Spikes and Stripes Potholder

Well hello again!

I’m here today to share my latest design with you…the Spikes and Stripes Potholder.

Mostly everyone has to work with hot items in the kitchen at some point. College kids (Man, that microwave makes things hot! 😛 ), kids learning to cook, you or someone you love cooking your nightly meal—whatever the case may be—someone will still need a good potholder to protect their hands. Even my husband will take something out of the oven for me every once in a while, and why not have super cute and functional tools to tackle the job?

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When I looked around online, there were some really good potholders and then there were some that made me cringe. They were about as thick as a washcloth, and trust me when I say that I’ve been there, tried that! It didn’t work.

I like my potholders to be nice and thick and with the bare minimum of holes. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been burned enough times to know that I don’t want to do it again. So I designed these to not be double stranded, but rather double thickness.

Yes, I know that means it will take more time to make two panels instead of one, however, once you feel how thick and squishy these little beauties are, you’ll understand that decision!

The only stitches you will need to know are chains, single crochet, half double crochet and a double crochet spike stitch. I’ve included a step-by-step photo tutorial to help you out.

Please don’t be afraid! It’s actually very easy once you get the hang of it.

And if, for some reason, you just can’t make it work, you can simply substitute in a regular half double crochet for the spike stitches. You’ll still have a beautiful potholder without the spiked detail. No biggie!

The hanger is created by crocheting around a 1″ plastic ring that you find at the base of a cap on a bottle of water. Technically, we are upcycling too! If you don’t want to use the ring, you can always chain a loop instead.

There is a photo tutorial for crocheting around a plastic ring if you’ve never tried that before or if you just need a refresher. You can find that tutorial here.

If you get the 3.5 oz skeins of cotton yarn, you could reasonably make several potholders since they don’t require much yarn. The entire completed potholder only weighs 1.5 oz.

I also wanted to let you know that I’ve made some hot pads before (for sitting casseroles and other hot pots on) out of acrylic yarn. While I liked the way they worked, I did notice that the stitches kind of melted together a bit. I still use them since I love how useful they are, but I do plan to replace them with cotton ones.

So why the story about hot pads?

Well, these potholders have been made using cotton yarn for that reason. You can use acrylic yarn if you wish. I recommend using whichever size hook the package recommends. Just keep in mind that, for one, your potholder may come out slightly larger or smaller than this example if the yarn is a different weight and, for two, that with the added heat your stitches may begin to melt over time. I suppose it would depend on how often you use them and how hot your items are. I cook every day so mine would be melted in no time if I used acrylic. Anyway, it’s just a word of caution.

One more thing…

I’ve included the directions for a striped and a solid version of these potholders. The patterns have slight differences that would affect the overall outcome of your Spikes and Stripes Potholder. So make sure you’re following the directions for whichever version you are making.

Here is a pin of the Spikes and Stripes Potholder for your Pinterest board if you’d like to save this pattern for later…

Add this Spikes and Stripes Potholder project to your Ravelry queue here…

For more kitchen accessory patterns that I’ve designed, click this link!

Spikes and Stripes Potholder

Materials Used:

• I Love This Yarn Cotton! – Brown (Color A) 3.5 oz/100g – 180 yds/165 m
• I Love This Yarn Cotton! – Monkey Brown (Color B) 3.5 oz/100g – 180 yds/165 m
• I Love This Yarn Cotton! – Antique Cream (Color A) 3.5 oz/100g – 180 yds/165 m
• F/5 (3.75 mm) hook — My favorite hooks! I use them daily!
• 1” plastic ring from a water bottle (optional)
• Tapestry needle

Finished Size Approximately:

8.5” Height (with hanger) x 7” width

Gauge:

18 stitches and 10 rows in a 4” (10cm) square.

Special Stitches:

Double Crochet Spike Stitch (dc-spk)

YO, insert hook into indicated stitch in the previous row, YO and pull back through the stitch. Draw the yarn up to the level of the row you’re working on as if working a standard double crochet. YO, draw through 2 loops. YO, draw through last 2 loops.

