A few years ago, I rediscovered potholder looms after having neglected them since my stepdaughters were twerps. I had been delighted to rediscover them then after having enjoyed them in my own childhood, and have been enjoying them anew in recent years.
For a while, I moderated a discussion forum dedicated to them, but discussions were rare and spamming attempts were common, and that is now gone.
Because of a long-unchanged web page [now gone since Yahoo dropped their Geocities hosting service] I continued to get email inquiries, and decided to activate this dormant blog as a place to share what I have discovered about sources and techniques, show off some of my work, and perhaps even answer some of those questions.By far the most common questions are about loops and sources.
The very nicest loops are Harrisville wool loops (right), the easiest to work with are Klutz loops (left), with Harrisville cotton loops (top, finished this morning) fitting nicely in between. Nylon loops are by far the cheapest, in per-potholder cost, but can be unsatisfactory both on the loom and as potholders.I get most of my stuff from local stores, Math 'n' Stuff, and Top Ten Toys, with the occasional order from Klutz supplementing.
My own Amazon storefront has my choices of tools and supplies. I get a few cents if you order there, and more importantly, I get some measure as to how much interest there is in what I am doing here.
Potholder loops were originally byproducts of sock manufacturing (trimmed off after closing the toe), and many of the budget bags still come from that source. These loops tend to lack consistency and can be difficult to make nice potholders from. Harrisville and Klutz loops are custom made for craft use.
One can also cut loops from some socks, colored stockings, or tights, with satisfactory results. This is not necessarily a budget option, but can provide variety in colors. The potholder at right was from a pair of dollar-store striped socks cut along the stripes.Potholder looping is primarily a therapy activity for me. I have found it very beneficial, and the recipients of my potholders seem pleased with the results. Many of my potholders have been sold at charity events.
I welcome comments and topic suggestions, but am usually unable to provide individual responses.
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3 comments:
I think your potholders are fabulous! How do you get the solid stripe designs? Do you wrap around the weft to color that band? (does that make sense).
Anywhoo, very fabulous indeedy!
thanks for sharing!
Melissa
Awesome potholders! How do you achieve those nifty patterns? I am so jealous!
thanks for sharing!
Melissa
Thank you for the kind words.
You can decode any potholder by looking at the edges, which give away the order of the loops ending at that edge. You can click on most images for a larger view.
Most of the potholders I do are a skip-one-skip-two pattern: starting with main color I will put on a loop, leave an empty set of pins, put on a loop, leave two empty sets, repeat. After that I put on additional colors considering just the empty pins, using either the same s1s2 or s1s1 - the last color goes on all the empty pins.
After I lay on the loops one way, I rotate the loom a quarter turn and lay the other direction across, either mixing up the colors or using the same order except usually reversing the last two colors.
Then to weave, I pull a loop off the lower layer and weave it on, and repeat until done. I work from bottom to top.
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