Pot Holders

So, I have made one foray into the world of design: a set of four pot holders.

I actually made the patterns for them while I was on my honeymoon in the Caribbean.

I had been playing around with double knitting. This is a technique where you knit two layers of fabric at the same time, alternating stitches. By switching the front and back colors, you can make a seamless pattern that is completely reversible (unlike, say, intarsia). This was around the same time that I was making reversible hats.

The double knitting technique is great for potholders, so there are hundreds of designs, because it is reversible, and also makes a thick fabric so you don't burn your fingers.

I decided to make, just for myself, a set for the four seasons. Winter would be a snowflake. Summer, a sun. Spring would be a leaf and bud, while autumn would be a pumpkin. I later changed the stem to make the pumpkin an apple on the back side, since I made it in red and orange, and a red pumpkin didn't make sense to me.

Darker side (with pumpkin)

Lighter side (with apple)

I could have used the traditional graph paper, but I didn't have any with me. So I downloaded a program called MacStitch. It is mostly designed for needlepoint (it can convert pictures into patterns, for instance) but it has knitting pattern capability as well. The best feature is that you can draw your pattern, and it will resize it to compensate for the fact that knitting stitches are rectangular, not square.

I was so pleased with how it came out that I decided to share my pattern on Ravelry. I didn't do all those things you are supposed to do, like have people test-knit it. I figured, since the pattern was free, people would get what they paid for. Of course, if they pointed out a problem, I would fix it, but I was not going to spend my time knitting it again.

So, what do you think?