Shown: No 3 cotton thread (Aunt Lydia’s Fashion Crochet Thread in cream, by Coats) for body; No. 30 variegated cotton thread for border, and size 6 (1.6mm) steel crochet hook crochet hook.
Make first sl-st loop at least 3” from the yarn end. Tighten the knot tightly to minimize bulk.
R1: Ch 20, join into ring with sl st, ch 1, turn
R2: Carrying the free thread end along with the ring to bury it and to thicken the ring, work 40 sc closely around the ring (after 20 sc's are completed, push the sc's together so they are covering half of the ring, then finish covering the ring with the remaining 20 sc’s). Ch 3, turn.
Note: This applies throughout the piece: the ch-3 just made and made at the end of every row counts as 1dc on the next row; also, when working the next row, work the next dc not in the st at the base of the ch-3, but rather in the next st.
R3: Working only in the BACK loops (loops farthest from you) of the tops of the sc's, work 9 dc, ch3, 10 dc, ch 3, turn
R4: Working only in the FRONT loops (loops nearest you) of the tops of the dc's, work 1dc in each dc until the ch-3 sp; work in the ch-3 space (2dc, ch3, 2dc); continue working 1 dc in each dc across the rest of the row, including working into the top of the ch-3; ch 3, turn
Continue working R4 until the square is of desired size; Grandma Smith made her potholder 5 1/4”, measured across one of the four sides. Cut thread 3” long and draw through the final loop. This completes one of two layers of fabric for the potholder.
Make the second layer of the potholder by joining the thread at the same place where you started R3, and repeat R3, working this time in the FRONT loops of the tops of the sc's. Continue working R4 over and over as above (still using the FRONT loops in the repeats of R4) to the same size as the first layer of the potholder.
Sandwich the two layers together, carefully lining up the edges. Join the edges together by, starting at the place where the ring meets the body of the potholder, working a scalloped edge around the potholder through both layers of fabric: *3dc in one stitch, 1 sc in next, repeat from * around potholder, except for the ring. Work extra scallops in the corners to turn the corners and keep the work flat. Work sc around the ring, working extra sc’s where needed to keep the work flat. Optionally, you may work another round of sc around the body of the potholder.
The scalloped edge may be worked in a different color from the body of the potholder, using No. 10 cotton if desired. The scallop edge may be varied by changing dc's to tr's, working 5 st's in a cluster instead of 3, adding picots, etc. The body of the potholder can be varied by working in stripes, working the two sides in different colors, or striped one side and solid the other, etc.
Variation: In a slightly different version of the potholder from Grandma, the front and back were worked at the same time, by continuing the rows from the front around to the back. This was done by doing R3, but rather than stopping and turning to go back in the other direction, the potholder was turned and R3 was repeated on the FRONT loops, working your way back on the second layer. Once arriving at the starting place for R3, join with a sl st and then go on to R4, working first one layer then the other, row by row, round and round, following the same pattern of increases at the middle of each side. This method requires that only two edges be bound closed with scallop stitches.
1 comment:
From a church bazaar or garage sale, I acquired two such potholders. The ring used in one broke. I've been trying to recreate the pattern, using a thread ring instead of plastic, but kept getting bogged down before long. Thank you for the directions! Now, I can use your pattern to make more of them.
THANK YOU!!!
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