More Christmas Giving

In Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch, Beth learns how to knit hot pads.  I used the same pattern last year to make some hot pads for family and friends for Christmas.  The pattern is easy, and fun to make.  Best yet, it's double width so you don't burn your hands.  I will do a repeat here, so you don't have to search through my posts to find the instructions.

MATERIALS NEEDED

1.  Two skeins of acrylic yarn (about 7 oz. in each skein) now if we were doing this project true to the 19th century you would have to take wool, spin it to yarn, and then only wash it by hand...ever.  Aren't you glad that we're in the 21st century?

2.  Knitting needles size 9 to 11 (no bigger or you WILL have holes in the hotpad to burn your fingers).

3.  a crochet hook size G-J

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Cast on thirty stitches.
2.  Knit 6 stitches
3.  Purl 6 stitches
4.  Continue this pattern across the row
5.  Alternate this row, purl 6 and then knit 6
6.  Do this for 6 rows.  Then alternate again, but this
time alternate against the pattern.  So if you should be
knitting, now purl, and knit against purl.  (Hope that
makes sense.
7.  In other words you are changing the pattern every
six rows so that you wind up having a squared pattern
like a game of checkers or a basket.
8.  Make the project about 16 to 20 inches long.  You
want the item to be long enough to fold it over, and then
crochet it together, so that it will completely cover your
hand.  If you are making it for a large man like my
beloved husband was, make it bigger.  If you're making
it for an old lady with smaller hands, like me, make it
smaller.
9.  Cast off, knitwise when you're at a knit stitch and
purlwise when you're at a purl stitch.
10.  Now comes the crocheting part.  You have a
decision to make.  I prefer to single crochet around
the entire exterior of the hotpad, and THEN crochet
the hot pad together.  Some would prefer doing it as
one single action.  I just like the more finished edge
that doing two actions give the project.
11.  When you are crocheting around to finish the
hotpad, and reach the upper right hand corner of the
hotpad chain stitch 12 stitches, and then join the end
into the hotpad and finish stitching all the way around.
This loop will give you something to hang your hot
pad with.

You can make them any color you wish.  I prefer
acrylic yarn over wool because I'm allergic to
wool.  On the other hand, acrylic will wash and
dry in a modern washer and dryer.  Cotton yarn is
also good, but I'm not certain it makes quite as
durable a product.