Potholder yarn for beginners, or not really?

Dear users, dear authors,
I have a question.

Over in the other thread, Traudelina wrote this:
Quote begins:
Note: heat-resistant cotton yarn (= potholder yarn) is only
loosely twisted and is therefore difficult for beginners in particular to
crochet with, because the yarn splits very easily. So if
heat resistance is not that important to you, for example if you don’t place a hot
pot on the potholder, you can also crochet with a cotton blend yarn,
e.g. Pantino by Schoeller+Stahl.
Quote ends.

I always assumed that potholder yarn was well suited for beginners. Back when I was just starting out on CP and went to the craft store to buy some yarn so I could try out needlework and somehow join the conversation, the lady sold me potholder yarn as suitable for beginners.


Could you explain that to me again?

My personal opinion: I wouldn’t recommend potholder yarn to any beginner.

To me, it’s too “fuzzy,” meaning you have to be careful when inserting the hook and pulling through to make sure you catch all the strands and that no partial strands stick out unattractively. In my opinion, it also doesn’t create such a nice, even overall look.

A woman I know had chosen some potholders and bought the yarn: one time potholder yarn (despite the warning) and one time Catania. You could tell she was disappointed when she picked up the potholders. With those two yarns in particular, the difference in the finished product is, of course, huge.

But the pros here can explain it more precisely.

Best regards, Marlies

Well, first of all, I believe that not all cotton is created equal. And not all pot holders are the same, either. Absolute beginners probably won’t have much fun with so-called pot holder yarn, precisely because you can end up catching only part of the strands, just as Marlies already described. Mercerized cotton doesn’t split as easily, but it also doesn’t produce the kind of dense stitch definition that’s usually desired for pot holders, so you don’t burn your fingers. I’ve had good experiences with some organic yarns, though I’m not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that they’re organic or rather with the nature of the yarn itself.
At home, we’ve been using oven mitts for ages—they’re made of acrylic, with not even a bit of cotton in them. They’ve proven their worth; they protect very well against the heat. That’s why I believe pot holders don’t necessarily have to be made of cotton.
As for pot holders as a beginner’s project—yes and no. They’re small and manageable; if you struggle with them, at least frustration doesn’t have time to build up because you’ll finish them quickly and can show off the results right away. But of course, there are also pot holder patterns I wouldn’t wish on any beginner, because the techniques involved simply aren’t suitable for beginners—no matter how small they are.

I help out with the needlework class at school. Some of the kids chose a loosely twisted pot holder yarn for knitting: the results were pretty disastrous, since they kept catching only single strands. But now there’s also Tissa yarn from Lang, which is more tightly twisted, and I think that would work well for beginners, too. 

I also tend to prefer thicker cotton over pot holder yarn. I crocheted double-layered pot holders for my mother-in-law; she likes them so much that they just hang in the kitchen as decoration because she thinks they’re too nice to use. My daughter recently bought some pot holder yarn, and we realized it’s not really suitable for kids. Her crochet project looked pretty frayed, so she quickly helped herself to some “proper” yarn from Mom’s yarn stash....

@Josefa
I, too, remember my school days when we started learning to crochet by making pot holders. We probably didn’t use what’s called “pot holder yarn” — otherwise, I never would have had so much fun back then. It was probably some other cotton yarn for a 4.5 mm crochet hook.
When I crochet a pot holder today, I like to use Pantino (Schoeller+Stahl) or cotton yarns from MyBoshi or Rico. These yarns are more tightly twisted.
When buying yarn, you should mention that you’re a beginner. Any expert will then recommend something suitable.
Best regards,
Traudelina

@Traudelina , thanks for your comment.
I told the saleswoman back then that I was a beginner, and I was very surprised by the threads unraveling. But since I just assumed that was due to my lack of skill and not the material, I just let the issue drop.

That’s a shame, Josefa, that you were given the wrong advice back then.
But now, now you can enjoy some crochet fun :-))

Do you sell time cushions as well as yarn?
Then I'll start crocheting right away.