Simple Gifts: The Potato Warming Sack

I recently made a couple of microwaveable potato sacks for some of the recent graduates that I know.  If you've never heard of a potato sack, the basic idea is that you prick a few washed potatoes, stick them in the pocket, and then pop them in the microwave.  It's a great thing to have in the kitchen when you're just cooking for yourself (or a few people).  It prevents the potatoes from shriveling as much as they tend to in the microwave.  The potato sack is insulated, so it will also help keep the potatoes warm if you have to wait for the rest of your dinner to finish cooking.

The potato sacks that I made started out with two layers of cotton material, and a piece of pure cotton batting.  They were all cut to 10x22 inches.  I placed the two layers of fabric with right sides together, stacked the bat on top, and stitched around three sides of the rectangles.  I then turned them right side out, folded in the raw edges, and stitched the open end closed.  I then machine quilted the potato sack, and folded the two short ends in so that they slightly overlapped, creating a small pocket.  It is a really quick project, and is quite practical.  Paired with a cute apron or two, it would be a great housewarming, graduation, or even wedding gift.

I made one for myself, and yesterday we used it to bake a few sweet potatoes in the microwave.  Delicious!

Thanks for reading, and happy sewing!