Remember Making Potholders? Your Grandchildren Will Still Enjoy This Timeless Pastime

Now that school has started, it is a good time to have some quiet activities that are fun and encourage concentration and attention to detail. When I saw this item at the Toy Fair in New York in February I knew I had to write about it – but I wanted to save it for Fall since it is perfect for this time of year.

If you are a grandmother reading this, there is close to a 100% chance you had a potholder loom and wiled away many an hour making potholders. And then they were gifts for Mom, Grandma, Aunts, teachers, neighbors and more. Your kids probably had them too. I still use a potholder that my daughter, Fran, made as a child. It is the coaster on my night table that I put my glass of water on every night. Do you still have one?

I can remember making potholders with my friends. We would buy bags of single color loops at the 5 and 10 and then share. Sometimes the patterns alternated by 1, 2, 3 or more loops. Or the most interesting ones had more complicated patterns. I knew my Mom’s and Grandma’s favorite colors and so the potholders were always personalized gifts.

A potholder loom and yarn is one of those timeless items that children should have – like building blocks. This one is a quality product – made of metal and just like the one I had more than 50 years ago. This same set is still made right here in the United States at Harrisville Designs in New Hampshire. Both the loom and pure wool yarn are made in New Hampshire where woolen yarns have been spun since 1790. The plastic ones get poor reviews so I recommend that you get an authentic Harrisville loom as a good investment.

Today you can make more than potholders. Harrisville also makes lap and larger looms that larger advanced projects can be made on and a wide variety of weaving and knitting kits. Kits are available to make purses, hats, scarves, wall hangings and more.
Visit the Harrisville Designs website for full information on all their products and history. There is even an excellent section on brain development and the connection between activities such as weaving and brain development.

The Potholder Deluxe set can be ordered directly from Amazon at the link below. It is suitable fo children ages 6 and up to as old as you get.