Another Casserole Carrier

I made another casserole carrier, this time as a wedding shower gift (accomanied by a lidded 9x13 casserole dish).  And I must say, it was satisfying to have it opened and ooh-ed and aaah-ed over by a roomful of women that have known me since I was a child, impressed that I had made it myself.  That's one of the reasons I love bringing handmade things as shower gifts--because the whole point is to open it up in front of people and show it off, and I love a little public affirmation.

I found this cute striped belting as a remnant a while back, and thought I'd make the boy a belt out of it, but since I hadn't done that yet and there was pretty much EXACTLY how much I'd need to make a carrier strap, I thought now was the time to use it up.  Almost three yards of belting for 75 cents!  Although since I hadn't opened up the package until I was ready to use it, I didn't realize that it was ever-so-slightly elasticized.  So it bounces a little as you carry it along.  BUT, I was inspired by the slight stretch--I sewed the straps down in a couple of spots to make slots to carry utensils, rather than attaching a separate utensil loop like I'd done before.

I made some spots wider and some smaller so there are some options for what size of utensil will fit.

You know I have to show you the interior contrast fabric too!

I had juuuuuuust enough of both the railroad stripe exterior (I had used it before in this skirt and this jumper, plus a pair of pants for the boy that I STILL haven't had a chance to photograph--it cost $1 a yard and now all three yards I bought are gone.) The couple had registered for some red kitchen accessories, so I was pleased that I could make this little remnant work for the interior--it matched the stripe in the belting perfectly too.  For the record, this remnant was 2/3 yard and I was able to squeak it out, even though the tutorial calls for a full yard.

Fabric close-up

On a related topic, WHAT is Pyrex thinking with the giant handles on their casserole dishes now?  I'd hate to try and fit one of these into my cupboard!  They look even bigger in real life than this photo shows.

Pyrex Easy Grab

I ended up finding one of these Anchor ones with normal-sized handles so I could make my casserole carrier without an extra foot of fabric.  Sheesh!

Anchor Hocking with TrueFit lid

Anyway, there MAY have been enough fabric left from my casserole carrier project to make a little coordinating kitchen accessory to go with the wedding gift.  Time will tell!