Potholder looms, weaving with yarn?
Potholder looms evoke warm memories for many of us. The simplicity of their design and use is perfect for kids, and they may well have been an introduction to creating with your hands? With a son who received two potholder looms as gifts this Christmas, I certainly hope that the time we’ve spent since the holidays using up all of the loops in the house have created some enduring memories. It sure has been fun!
Now when we did use up our loops… I had to try something new (to me): weaving with yarn on a potholder loom. As you might guess, it turns out that there is a long history of doing just that. In fact, back in the 1930’s people made entire outfits on small looms!
While there are many examples from that period, they tend to focus on the looms/techniques of the day, and, there are few examples using color-work. In fact, while there are a number of good tutorials on weaving with single colors on a potholder loom, there are few current examples of people using multiple colors, or incorporating unusual weave structures.
Grabbing some of the discarded Victorian Brushed Mohair Yarn skein-ends that I rescue on occasion, I started experimenting. I chose my son’s Metal Potholder Loom , it is a handsome, solid tool. I’m also interested to try the larger Crazy as a Loom Potholder Loom , it looks like it will be really fun too.
My first thought: a scarf. You see the (primitive, preliminary :-) results above. The feel of the Mohair is luxurious. It is a bit “sticky” feeling to weave with, but it sure does hold it’s form well! It forms a solid square when doubled or quadrupled. For a less tangle-y weaving experiment, I’m excited to try Halcyon Yarn Rug Wool which is much bulkier and also has many colors.
It made me wonder though, are there folk experimenting with this? Anyone wanting to share techniques? Truth be told, it is really fun “inventing” and experimenting with how to do this, but, would love to see what others have come up with. I’ll update in a future post with the finished project, and, the techniques that worked best… In the mean time, all feedback welcomed!
Related items of interest: • Our yarns • Super Bulky weight yarns • Wool yarns
I used looms for potholders as a kid, but that was many, many, many years ago.
After all these years, I started making potholders again, however; this time with yarn. I will usually double and even quadruple the strands. I sometimes add something extra for flair.
I also am studying the other uses of yarn.
I started using the yarn because a family member left it behind. Also with the weather bad, I can’t be outside building my buildings. So I’m stuck inside with yarn and much of it.
That’s great Catherine! now I’m going to HAVE to try the Crazy As a Loom loom :-)
The larger size and closer sett of the Crazy As a Loom loom does make for more options. I like using a heavy worsted, maybe handspun, which makes a substantial hotpad. Endless fun, and a pretty nice small gift item completed in a short time.