three potholders

For a couple of years in a row I have watched this potholder swap from afar, but this year I found out about it in time!  I've wanted to make more items out of crochet thread, and this was the perfect opportunity.  

The inner circle of the lacy tops is from the "vintage kitchen trivets" pattern by Diane Gilleland in Crochet Adorned by Linda Permann. It is meant to be worked in worsted weight yarn, so the pattern ends at about the second round of solid stitches after the clusters. I'm super proud of myself for figuring out how to do the two open rows on the outer part of the circle without ending up with a wavy mess!

 

I got the idea to make the backs out of worsted weight cotton yarn from chalklegs (the same awesome person who alerted me that the swap is in progress). It saved a million years from the time it would have taken to make a back out of thread!!  I even started one back in thread, but I unraveled it the second I saw her potholders. 

    

I started out by making each side the same size, then I clamped them together at four or five points using binder clips.  I experimented with a few different ways to crochet them together, and ultimately I worked one stitch into each stitch of the top, going through one back loop of the larger gauge back piece for every one to two stitches on the top.  Then I added another round of evenly spaced chains (and a loop hanger!) to use as a base for the improvised scalloped border. 

   

I'll be back with the last two potholders soon!  I've already made the tops, but I'm trying to pick the perfect colors for the backs.  Why is that always the hardest part?