Casserole Carrier Completed!

I finished the casserole carrier thingie this weekend and I think it turned out pretty well.  It was easy to make... the hardest part was finding time to get to the store for the D-rings. 

I found some bronze/grey D-rings and chose those over the shiny silver ones or gold ones since they blend in better with the fabric I chose...

The original casserole carrier is 22" square with a fold-over-from-the-back binding.  The strap is 1.5" wide, sewn down after the body of the carrier was quilted and, it appears, after the binding was sewn down.

The tabs for the D-rings are the same width and the D-rings are also 1.5" in size to allow room for the strap to go through twice.   (I had 1" D-rings on hand but they were just too small...  you'd never get a loop of handle through them with the tab fabric attached.)
 

Changes I made:

I goofed and cut out the backing/outside the same size as the top/inside (22" square)... so I needed to do a regular binding.  But that's no biggie...

I sewed the strap and tab ends under the binding and then stitched across from binding side-to-side for reinforcement.  I think it makes for a neater finish.

I used two 24" squares of Warm and Natural/White (pieced from scraps) for the batting instead of the polyester batting used in the original. 


Ideas that popped into my head while working on this project:

1)  The quilting I did was more dense than the original and so the end product is about almost inch smaller than the original.  Next time, I would start with either a 23-24" square of fabric.  However, with the weight of a full casserole, I'm sure the carrier would stretch some.

2)  You could use the thermal batting used in pot holders for the batting if desired.... but I'm not sure it would be as soft/drape-y as normal batting.

3) I think this would make a great project for orphan blocks.  Four 12" blocks would make a casserole carrier 24" square, as would nine 8" blocks.   Who says you have to a solid piece of fabric for the top?

4)  Go scrappy!  I'm thinking a large, single log cabin block would be cool.

5)  This would be a great project to practice your quilting... straight or wavy line or free-motion.   Not perfect?  Who cares?  It's a casserole carrier!


To make a casserole carrier, you'll need:

• 22-24" square of fabric for the top
• 24-26" square of fabric for the back (unless you want to do self-binding)
• 1 - 3.5" x WOF for handle and D-ring tabs
• 1 - 1" x 44" strip of batting for handle and tabs
• 2 or 3 - 1.5" x WOF for binding.
• 22-24" square of batting or thermal batting
• 2 - 1.5" D-rings
• thread

1)  Make a quilt sandwich of the top fabric, batting, and bottom fabric; quilt as desired.  Trim edges.

2)  Make handle by pressing long sides of handle fabric together; then press 1/4" towards the center fold line.  Insert batting strip; fold and pin sides; top-stitch together.

3)  Pin handle diagonally across carrier.  Trim off excess length of handle and make two D-ring tabs; pin D-rings to corners as shown below.

4)  Sew binding onto the back of the carrier as usual.  Trim excess of handle and D-ring tabs so edges align with edges of carrier.  Before sewing binding down, reinforce both handle and D-ring tabs by sewing across each corner.

5)  Turn binding over raw edges, pin down; sew binding down.

6)  Pick off the 1 zillion threads that have attached themselves to your now completed carrier!   


"Now, how does this casserole carrier work again?" you ask.

Place covered casserole under handle.

Loop handle through both D-rings.

Draw up handle, closing the carrier around your casserole.   And now... you're ready to travel!

This carrier adjusts to fit most casseroles.  Shown below in this photo is a 9x13x2" Pyrex casserole with lid...

...and closed, ready to carry!

 

Enjoy!