Review: 25+ Potholders to Knit

When I think about knitting for the home, I usually think about things like blankets and pillows, but I also love knit washcloths, dishcloths and other items that I can use every day.

Potholders are a great thing to knit because, like washcloths, you can use all sorts of patterns and try new designs and techniques on them without having to devote yourself to a large project. They are great travel projects because they are pretty small, and if you knit them in cotton (which is really the best choice because it doesn’t melt or scorch in high heat) they’re even great summer knitting projects.

Lest you think that knitting potholders sounds boring, allow me to present Stina Tislius’ book 25+ Potholders to Knit: Classic, Playful, and Festive Patterns.

The book does have a lot of projects worked in Garter Stitch, but there is shaping or colorwork or something to make it more fun. The classic design, for instance, if just a Garter Stitch rectangle with crocheted edging (which is common in the book) to make places to hang the potholder from if you wish (in some cases the crochet also holds two layers of knitting together).

There’s a mitered square project and one worked on the bias. There are others with simple stitch patterns and colorwork. Some potholders are in fun shapes like a boat, a sheep, a ladybug, a troll (looks like an alien to me) and a monster. An oven mitt and projects shaped like hearts, Easter eggs and a ghost round out the collection.

Of course because these projects are worked in cotton you could use them as washcloths, too, which would be fun with the shaped ones. I also think they’d be great as appliques on another project, like the little boat stitched onto a baby blanket or pillow for a little boy’s room.

The book also includes basic knitting and crochet instructions for those who might need help with any of the steps involved. It’s a fun, pretty book with some great ideas that will fill your kitchen — and no doubt your friends’ kitchens as well — with knitting.

Book specifications: 116 pages, paperback with interior flaps, 29 patterns (by my count). Published September 2015, Trafalgar Square Books, suggested retail $19.95.

Next Pattern:

While I was knitting this baby blanket, my husband was curious as to why I was knitting a baby blanket when there are no babies in the near future that we know of. (What we know is kind of relative since some friends told us they were adopting a couple of years ago with less than a month’s notice.)

I said, “well, I had the yarn.” Which is true. I bought a ball of Bernat Sport Ombre Twist yarn when JoAnn was closing and it seemed like just the thing to make a baby blanket.

And at more than 1,000 yards per skein, I figured a one-skein baby blanket would be a fun project to try.

It actually worked out perfectly, with the blanket coming out a good size. With the border it’s 36 inches/91.4 cm square, which is what I’m usually aiming for when I knit baby blankets but I rarely hit it because I also rarely check gauge for a baby blanket since it’s usable whatever size it is.

I had enough yarn to work the blanket and two rounds of single crochet as a border, with a few yards of yarn to spare.

If you don’t crochet you can leave off the border or do an applied I-cord or some kind of knit border, but you might need to use a contrasting yarn for that.

The blanket uses sand stitch, which is an easy knitting stitch that only uses knits and purls. It’s sort of stockinette on one side and alternating knits and purls on the other. There’s some debate as to which side of this stitch pattern is considered the front, but the good news is they both look good.

You can grab this free pattern over at Our Daily Craft. Stitch it up even if you don’t know of any babies coming soon. You never know, and it can always be a charity project if all else fails.

Next Pattern:

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