‘Why can’t I find pot holders any more?” This is what I was asked recently whilst on a short break in Ripon.
The hotel owner saw me crocheting in the lounge and asked me this question, so when I got home I had a look online and found that there are many around but made by, and advertised amongst craft enthusiasts. I could not find any nice ones for sale in high street stores. Always keen to take on a new challenge I scoured my computers pages for some patterns and set to work to produce…….
I think that pot holders will really enhance that old fashioned english tradition of taking tea. At the The Old Deanery where we stayed in Ripon tea was wonderfully presented in silver tea pots with a pot of hot water and, yes really, sugar lumps, where do you see those today? We loved it. It was the perfect accompaniment to an hour of crafting (me) and reading (hubby) in the lounge before heading out to see the art exhibition in the Catherdral.
The hotel owner said she has lots more teapots but without the bakerlite handles so they get too hot to hold, hence the quest for pot holders. I added the loop so they could be hooked onto the lid of the teapot to be ready in place when the tea is suitably brewed and ready to pour.
So here we have a close up of each one, starting with Daisy, this pattern is available free from many sites but I got it from Bobbles&Baubles.com we are told that the pattern originates from a dutch lady but I could not find her to give the credit deserved.
Next is the Flower Petals design, I did find another pattern for this but found that I preferred using the Blooming Flower cushion version from Attic 24. I just did less rounds of course.
Then lastly is the Star Flower, this pattern I found here at FreecraftUnlimited.com . I think this is my favourite but then I touch the others and they all feel so nice in the hand I keep changing my mind.
These are all free patterns so go on give it a whirl, they are really quick to work up however this last one took me a while to get all the twists into position.
The only thing I have not told you is that I used Debbie Bliss Bella, 85% cotton, 10% silk, 5% cashmere so they are rather luxurious. The cotton works well as it has a nice grip to it and where the pot holder pattern twists and folds you get a double thickness for heat protection. Not sure if I should look for some better value cotton yarn, any suggestions?
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They are beautiful and remind me of the ones my grandma made when I was a child ” a long time ago” and I still use sugar cubes great for control and I just like them.
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They are such fun to make, although old fashioned they do seem to making a bit of a come back particularly with the growing popularity of afternoon tea. Where oh where do you find sugar cubes these days, I don’t think I have seen them for years!
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I love old fashioned patterns and I agree I think they are making a come back, I live in Milwaukee, Wi. and I get them in one of our local food stores “Pick & Save, be happy to send you a box if you like.
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Thank you so much that is such a generous offer and would be fantastic but I am not sure of the cost of sending to the UK.
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Off hand I don’t either, I but it’s easy for me to check on I’m real close to the post office. I will do that Monday/ tomorrow. Always nice to give a treat from the past.
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Thank you, I am excited just at the possibility.
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On the sugar cubes, the post office here charges $23.50 for 1 bl. 8 oz. package to ship to U.K. for 6-10 delivery and $18.50 standard shipping no telling how it would that way. The sugar cubes only cost $1.50 to $2.00 depending on brand. I looked on internet, e Bay, amazon, eBay sells a one 1 pound box for $9.99 with free shipping, have you tried looking on your sites? Otherwise if you want I can send to you from here.
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I checked on the postage this week it would cost U.S. currency $23.50 for 1 pound of sugar cubes for 6-10 days delivery, $18.50 for standard shipment the sugar cubes only cost $1.50 to 2.00 depending on brand. I looked on eBay & Amazon. eBay is cheaper if you buy from them $9.99 with free shipping. Have you check on your U.K. eBay sites or run a search for sugar cubes? If you want I can sent them for you.
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Thank you for checking but you are right, I can get them on ebay. Really appreciate all your efforts in finding costs etc. Who knows maybe one day we can share a cuppa and add our cubes while we have a natter. You never know it could happen!!
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These are really pretty.
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Thank you. I became fascinated with making them, it’s so much fun try out new colour combinations.
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Wow! These are stunning and much better than any pot holder you could buy. Well done. Great use of color.
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Thanks, I hope they like them too.
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I use sugar cubes! It’s my way of portion controlling the sugar I put in my coffee and tea or else I tend to go a little over board. Also, I absolutely love the color combos. ❤
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Wow, I had not seen them for years!! A great way to control your intake though.
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Reblogged this on Oldschool's Notebook.
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Thank you very much for visiting and for the re blog.
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These are lovely but I can’t get the Bobbles & Baubles link to work. 😦
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Sorry about that, I have tried updating it. Let me know if it works this time.
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Sorry, I’m still getting “Page Not Found”. However, it took me as far as the blog so I did a Search for “pot holders” and there they were. Thanks for trying.
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So sorry you have had trouble, I did the link again directly to the pattern page. But as long as you have found the pattern now, I can’t wait to see your pot holders, Have you seen this one too http://www.freecraftunlimited.com/flower-hot-pad.html (I am hoping this link will work)!!
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Yes, the link worked. I like those ones too. I like them all a lot but I thought the daisy ones, with the colours you had chosen, looked the best of the bunch. Very pretty.
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These are stunning! xx
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Thank you.
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All are beautiful but I like Star Flower most.
