Materials

• Plastic hand-weaving loom & hook (available at craft stores)
• Opaque tights (One adult pair will make one solid-color pot holder. The smaller the tights, the more pairs you’ll need.)
• Scissors
• Crochet hook

Optional

• Felt scrap
• 6 strands of contrasting embroidery floss
• Sharp embroidery needle
• Star or heart stencil
• Felt-tip pen

Unbe-weave-ably Easy Instructions

1. Cut 36 1″-wide loops out of the legs of a pair (or pairs) of tights—they don’t need to be perfect.

2. The loom requires 18 loops going in each direction—start by attaching loops in one direction only. You can choose to use a single color throughout; one color horizontally and another vertically; or just about any combination that pops into your head. For the heart version, I used lime green horizontally, but vertically I broke it up as follows: six pink-and-black striped, six lime green, six more pink-and-black striped. For the star version, I went with a more conservative olive green across both ways, only substituting lime green loops about every third vertical peg. Really, anything goes!

3. Once you’ve stretched 18 loops across the loom in one direction, you’re ready to cross weave. Hang a loop in your desired color on one end of the weaving hook that comes with the loom. Beginning at the edge of the side with empty pegs, weave the hook over and under the loops that are already stretched across the loom. Once you’re about halfway across, place one end of the loop on the peg closest to where you began. Continue across, and once you’ve reached the end, place the other end on the opposite peg. Pick up a second loop and begin the process again, only this time going under and over the loops instead of over and under. Continue alternating in this way (over-under, then under-over), switching colors as desired, until each peg has a loop attached.

4. To complete the pot holder, you’ll need to remove it from the loom while simultaneously finishing off the edges. Use a crochet hook to pull the corner loop off the loom and to catch the second loop, which is pulled through the first; then pull the third loop through the second, the fourth through the third, and so on. When you get to the last loop, set your hook aside, stretch the loop, and tie it in a knot. This step will also create a loop from which you can hang the pot holder.

Optional Appliqués

Use a stencil (or freehand it) to draw a star, heart or other image on the back of a scrap piece of felt. Cut out the shape. Hand-sew the appliqué onto the pot holder using all six strands of embroidery floss and a running stitch.

*Note: Each loop of fabric needs to stretch to at least 7″ in length, so if you’re using child’s tights for this project, make sure to do a stretch test first.