This thermal stitch pot holder is the perfect addition to your kitchen. In this blog post I include two versions for you to make.
Inspiration and Design
I don’t know if this happens to you, but sometimes I come across a stitch whose name just doesn’t make sense. With the Thermal Stitch, however, the reason behind its name is perfectly obvious. A long time ago; honestly, I’ve lost track. The point is that when I learned this stitch, I was eager to share it with you all. And what better way to learn than by working on a simple project? Better yet—a useful one. The potholder we’re about to crochet serves three purposes: it teaches you a new stitch, allows you to complete a simple project, and—above all—is a highly practical addition to any kitchen. And, by the way, it pairs beautifully with the thermal oven mitt and makes a perfect gift for a fellow baker.
Yarn for the Thermal stitch Pot holder
For almost any kitchen project, cotton seems to be the most suitable yarn. Much like Bounty paper towels, it is heavy-duty. More importantly, it’s heat resistant, and can be washed without any issues. To crochet the thermal stitch potholder, I recommend using cotton yarn in Worsted (weight 4) or Bulky (weight 6). In addition to crocheting the potholder with a single strand, you can use two strands held together to create a truly heavy duty potholder. I know there are many brands of cotton yarn to choose from, but for this project, I use Lionbrand Re-up held double and Premier Just Cotton for the red marled version.
You could also use Dishie de Wecrochet!
Is the thermal stitch pot holder oven safe?
I’ve been using these potholders along with the oven mitt for 4 years now and they have been successful at staving off any burns. As with any item you are using to handle hot items exercise caution and above all make sure that you are using a cotton yarn. Acrylic will melt.
Construction
As I mentioned, the construction of this potholder is extremely simple. We work in rows to form a rectangle 6 inches wide and 7 inches tall, not counting the border. This project is excellent for learning the thermal stitch, adding borders, making cords, and working the crab stitch.
If you want a longer pot holder, add more rows before the closing off row. If you want it wider at more ch’s when working the starting ch.
Video Tutorial – This video tutorial is in spanish!
Materials:
- Cotton Yarn
- (1)50g ball for the single strand pot holder
- 2( 50g) balls for the double stranded pot holder.
- 5mm crochet hook for the single strand and 6.5mm (mi favorito) for the double stranded one. If using Peaches&Cream double I would go up to a 7mm crochet hook.
- Yarn needle, scissors
- Size – 6.25″ wide y 7.25″ tall
Sts and Abbreviations
- ch – chain
- sc – single crochet
- st(s) – stitch
- YO – yarn over
- rem – remaining
Thermal stitch chart
How to crochet the thermal stitch
The thermal stitch is a single crochet that is worked over 2 rows.
To crochet both of these potholders we are using the thermal sc stitch. The video tutorial to learn this stitch is linked above and you can also find a written blog post linked below.
Single Strand Thermal Stitch Pot holder
- 21 ch’s, starting at the second ch from hook, sc through top loop only, ch1 and turn. (20 ch)
2. *Insert your hook in the BLO of the current sc and into the remaining loop from the sc a row below, YO, pull up a loop, YO, complete your sc; rep from * for every st from this row, ch1 and turn. 20 sts
Repeat step 2, until you complete 40 rows or 1 row before the 7″
3. Inserting your hook through both st loops and the rem loop from the row below, YO pull up a loop, YO pull through two loops to complete your sc. Repeat this until you’ve worked in every st of the row.
Border for the thermal stitch pot holder
In the same st where we placed our last sc of the row, make 2 more sc.
Next, we work down the sides of the potholder working a sc for every 2 rows. (21 sc).
We’ve reached our next corner, 3 sc in this corner, sc until you reach the next corner (18 sc) 3 sc in this corner.
To complete this round we work 21sc on the remaining side and when we reach the next corner, we work 2sc, join with a sl st to close the first border round.
We complete our border by making 1 crab stitch in each sc of the previous round. Join with a sl st to close the round.
I cord loop
Fila 1 : Chain 3, skip 1 chain, yarn over, and insert the hook into the next 2 chains pulling up a loop in each one; remove the hook from two loops (you can transfer these loops onto a needle as shown on image 4); chain 1 through the loop on the hook; reinsert the hook into the next 2 loops, completing one chain stitch in each.
We once again have 3 loops on the hook, move the two leftmost loops onto a knitting needle begin row 2.
Fila 2 : ch1 through the loop on the hook, re-insert your hook into the two remaining ch’s making 1 ch in each. We once again have 3 loops on the hook, pass the leftmost 2 loops onto a knitting needle and repeat row 2 until your icord is as long as you want it.
To close our icord, YO, pull through all 3 loops on the hook, ch1 and pull through to close, cut yarn.
Icords can be tricky so here is a tutorial from Bella Coco
Alternatively you could work 10ch’s, then starting at the second ch from hook, sl st in each ch, then sl st to the base of the stitch to close the loop.
Double strand pot holder
¿Want to crochet an extra thick potholder?
To do so we follow the same steps listed above for the single strand one the difference is that we are using 2 strands of yarn and a 6.5mm crochet hook.
To start your double stranded thermal stitch pot holder
Row 1: Make 17 ch’s, starting at the second ch from hook, sc through top loop only, ch1 and turn. 16sc
Row 2: Sc through the blo and the stair (rem loop from the row below), ch1 and turn. 16 sc
Repeat row 2 until you’ve completed 32 rows or have reached 7″
Follow the border steps from the single strand pot holder. Unlike the single strand border, for this one we work 16 sts down either side, 14 sts at the bottom and of course our 3 sts for the corners.
