Loom Art Instructions for Potholders
Making hand woven potholders is a treasured childhood memory for most baby Boomers. Simple to make and useful in the kitchen, cloth loop potholders are coming back into style in a big way. Kits for making loom art potholders are available online and at most craft stores. You can get replacement loops there, too. Most kits are marked 3+, but most children under five don’t have the patience to make en entire potholder at one sitting. Getting the potholder off of the loom in one piece can also be a challenge, so be prepared to help.
Instructions
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Sort your loops according to color if you are going to work a pattern into your potholder.
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Loop one end of a cloth loop over the top prong on the left side of the loom. Stretch it across to the right and loop the other end over the top prong on the right side of the loom.
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Repeat with another cloth loop, attaching it to the second prongs down on the left and right. Continue until you have loops stretched from side to side between the prongs, all the way down the loom.
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4
Rotate the loom one-quarter turn so that your loops are now running up and down.
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Weave your crochet hook, tail end first, over and under the loops, starting at the top left and working toward the top right. You can go over and under one string at a time, one loop at a time, or over and under bunches of loops to form a pattern. Only go as far as the crochet hook is long.
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Hook one end of a cloth loop over the top, left prong on the loom. Hook the other end over the hook on the crochet hook. Slowly pull the crochet hook to the right, dragging the cloth loop with it.
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Finish the row by weaving the crochet hook through the rest of the top-to-bottom loops, pulling the sideways loop after it. Hook the loop over the top right prong and repeat until all of the prongs have loops on them.
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Remove your potholder by taking the two loops at the bottom right of the loom off of their prongs. Slip the higher loop through the lower one. Take off the next higher loop and slip it through the one you are holding. Keep removing loops and slipping them through the previous one, until you are down to the last two loops.
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Tie the last two lops together in a square knot if they are long enough. If not, slip the last one through the previous one, stretch the excess as much as you can and tie a slip knot.
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Tips & Warnings
Replace a broken loom with a square piece of scrap wood with short nails or tacks hammered into it at even intervals.
Keep cloth loops away from dogs, they can be hazardous to your pet if swallowed.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Maria Teijeiro/Lifesize/Getty Images
