Small Circular Netting: A coaster, potholder, or hot pad?

One of the challenges in creating a new netting class is creating quick, easy, and useful projects.  The circular netting class I'm working on is no exception.

When I learned to net, my grandmother started me with spiral netting.  (I didn't realize that there was any other type of netting for years.)  Since she started the center on my first two doilies, I didn't even get to try the process for over a year.  And since each doily took a long time to complete I had a hard time remembering how to start the doily.

I wanted to avoid that problem with my students, so I have created several small circular projects.  Here are the latest.

7" diameter

5" diameter

I was not sure what to call them.  Are they coasters, potholders, or hot pads?







A friend recently experimented with these net yarn items. She found that they worked great when holding hot items like a cup of tea or coffee.  The steam and heat did not transfer to the surface below.  She also found they did not work so great with cold soft drink cans.  The condensed moisture that gathered on the surface of the can dripped through the holes onto the surface below. 

I guess that means I should stop calling them coasters and start calling them hot pads.  What would you call them?

Net Hats Using Diagonal Netting

Even before I had finished netting my first hat, I found myself planning the second one.  I wanted to do the entire hat in the Diagonal Netting Stitch but had difficulties figuring out how to do the first two stitches of the round.    So, I decided to net two plain stitches and then one Diagonal Netting Stitch.  I followed that sequence for the rest of the hat.

As you can see on a back view of the hat, the nine Diagonal Netting Stitches gently curve around the hat.

I still wanted to try just the Diagonal Netting Stitch.  After leaving the problem of starting the round with the Diagonal Netting Stitch at the back of my mind for a few days, I received the answer to solve the problem.  Here is the small hat that resulted.

I said small hat because even though I had the same number of  loops in this hat as I did in the one above, the red one would fit an adult and the blue one would fit a new-born.  There are two reasons this happened. First, I changed  from a 1/2" to a 3/8" mesh stick.  Second, I removed the plain stitches from the pattern and made all the stitches the Diagonal Netting Stitch.  This stitch pulls the netting closer together and results in a smaller piece of netting for the same number of stitches.  Either change by itself would have resulted in a smaller hat.  Doing both in the same hat resulted in a very small hat.

Since I want to see how this hat pattern looks in an adult size, I'll be working with either many more loops per round, or a bigger size mesh stick, both slightly more loops and a larger mesh stick as I try the pattern again this week.

Net Hat

When I saw the hat several women I know were crocheting, the look reminded me of  netting.   I couldn't help myself.  I had to pull out my trusty, ever-present tape measure and measure the crocheted mesh.

I had never thought of netting a hat until I saw this one, and then I could not stop thinking about it.  Finally I gave in. I wrote down a basic pattern and produced my first net hat.  I even net a small flower to attach to the side with a small bead.

I think I need to use a thicker thread for this hat pattern.  What do you think?

A net hat is different from a snood.  The hat sits on the head, covering only part of the hair.

A net snood can also sit on the head . . .

or attach to a barrette.

Either way,  the snood encloses the hair and pulls the hair together.

Of course, one hat was not enough.  I no sooner finished the first hat when another pattern began to occupy my mind.  I kept thinking of the Diagonal Netting Stitch, even when I had problems converting that stitch from diamond mesh netting to circular netting.  And even before the second one was finished, a third pattern (a variation on the second hat pattern) began presenting itself for consideration.   If I have enough time this week, I might finish one or both of the additional net hat patterns.

Net Produce Bags

Recently I was asked if I could net a small bag to hold garlic bulbs and a larger bag to hold 5 pounds of potatoes.  Here are the results of my efforts.  Both of the bags are made of household string.

Three garlic bulbs are in the bag.  

Five pounds of potatoes are in this bag.

This week I was also able to give Knots Indeed a new look.  I tried to make sure everything got moved.  If I forgot something, please let me know.  It's not finished by any means -- I still have add more photos, links to patterns, and eventually a shopping cart.

I was also able to get the projects and syllabus listing up for the Circular Netting class.

Updating netting websites

I have been working on several small netting projects, but have not found the time to photograph them.  I have also been working on a couple of larger projects.  One of them, up-dating Knots Indeed, is almost done.  As part of that process, I also needed to give the home page of Rita's Netting Nook a face lift.  I did get that completed.  It's up and ready to look at.

Next week I should have some more circular netting photos ready to look at.

I might also have a new look for Knots Indeed up and ready to use.