traditional crochet potholder tutorial

This is my first attempt at making a tutorial...  And in English too ! So please excuse me if anything is unclear.  Please let me know so that I can make adjustments.

Here goes  :
you need a small amount of cotton, in 2 separate colours, and a crochet hook nr 3 or 3.5. (for Americans D or E) You better choose a smaller number than usual, as the potholder looks better when made rather tight.

I will use the following abreviations :

slip stich to join = ss = halve vaste om te sluiten
chain = c =  kettingsteek
single crochet = sc = vaste
double crochet = dc = stokje

Start in colour A, make 6 chain stiches and ss to join.
r 1 : Make 22 dc in the round, join.  (the first dc is made of 2 chain stiches)
r 2 : Make 2 dc in each dc of the previous round, so now you have 44 dc.  join.

Bind off.  Start with colour B
r3 : now crochet the 1st round of the flowerleaves : *1 dc, 1c, 1dc in the first dc of the previous round. Skip 2 dc.*
Repeat until the round is finished.  Join.  You should now have 16 groups.  They will form the 16 leaves.

r 4 : slipstich until you are in the middle of the next group.  Start from here.
      Make  2 dc, 1c, 2dc  in each group, put 1 chain stich between each group.
r 5 : slipstich until you are in the middle of the next group.  Start from here. 
       Make  2 dc, 1c, 2dc  in each group, put 2 chain stiches between each group.

r 6 : slipstich until you are in the middle of the next group.  Start from here.   
       Make  3 dc, 1c, 3dc  in each group, put 2 chain stiches between each group.

r 7 : same as row 6.

r 8 : this is the last row in this colour.  Make 8 dc in each group.
       Spread your dc evenly, eg. 3 dc in each dc, 2 dc in the space between the stiches, 3 dc.
       Do not make a chain stich between them !
       Bind off.

Start with colour A
r 9 : make a sc in each dc.  (8)
       Now make a sc between this group and the next on.  Turn you work sideways, and crochet along
       the sides of the leaves towards the centre, alternating a sc and a chain stich.

Don't pull too tightly at the thread now, the stiches should be a bit loose.  When you reach the centre, make a sc and turn.

Now work your way up again towards the outer edge of the flower.  Again, alternate sc and chain stiches.

Please don't think this is difficult, it really isn't.  As you go along, it's sort of self-explicatory.  You can't miss.

Repeat this until you have formed the 16 leaves of the flower.  Don't forget to add a little loop if you want to be able to hang them on a hook  (I made a chain of 21 stiches, returned in sc and joined with a ss. )

 

That was my first attempt.  I really liked the blue and white effect. If you want the potholder a bit bigger, you could add a few rows of dc groups.
Or you could add another round in the centre too.
I think it would be a nice little bag for a girl too...

I have crocheted 3 now, and have adjusted the original pattern slightly to my liking.  I decided to make the flower only 14 leaves.  That means less stiches in the beginning.  And I made 2 exactely the same, so I could double the potholder.  (I crocheted them together at the outer edge.)  Now I am going to make another one, but reverse the colours.  So they will match.

  this is the result :

Good luck with this pattern !
If you want to check out the original pattern visit this blog :
http://littavmitt.blogspot.com/