How to weave a potholder

To get started weaving a potholder, you need only minimal equipment--a potholder loom, a bag of loops, a weaving hook, and a crochet hook to bind off the potholder.

I bought my loom kit from Harrisville Designs, available from the Friendly Loom site. The Harrisville loom kits come in two sizes: the traditional size (makes 6"x 6" potholders) and the PRO size (makes 8" x 8" potholders).

The Friendly Loom loops come in many lovely colors (earth tones, neutrals, pastels, and bright colors). They're made of 100% cotton, have just the right amount of stretchiness, and are heat safe. These loops are popular with adult potholder weavers, so I've used their names for loop colors when describing my own potholders.

I started out making the larger PRO-sized potholders but now mostly make the traditional size because the loops are fairly pricey, and I find the traditional size potholders a bit easier to make. Most of the patterns in my posts, however, can be adapted for a PRO-sized loom.

{Note: The craft site Acorns and Twigs sells smaller bundles of Friendly Loom loops for both traditional and PRO-sized looms, which is a more affordable option if you want to first try out different colored loops.]

Here's how to make a potholder:

First, attach loops vertically to pegs:

Then, weave in loops horizontally. Below, you'll see in the first row, a white loop, weaving over and under the vertical loops. In the second row, the autumn-color loop is woven under and over the vertical loops, etc.

I use my fingers to weave, but you can also try using the weaving hook that came with your kit. This video from Friendly Loom shows you how to use the weaving hook..

As you're weaving, you will need to stretch one loop on each side and attach to a peg in order to maintain the tension (as shown in the Friendly Loom video mentioned above). If you don't stretch one loop to a peg, the loops start to lift off the pegs all at once. (I learned this the hard way!)

To finish the potholder, I start at the top right corner and work my way around. First, put your crochet hook through two loops.

 Then pull the first loop over the second loop. continuing this throughout until you get to the last loop, which you'll pull all the way through. The Friendly Loom video, as well as many YouTube videos, will show you how to do this.

I find potholder weaving patterns on various online craft sites, Pinterest, Etsy, and You Tube. After you've made a few potholders, it's pretty easy to figure out how the potholders you see on these sites were made, even if they don't include instructions. The book, Potholder Loom Designs, has lots of patterns (both traditional and PRO) to try. Piglet's Potholder Patterns has free charts for tons of interesting weaving patterns.

The Friendly Loom also has a free online Potholder Design Wizard where you can try out patterns in different colors (first, click on either the traditional or PRO size before trying out the patterns).

Happy Weaving!

M.J.