Woven potholder DIY! (aka: my fave childhood craft)
OK perhaps this wasn’t my favvveee childhood craft (because there were SO MANY, duh)! But this was awfully close! I loved making these woven potholders – they are simple and wonderful and I think there was even one Christmas that I made one for every member of my family (HA)! 🙂
This quick and happy DIY is fast (about an hour from start to finish), quite relaxing (and I’m ALLLL about relaxing and stress free these days), and it’s quite frankly mesmerizing watching these mini-weavings come together before your eyes! And let me just say, that while I LOOOOVED this project as a kid, this for sure isn’t JUST for kids these days – potholders are amazing and useful and, with modern patterns, can look so stylish and beautiful! 🙂
MATERIALS:
- A weaving loom (I LOVE the “hapi nest” metal one I found at Michaels)
- Extra loops (because you’ll want to make about 90 jillion of these once you get started)
*A note on the loops – be sure that you have cotton loops (and not synthetic acrylic) so that they actually keep the heat off surfaces AND don’t melt
INSTRUCTIONS:
note: I picked up the Hapi Nest loom from Michales (it was metal and I loved how sturdy and great it was) which also had all of the other needed materials in it (the long hook, the crochet hook and a few other odds and ends if needed). It also comes with a complete instruction booklet, so my instructions are mainly just the tips that I found to be helpful 🙂
- To start, follow your color pattern and slip a loop over a peg on the bottom of the loom, and stretch it over the corresponding peg on the top of the loom. Use one loop per set of pegs, making sure the loops all lie parallel, and that all pegs are covered.
Hold the big weaving hook by its smaller hook end, and working from right to left (or left to right if you’re left-handed), pass the larger end of the hook over and under each loop (both strands). Make sure you go over and under both strands – you don’t want to go through the middle of the loop.
Slip a new loop over the large end of the weaving hook. Twist the hook so it lies flat, and pull gently back toward the right side of the loom. When the loop becomes more “taught”, slip the free end of the loop over the first peg on the left side of the loom to secure it. Continue pulling and slip the other end of the loop over the corresponding peg on the right.
Using your fingers (or the small end of the weaving hook), push/smush/press the loop up towards the top of the loom so that the loop (that was just looped) is straight across from one side of the loom to the other. (the more you weave, the more “tight” the weave will be so the more smushing you will have to do).
Repeat this weaving “over/under” process with each loop that you add 🙂
Once all of the left and right loops are covered, you will want to grab your crochet hook and begin to finish your potholder – You will be inserting your crochet hook into one loop (after/as you slip it off the peg). Keeping your first loop on your crochet hook, you will slip your hook into the next loop along the edge. Pass the first loop over the 2nd loop and slip it off the hook.
Continue to repeat this until you’ve reached the end of all 4 edges. pass the last loop through the hook and secure it with a knot or add another loop for a “hanging hook” for the corner of the potholder 🙂
TaaaaDaaaa! These are SO SO *SO* fun to make these and I HIGHLY encourage you to have a girls night, put on your fave tunes and get to relaxing-making! 🙂
