With the temperature dropping this winter I know there's a lot of us who want to know how to make a quilted hot water bottle cover. Quilting is perfect medium for making a hot water bottle cover because the extra layers will add the insulation needed to keep you and your hot water bottle toasty warm.
You'll be happy to know that using a hot water bottle can be a more sustainable alternative to turning on the heating full blast and this tutorial is also great for sustainable sewing and scrap-busting or using up left-overs from Jelly rolls and charm packs.
I promise this is the easiest hot water bottle cover you'll ever make. You only need to make one panel, there are no fiddly curves or templates and it works for any sized hot water bottle!
First measure the length and width of your hot water bottle. I'm using a standard 1.8 litre hot water bottle which measures 7 1/2'' x 13''.
Add 3'' inches to the width, double the length and add about 8'' to find out what size to make your hot water bottle panel. So for my hot water bottle that comes to that's 10 1/2'' x 32 1/2''.
You can use any design you like: Half Square triangles, stripes, Improv quilting, whatever takes your fancy, so long a you trim your panel down to measurements you made above. In my case that's 10 1/2'' x 32 1/2''.
I used two mini charm packs from Ruby Star Society (find charm packs here) which when arranged 5 squares by 16 squares makes a 10 1/2'' x 32 1/2'' panel with only 4 mini charms left over.
For the quilt sandwich I recommend using at least two layers of batting to provide tat extra insulation to keep you water bottle warm. If you have some scraps of wool batting hanging around like I did it's even better! Wool fibre has a crimp in it which means it traps air around it making it an excellent insulator. I used two layers which also gave the cover a wonderful cosy and comforting squidge.
Baste and quilt in your usual way. I used an electric yellow lining for a happy surprise when it comes to refilling the bottle and quilted in simple diagonal lines.
Trim your quilt sandwich down to your desired panel size - in my case 10 1/2'' x 32 1/2''.
Next make enough binding to cover the two short sides of your quilted panel. Sew the binding to the right sides of the short edges, fold over and then stitch in the ditch on the right side to secure it to the wrong side. Trim and excess flush with your panels.
Place your panel right side down and lie your hot water bottle on top. Decide where you want to place your bottle on the panel and loosely fold over the two ends so that they comfortably overlap. Remember you want your water bottle to be snug but the cover also needs to be loose enough so that you can get the bottle in and out easily for washing etc. It can be easier if your envelope opening is nearer one end of the panel (remember your cover is inside out at the moment). Use some clips along one side to hold your layers together and slip your bottle out the other side before clipping the other side. If you're using pins mind you don't stick them in your water bottle!
Now simply sew a 3/8'' seam down each side. You can sew over your overlap twice to reinforce it.
Lastly turn your cover right side out.
Insert your hot water bottle and pop the kettle on! Don't forget a book, a cuppa and a cat for the perfect cosy afternoon.
