I remember so well when I was eight years old and was given a loom to make pot holders.
I LOVED it!
I still love making them, but over fifty years later, I found that you can teach an old dog new tricks! There are no pot holders that serve the purpose as well as these handmade ones!
At least that is my opinion!
For one thing, did you know that there is a larger loom available? The standard child's loom has 18 pegs on each side. The Pro Harrisville Designs loom has 27 pegs, so you can make a much larger, nicer pot holder.
Harrisville Designs also makes loops specifically for making pot holders
(compared to the ends of socks that are cut off to make your run of the mill loops) for both sizes.
They have beautiful colors and the pot holders make up so much nicer! Now, they are a little more pricey than the waste product from the socks, but at my age, they are worth it! You can order from Harrisville Designs or many locations. The best price I found was at Live and Learn.com.
Just do a search for potholder loops. They fit the looms so nicely and make up so pretty!
I also found that you can create such fun patterns by passing over a second loop like above. Notice how the pattern is completely different on the two designs above that are the same other than size, but look different on reverse sides. Perhaps that is called a twill stitch? I am not into weaving jargon, but I will check with my weaving friend when I see her. I do know the woof goes across like a dog running (woof, woof) and the warp runs up and down, but pot holders are child's play, so you don't have to worry about all those terms. At least I think that is what she told me about the dog running!
Another trick you can do to create a neat design is to look at the loop as two pieces as you weave through it, and split the two as was done above and below. Fun, fun, fun!
Create patterns that look like they are woven or look like houndstooth as seen below. This is so much fun!
Just switching the color of the loops used in the pattern creates a matching set! I am even drawing up new designs to fit my new Pro size loom!
My sister got me started on this when she was riding with me in the car over Labor Day and was making some pot holders just because she needed some.....I guess I have taken it to the next level!