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Oh my goodness these are beautiful! I wish I hadn’t started a throw blanket today, but then again I’m sure I will need a break from this big project and something like these would be perfect! I drink tea all the time, and I always end up using my sweatshirt sleeve as a pot holder. It doesn’t work so well that way… I wonder if I could do something like these with thread instead of yarn…. Hmmmmm. Now you’ve got me thinking…
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Something done with thread would be lovely, I guess you mean embroidery?
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Nope, really thin yarn. My (hopefully) future mother in law calls it thread. I’m not sure if that’s what it’s called or not though.
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Beautiful potholders! My favorite is the Blooming one…but I loved them all. Also, anything which makes for a more pleasurable tea experience is tops in my opinion. 😀
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You are obviously a fellow avid tea drinker!
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Fantastic patterns and colours! Yes, Debbie Bliss Bella does make for luxurious potholders, lol! How about Stylecraft Classique Cotton or DROPS Muskat? Sounds like the perfect afternoon to me, btw. Hope you enjoyed it!
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It was definitely just the ticket, nice and relaxing. Thank you for the suggestions, I will investigate as I do think the Debbie Bliss is a bit extravagant.
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Oh how pretty they are and how clever you are 🙂
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Thank you.
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Lovely color choices! And i’d have to agree, out of the three potholders you show, the Star Flower is my favorite. And the loops you added would certainly be nice for hanging the potholders in the kitchen, so they’re easy to find when you need them!
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Thanks. I thought they would work attached to the teapot lid too so people don’t forget to use them.
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Definitely a good thought – nothing like a good visual cue as a reminder!
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WOW! Beautiful! I’m a lifelong coffee drinker but these might be enough to bring me over from The Dark Side! I especially love the daisy. Glorious!
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The daisy is very pretty but the daisy is still my favourite.
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How an old concept can be made to come back and add some colour into our lives! How about creating some tea cosy patterns ?
Shakti
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Yes what a great idea, I am afraid I am a bit of a slob when making tea and belong to the teabag sloshed in a mug. Properly brewed tea is so much nicer though, I may have to work on converting myself!
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These are absolutley beautiful. I love the colours.
I’m seen masses of pot holders on other crochet sites but I never knew what they were for. I thought they were to stand your flower pots on!
Especially love the daisy and the star.
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What a fruit you are! I keep seeing lovely doilies too so now I have accomplished pot holders I might try these next.
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These are beautiful!
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Thank you.
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Lovely!
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Thanks.
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Thanks for sharing this. I haven’t thought of pot holders in years. But they are just the right thing to help brighten the kitchen and tea time during the winter months.
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Agree, they would also look nice just used as decoration.
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Those are wonderful!
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Thank you, so nice of you to visit.
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Good question
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They are all so beautiful
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Thank you, I really enjoyed making them. Each one was a few hours work to complete but nice to do something relatively quick.
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I adore these! Will definitely look up these patterns and give them a whirl. Thanks for sharing.
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My pleasure, I am grateful to the lovely folk that posted the patterns for us to use.
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I made all three in Drops Muskat for my mum’s birthday, and she loves them! Pics to follow on my blog (will link back to your post!)
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Wow, I just checked them out, they look lovely, have you tried using the magic ring method to start this kind of project? It works much better for projects where you want to tighten the centre or starting ring. I hope you Mum was thrilled with the gorgeous chest of drawers as well I loved the handles you made. Thank you for adding the link.
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I do use the magic ring method sometimes but with items that are handled a lot I worry that it might work loose eventually. Also the first round was 15 dc and I thought if I pulled it too tight it might look puckered in the middle. I’m definitely making more of these so I think I’ll have to be brave and experiment a little! I’ve already started on a cushion version too (for my niece), but I don’t think it will be quite as impressive as Attic24’s one, but I will post pics when it’s done.
Thanks again for the inspiration! Keep those beautiful pictures coming!
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If you leave a decent length of yarn at the start you can thread it through the first round of crochet pull it as tight as you want to then slip knot, or over sew it off. It will be interesting to see how your experimenting goes, I hope you will share the best method you find. I look forward to seeing how you cushion comes along too, it is such a lovely pattern to make.
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I love the flower so much. And your colors are vibrant and stunning! Thanks for sharing.
DreAnna Plaisted
Simply Knots
(skproducts.me)
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Thank you. I see you like colour too having checked in and seen your latest project.
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I love the potholders. The second one is my favorite and I have made this design many times. Why did you use the yarn you did though. Just curious. I looked it up and I can see that it would feel good.
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To be honest it was what I had and I didn’t have time to get anything else. What do you use? And do you add anything to the back for extra proaction? Sorry about so many questions but pot holder are new to me.
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Those are so cute! I need to sit down and make some.
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Thank you, don’t forget to share if you do make some, you can get the patterns from this post if you click on the links.
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Thank you. I just might!
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These are great! I especially like the flower petal design. Do they protect from the heat enough to use on a pan that’s been in the oven or are they more for warm items, but not really hot?
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I haven’t actually used them as they are to send to the hotel. I think they will be fine for a tea pot handle but to use them for straight from the oven I would think you would need to add something to the back. I have asked a couple of fellow bloggers what they do and am just waiting to hear back.
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Those are stunning. I love the colours!
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I sometimes wonder if I use too many colours on projects but personally I like lots of colour so thank you for your comment.
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Oh no, lots of colour is lovely. They all work very well together 🙂
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