I recently scrolled back in my blog draft archives to look at some entries I started and never finished. I had completely forgotten about some of these unfinished drafts (oops) so thought I’d take advantage of the #ThrowbackThursday trend to highlight some oldies-but-goodies!

Today I’m throwing it all the way back to Christmas… of 2013! Yikes! I’m over a year overdue on this one. Insert “embarrassed” emojii here…

This is my creepy, personalized “Bitmoji”

Anyway.

Last year for Christmas, I made my mom a simple casserole carrier, knowing that my parents are often attending parties in their new retirement community. It’s lined with Insul-Bright, which is a heat resistant insulating material that can be used for making things like oven mitts. The Insul-Bright will ensure the dish stays hot and my mom doesn’t burn her hands when handling the carrier. Safety first!

To use the carrier, you just place the dish in the middle, and then pull the singular strap through the two loops on each of the opposite corners. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

I used this amazing YouTube video from the Crafty Gemini for the pattern and instructions when making the carrier. I would highly, highly, highly recommend these Crafty Gemini videos for beginners. Vanessa’s directions are really clear and make it easy to follow along!

She uses two solid pieces for both sides of the carrier (22″ x 22″) – but since I used a variety of fabric remnants I already had on hand, I didn’t have enough fabric for two full sized pieces. Instead, I went with patchwork squares on one side. If you want to make a patchwork version as well, I used nine squares (8.3″ x 8.3″) with a 0.5″ seam allowance.

I could really use one of these for pot lucks at work! Let me just add this to the laundry list of “selfish sewing” projects I want to make for myself this year. 😉