Crochet Potholders - DIY tutorial for beginners

• Material for a pot holder
• Useful information
• Häkelanleitung
  • Chain of air meshes
  • 1. crochet row with fixed stitches
  • Fixed stitches
  • 2nd and all following rows
  • Crochet potholders
  • completion
• Tip for crocheting color stripes

Even though we no longer burn our fingers so easily thanks to modern plastic pot handles on the stove, the oven mitt remains a useful and popular kitchen accessory as a proven aid. Whether actually as heat protection or for decorative purposes - crocheted potholders are currently making a comeback. This simple guide explains a popular crochet item that even beginners can dare to use.

Crochet potholders made of strong stitches

This tutorial shows how to crochet a potholder quickly with simple, sturdy stitches. Complicated mesh samples and complicated calculations are completely dispensed with.

From a tangle of cotton yarn, a practical kitchen helper is created, which - crocheted with love - makes a wonderful gift idea. If you want to crochet two potholders, you can play with the colors. One ball becomes the main color of one cloth and the other edge. In the end, every kitchen fairy is happy, because both hands stay healthy when she takes the hot roast or the freshly baked cake out of the tube. Also briefly explained is the striped version.

Material for a pot holder

• 50 g crochet yarn (cotton yarn)
• 1 crochet hook in the appropriate thickness
• Also: tape measure, blunt needle for sewing, scissors

Here in the pattern description are used:

• 100% cotton with a running length of 90 m / 50 g
• Crochet hook: 4 mm

What you should consider when buying materials:

Potholders are often exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, the choice of crochet yarn should be accordingly robust. In the specialized trade for it special "pot cloth yarn" is offered. Alternatively, however, another pure cotton yarn or the so-called school yarn are wonderful for this crochet work.

In addition to the run length of the bobbin, the manufacturer's instructions on the banderole also contain an indication of the needle size with which the yarn is to be processed. For a stable crochet work, you should use the smallest possible crochet hook in the pot holder.

Useful information

So that the crochet pot holder later fulfills its important task - to protect our hands from heat - it is made of solid mesh. This creates a dense and visually beautiful crochet image.

The optimal size of a finished potholder is about 20 centimeters. On the millimeter, it does not matter in this crochet work. If only 19 centimeters are reached or if the side length is a bit bigger, you can tolerate that and put it under the motto "artistic freedom".

Häkelanleitung

For the finally square potholder, a chain of 35 loose air meshes is first crocheted. (If you are working with a thinner thread or a smaller needle, simply apply a little more mesh.) The finished chain should be about 20 centimeters long.

Chain of air meshes

As the name implies, air meshes are hung together - make a single stitch and then draw a simple new loop through the loop on the crochet hook.

Tip: If you use a slightly thicker crochet hook for the chain, then it will be easier to stab the individual meshes in the first crochet row.

1. crochet row with fixed stitches

At the beginning of each new row, a so-called spiral air stitch is crocheted. To the finished chain of air mesh therefore another air mesh is first crocheted. For the first row, which follows now, each fixed loops are worked into the individual loops of the chain. The first puncture site is marked with an arrow. The spiral air mesh becomes the edge stitch.

Fixed stitches

Now the crochet hook is stung through the loop of the chain, the thread is pulled and pulled through (now there are 2 loops on the needle) - now pick up the thread again and pull through both loops.

According to this principle, 35 fixed stitches work until the end of the chain of air stitches is reached.

Attention: The last stitch of a row, which must be stabbed in any case, already arched a bit. In the picture are still two stitches unbehäkelt, in the completion of the series still has to be inserted.

For crochet newbies it is worthwhile to carefully count the individual stitches in the first rows. This creates a straight-lined square and thus a consistent end result.

Tip: Do not stray off the straight path when crocheting and actually produce rectangular squares instead of misshapen trapezoids - many newcomers find it a bit difficult. The reason for this is usually found in small negligence at the beginning or end of the line. If you pay attention to the following things, there should be no difficulty: Always crochet a turn-around mesh at the beginning of a set of stitches. (If you work with half rods, you need 2 spiral air meshes and with chopsticks even 3 spiral air meshes are made). At the end, always work correctly to the very last stitch.

