cotton or acrylic?

[terrybb]

I want to make potholders (I know - get a life). Lately there have been several posts showing an amazing variety of them and, with my limited attention span, I thought it would be a good chance to try new stitches, color combinations, patterns, etc. without starting a huge project. And, I think they'll sell well at the fall festival at church.

So, somewhere I saw a post that mentioned that they should be made of cotton because acrylic fibers melt. But the pics I've seen here seem to have the vibrant colors of acrylic yarns.

Can potholders made of acrylic yarns such as RH work on hot dishes out of the oven without melting?

Has anyone done this? What is your experience.

Thanks for the help.

[donnalynn2]

I wouldn't use acrylic as yes, it will melt.

 

There are a variety of vibrant colors available in the Cotton Yarns such as Lion Brand Cotton, Sugar N Creme and Peaches N Cream.

 

Good luck! Making kitchen items are my fave things to make!

[jstwannacrochet]

I made up my own pattern and have used acrylic and even used them so far no melting.

[losingmymind2]

I would be very careful using acrylic if you were making something for someone else/for sale. Make sure it is labled for decorative use only just to prevent any injuries.

[Yarn Duck]

I make all my own potholders/hot pad. I've used both acrylic and cotton yarn successfullly.

 

Acrylic will melt, both it has to touch something really, really hot. Taking a hot casserole dish out of the oven has never melted one. However, I have melted a bit of one when pulling a very hot metal pan out from under the broiler.

 

When it comes to constant use, the cotton potholders are my favorites! They are tough and last a long time. The pretty acrylic ones aren't really meant to be used.

[KateCrochets]

As others have mentioned, stay away from the acrylic.. they will melt.

 

I feel your pain about wanting to use the vibrant colors of acrylic. I know there are colors in cotton, but they aren't always super available to me.

 

Something you can do is get cotton thread and double/triple/quadruple up. Or you can make a thinner potholder from thread or cotton and put ironing board cover or wool felt (again, stay away from acrylic!) between the layers so that there are no holes for accidentally burnt hands (learned THAT the hard way!).

[tlisley]

As others have mentioned, stay away from the acrylic.. they will melt.

 

I feel your pain about wanting to use the vibrant colors of acrylic. I know there are colors in cotton, but they aren't always super available to me.

 

Something you can do is get cotton thread and double/triple/quadruple up. Or you can make a thinner potholder from thread or cotton and put ironing board cover or wool felt (again, stay away from acrylic!) between the layers so that there are no holes for accidentally burnt hands (learned THAT the hard way!).

 

OUCH!!

[Hounddog]

If you wanted to use acrylic yarn and sell them you could put a tag on them that says for display purposes only as a kind of warning to the buyer. My MIL had old pot holders that were made from thread with double sides for thickness and she used them for many years.