Abbreviations:

YO – yarn over
FC – foundation chain (beginning chain)
ch(s) – chain(s)
st(s) – stitch(es)
sc – single crochet
hdc – half double crochet
dc-spk – double crochet spike stitch
sl st – slip stitch
sp – space

Notes:

• After working the spike stitch, skip the stitch behind the spike. Work into the next stitch.
• The plastic ring hanger is optional. If you choose not to use the ring, simply chain 15.
• Directions are included for making a striped and a solid colored potholder. There are small differences in the two patterns.
• Acrylic yarn can sometimes melt when touching hot items. That’s why I chose cotton, but you are free to use whatever yarn you like. If you use worsted weight yarn, use the hook recommended on the label, but keep in mind that your Spikes and Stripes Potholder will be larger than the example shown.
• I don’t recommend using the magic circle for the FC of this pattern. The center hole wouldn’t be large enough to get the hook through for the spike stitches.

*** American crochet terms used throughout.

Instructions:

For Striped Version

Make 2 Panels for 1 potholder

With Color A

FC: Ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to form a loop.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as hdc + ch 1) *hdc in loop, ch 1* Repeat from * to * 3 more times. Sl st in the 2nd ch of the ch 3 made at the beginning of the round. Finish off.

With Color B

Round 2: Attach yarn in ch-1 sp from previous row, {ch 2 (counts as hdc here and throughout), dc-spk in FC loop, hdc} in same ch-1 sp, ch 2, *(hdc, dc-spk, hdc) all in next ch-1 sp, ch 2* Repeat from * to * 3 more times. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round. Finish off.

I apologize for the super dry skin on my hands in the photos…I am a super frequent hand washer, it’s winter and my lotion isn’t helping.

With Color A

Round 3: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next st. Dc-spk (in between the two strands of the spike in the previous row here and throughout). Hdc in next st. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next st. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next st.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

With Color B

Round 4: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next 2 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 2 sts. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next 2 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 2 sts.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

With Color A

Round 5: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next 3 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 3 sts. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next 3 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 3 sts.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

With Color B

Round 6: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next 4 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 4 sts. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next 4 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 4 sts.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

With Color A

Round 7: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next 5 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 5 sts. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next 5 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 5 sts.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

With Color B

Round 8: Attach yarn in ch-2 sp, ch 2. Hdc in next 6 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 6 sts. *In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2, hdc). Hdc in next 6 sts. Dc-spk in next st. Hdc in next 6 sts.* Repeat from * to * around. In ch-2 sp, (hdc, ch 2). Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 made of round. Finish off.

Finishing

Using Color A

Place 2 panels together with their wrong sides facing, lining up all the ch-2 spaces. (I purposely made 2 different colored panels, but you don’t have to.)

Insert hook into any ch-2 sp from previous row. Work 2 sc.

Begin to sc evenly through both thicknesses of panels until you come to the next ch-2 sp. In the ch-2 sp, you will work 2 sc. Begin crocheting 17 sc around your plastic ring (or enough stitches so that none of the plastic is showing). 2 sc in that same ch-2 sp of the potholder.

Continue to sc evenly along the next side of the pentagon. *In the ch-2 sp, you will work, (2 sc, ch 3, 2 sc) all in the same sp. Continue to sc evenly along the next side.* Repeat from * to * around. When you get to the 1st ch-2 sp you began working in, work (2 sc, ch 3) into that sp. Sl st into the 1st sc made of round.

For Solid Version

Make 2 panels for 1 potholder

FC: Ch 4, sl st in 1st ch to form a loop.

Round 1: Ch 3 (counts as hdc + ch 1) *hdc in loop, ch 1* Repeat from * to * 3 more times. Sl st in the 2nd ch of the ch 3 made at the beginning of the round.

Round 2: Sl st into ch-1 sp, {ch 2 (counts as hdc here and throughout), dc-spk in the FC loop, hdc} all in same ch-1 sp, ch 2, *(hdc, dc-spk, hdc) all in next ch-1 sp, ch 2* Repeat from * to * 3 more times. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 3: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next st, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next st, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next st, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 4: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 2 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next 2 sts, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 2 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 5: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 3 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next 3 sts, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 3 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 6: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 4 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next 4 sts, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 4 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 7: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 5 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next 5 sts, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 5 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Round 8: Ch 2, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 6 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp, *hdc in next 6 sts, dc-spk in next st, hdc in next 6 sts, (hdc, ch 2, hdc) in ch-2 sp* Repeat from * to * around. Sl st in top of 1st ch 2 of round.

Refer to Finishing instructions above as they are the same for both patterns.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the Spikes and Stripes Potholder pattern!

***Click here to buy the ad-free, large print PDF from Etsy***

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(Please note that the photo tutorial is included with the Spikes and Stripes Potholder PDF, but it is placed alone in the bottom of the document so you don’t have to print the photos.)

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