Make a scented trivet

And then it’s 2020. For all of you that are still here: Hi! And thanks for waiting. It’s been almost 5 years since my last blog post. What happened? Well, life. A divorce, a career change, 2 moves, 2 college degrees and 1 citizenship. The reason I stopped blogging was mostly because I wasn’t able to focus on sewing and my little pattern business anymore. I started a full-time job while working on my Associates and Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. I now work full-time as a staff accountant. There was simply not much time for sewing projects. But: in the past couple weeks I’ve been able to work on a little project which I would like to share with you today. This trivet is filled with a mix of rice, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel, which makes for a wonderful smell once it heats up when you put your hot tea pot on it. Perfect for winter! And also a nice way to use some of that scrap fabric that has been laying around. Enjoy! 

Finished measurements:
Approx. 7” x 7”
All seam allowances are 1/2” unless otherwise stated. All measurements given are height x width. Please read all instructions before you begin.

You need:
–   Exterior fabric (a fat quarter should be sufficient, or any scraps you have)
–   Fusible interfacing (mid-weight)   
–  A mix of rice, orange peel, ground cinnamon and ground cloves (or whatever else you prefer)

Cut from:
Exterior fabric:
– (2 x) 8” x 8”

Fusible interfacing:
– (2 x) 8” x 8”

​Instructions:

1. Iron fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric pieces.
2. Put the two fabric pieces right sides together, make sure all edges match up. 

3. Stitch along three of the four sides. On the fourth side, only stitch towards the middle for about 3/4" from the side. Clip the corners and trim the seam allowance.

4. Turn inside out, fold the seam allowances of the open side down towards the inside, make sure everything is lined up properly and iron. 
5. Measure and draw a line right in the middle of the fabric piece (attention: make sure to not measure from the open side. The open side should be at the top or bottom when you measure). Then measure and draw a line in the middle of the two halves that you created by drawing the first line. 

​6. You should now have three lines marked on your fabric. Top stitch on all three lines (you will be sewing through both fabric pieces). 
​7. Then top stitch along the three finished edges, with a 1/8” seam allowance. 

8. Now it’s time to fill your trivet with the rice mix. This can be a little cumbersome, especially with the two outer compartments. I recommend using a funnel, to avoid spilling rice all over your room :) Fill all four compartments of your trivet. 

9. Fill it up as much as you can but leave enough room so that you can still sew along the open edge. Top stitch the opening close. This can be a little tricky when the rice mix wants to sneak out but you can do it. 

You are all set! Enjoy your trivet. You can also put it in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes and to heat it up, and have the scent spread through the room. If you ever want to wash your trivet, you can open up the top stitched seam, remove the rice mix, wash it in your washer on gentle cycle, re-fill it and top stitch close again. 

Happy sewing!