Knit/Crochet

Daisy

Crochet or Knit Potholder

This is a very sturdy and simple crochet potholder. The finished product is double layered and therefore prevents having your fingers slip through a hole and touch something hot. I can't remember where I learned the pattern, perhaps from a gracefully aged knit/crochet advisor in my family, or it could be possible that I just had a remarkable brainstorm sometime during my youth when my mind was a bit sharper! I hope that I am not stepping on anyone's creative toes by omitting their credit for the pattern!

This sample is worked in chunky weight cotton with a J hook. Thicker cotton produces a thicker less flexible potholder, where as a standard weight cotton produces a potholder that is thick enough to protect your hand, but more flexible. I typically use chunky weight ones to rest pots on and lighter weight ones for moving hot things with my hands. (Note: DO NOT make potholders from synthetic yarns, they will melt!)

As I was working on this particular potholder since my obsession at the moment is knitting I started thinking of ways to work it in knit. In theory you could cast on the number of stitches for the diagonal, and then knit in the front and back of each stitch. Working with double pointed needles or on two circular needles (as if you were making a sock), you would then knit one stitch and slip the following stitch to another dp or the second circular needle and repeat until you got to the end of your cast on. Turn your work and knit the stitches that you slipped to the extra needle to complete the circle. Then continue around in a manner similar to the crochet construction and close with a kitchner stitch in the middle when the sides were the appropriate length. The pattern would lend itself nicely to different textures of stitches such as a moss stitch.

If you are adventurous enough to try it out and get to it before I do, please let me know how it works out, and any tricks to making it work that you learn along the way!

To begin the potholder, crochet a chain as long as you want the DIAGONAL of the potholder to be. The chain will be shortened slightly by the first rows, so start with something approximately 1/4 larger than you want your finished potholder to be.

Once your chain is finished, single crochet in the RIGHT LOOP only of the chain, leaving the left loop of the chain free.

Once you reach the end of your chain, turn and continue to single crochet in the RIGHT LOOP only (this was previously the left loop)

This is a picture of the potholder after several rounds. Note that you do not make any increases to navigate around the corner. This causes the corners to naturally turn in, forming a square.

As you continue in rounds, the potholder will start to resemble a square more. You can keep the potholder folded this way to work on it, or you can bend the corners to make more of a pouch shape to work. You can work from the inside of the pocket, or if it is easier you can flip the pocket inside out and work from the outside.

Continue working around until your pouch is the correct length. For those of you who like math, remember "A squared + B squared = C squared." For the rest of us, just fold the pocket into a square and see if your sides meet in the middle yet. Be careful not to stop too early or your potholder will turn out to be more of a rectangle than a square!

When your pouch is big enough to form a squre, you will end in the middle of a row, and not at one of the corners.

The center should meet comfortably without stretching the sides. Avoid the temptation to stop too early!

Whipstitch the pocket closed where the edges meet. Make sure to leave yourself enough yarn to complete both the stitching, and for a crochet chain hanger at the finishing corner if you want one. Weave in your ends when finished. (It's ok to be lazy and let the string from the start of your chain hang out unwoven and hidden in the center of your potholder.)

On an interesting side note, because you are neither increasing or decreasing stitches, if you use a varigated yarn, your potholder will most likely come out with stripes of some sort.

Thanks for stopping by! If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me at stringthing2@yahoo.com