2nd and all following rows

Once the 1st row has been completely crocheted, the work is turned over. Now the last crocheted loop is on the right side again. Now follow the spiral air mesh already described at the beginning (crochet a simple air mesh). This turning pocket is ignored when counting the stitches in a row.

From now on, fixed stitches are worked into each stitch of the previous row. The first puncture site can be seen again in the photo.

To make beautiful, strong stitches do not just pierce the front stitch of the previous row, but use the crochet hook to go through the entire stitch of the previous row. If crocheted with this method 35 stitches, the second row is already done. This is followed by the 3rd, 4th, 5th row and so on.

Crochet is always back and forth until the potholder has a square shape. This can easily be checked without a measuring tape by folding the crocheted part diagonally, ie from corner to corner. If all side edges lie on each other, the crochet square is perfect. If there is one more page, it will take one or more rows. (The potholder in this guide has a total of 36 rows.) Now cut the thread and pull it once through the last crochet loop.

Once the beginning and end thread are sewn, you could theoretically use the pot holder. In order for the practical hand tool to look pretty, it is advisable to invest a little extra time and equip the oven mitts with a border and a loop. Later, the potholder can easily be hung in the loop near the kitchen stove.

Crochet potholders

For this purpose, a thread is pulled through the lower end of the crochet square (in the first stitch of the original initial chain of stitches) - it creates a loop.

Crochet a short chain of air stitches (approx. 12 stitches) on this loop.

Shoot the chain by reinserting into the very first potholder mesh.

Now this loop is crocheted again with fixed stitches. To do this, turn the pot holder over, place the thread behind the needle, first cut into the last stitch of the chain and then work on the edges along the stitches.

Then the actual border of the pot cloth starts. It is worked from the loop in the left direction and so crochet the whole square with fixed stitches. In order to avoid holes at the bottom, a stitch is inserted deeper.

Corner: Crochet three sts in one stitch. (End a normal stitch as normal, then pierce again into the hole used for this, fetch the thread and make a tight stitch and then also stab a third time in this place and crochet a tight loop.

It follows the margin around the slightly crumpled edge stitches of the crochet piece (at the height of each back and forth row work a stitch).

In previously 36 crocheted rows so 36 Umrandungsmaschen arise. If the two corners are crocheted, a nice clear mesh pattern appears on the upper edge. It's easy to work a tight mesh in each of these edge stitches.

After the third corner, go up the right crochet page again (work like the left edge of the page), until finally the initially created suspension loop is reached again. The last stitch of the loop is stitched into the first stitch of this suspension loop as a chain stitch.

Knitting stitch: Use the crochet hook to prick the desired puncture site, pick up the thread and immediately pull it through the noose on the needle.

completion

Cut the thread as in the crochet of the basic square and pull it once through the last crochet loop.

Now only the threads need to be sewn ...

Sewing threads: Especially with a crochet work, which you also want to use and strain afterwards, it is worth sewing the threads neatly and stably. In addition, there is no backside for potholders. Both sides are clear, so pull the thread ends with 5 - 6 stitches through the crochet stitches so that they are no longer visible. Cut the thread end short. If you work with different colors, the respective threads are best sewn where crocheted with the right color.

... and a simple yet beautiful potholder is ready.

Tip for crocheting color stripes

Color change: As soon as a back row is finished with one color, the work is turned over and crocheted with the second color. Crochet the spiral air mesh with the new thread. The thread of the original color is first folded down, the new thread comes from behind. If necessary tighten both thread ends so that no holes are formed. Finish a back and forth row (or crochet the block strip in the desired width) and change the color again. With narrow strips, the first thread hanging from the work can simply be pulled upwards. When crocheting in wider blocks, also guide the thread upward along the edge or cut it off when changing color and always sew the ends of the thread.

Short instructions for simply crocheted potholders made of strong stitches:

• Material: 1 crochet hook No. 4, 1 ball of potholder yarn (length 90 m / 50 g)
• crochet a chain of 35 stitches (about 20 cm in length)
• Work 1 spiral air mesh and crochet the chain with 35 stitches
• turn the work, work 1 spiral air stitch, crochet 35 stitches into the stitches of the previous row
• Crochet a total of 36 rows according to this principle
• Crochet 1 loop of 12 stitches at one corner
• Crochet loop with sturdy stitches
• Crochet all 4 sides of the potholder with a set of strong loops