop, pin in place, and sew the end of the tail in place. And your hot pad is complete!

Hot pads are a great way to add tasty embroidery to kitchen decor, and they make great gifts, too. Whip up a batch today! Bon appetit!