Potholders

Hi, I'd like to know what the ideal yarn weight is for pot holders.
Best regards, Birgit

Hi Birgit,

people often use what’s called “school yarn” for pot holders—it’s usually a 100% yarn with a yardage of 80–110 m per 50 g and a needle size of 3.5–4 mm.

Basically, it should be a durable yarn that washes well and isn’t too sensitive to heat.
And the thicker the yarn, the better, because then the pot holders will be thicker too—if you use a thin sock yarn (approx. 200 m/50 g), they’d simply be too thin, and you’d still burn your fingers even with the pot holders.

I hope that helps :-)

Best regards, Stefanie

Thank you so much, both of you—you’ve really helped me out.
Best regards, Birgit

Hi Birgit

In my experience, the cotton yarn used for pot holders shouldn’t unravel too much when crocheting or knitting: first, it makes the work easier, and second, it gives the pot holders a certain amount of sturdiness. I use yarn that’s 80 m/50 g (from Lang Yarns—it comes in lots of great colors, both solid and mélange).
Good luck!
Best regards, Christina

Hi Birgit,

heat-resistant cotton yarn (= pot holder yarn, e.g. Record 210 by Schoeller+Stahl, 50 g – 90 m, for crochet hook sizes 4.0 to 4.5 ; this is an affordable “plied” yarn) is usually used for pot holders. This yarn is not twisted, or only very slightly twisted, which means it’s easy to split the yarn with your hook. As a result, it’s difficult to crochet with for both beginners and experts. So if heat resistance isn’t a major concern for you—for example, if you don’t place a hot pot on the pot holder—you can also crochet with a cotton-blend yarn of comparable thickness, such as Pantino by Schoeller+Stahl. If you love mercerized cotton, you can also use Limone (Schoeller+Stahl) or Catania (Schachenmayr) with a double strand.

Best regards,
Traudelina