The following is an excerpt from The Sweater Chop Shop by Crispina Ffrench (Storey Publishing, 2009). In the past 20 years, French has used recycled textiles to make home accessories, sweaters and even furniture, saving nearly 500,000 pounds of clothing from landfills. In The Sweater Chop Shop, French shared her techniques and designs for more than 20 recycled sweater projects-functional art is good for your wallet, and even good for the environment. 

The pot holder may sound a little weird-like something you brought home from summer camp. I like "nonsense" and find the pot holder useful every day. They can really add bright, cheap handmade sparks to the kitchen.

Making pot holders is quick and easy, and they are great gifts all year round. In addition, because they are made of wool, they are flame-retardant and insulating, making them powerful and cute (of course).

The simplest design is to use a single 7" x 7" square top. After you learn the basic techniques, try to piece the pieces together to make a colorful top.

Felting wool requires three conditions-heat, humidity and friction-which can be provided by your household washing machine and dryer. Here are some tips for successful felting.

Even with the most complete and detailed description, felting is an imprecise science. The nature of felting is unpredictable, and two sweaters with the same fiber content may produce two completely different results. I emphasize that you must always check your sweaters during the felting process, otherwise you may find that your wool has shrunk too much and densely. When a project crosses that line, there is nothing you can do. Feeling is an irreversible process, but remember that no matter what the end result of your feeling, it is useful somewhere.

If you have a sweater that has been felted (shrunk) and want to use it in a project, you can clean it by gentle washing (and short mixing cycle), warm water washing and warm water rinsing. Lay flat or dry in a cool dryer.

1. For each pot holder, carefully cut a 7-inch by 7-inch square from the felt sweater and woven cotton material of your choice. If the felt is very thin, cut two to three squares to increase the thickness. (If you have traced around the cardboard pattern with a marker, make sure to cut inside the line so that the square itself does not appear with a marker.)

2. Put the reverse side of the wool and cotton together with the cotton on top. If you use multiple wool squares, stack them together, carefully matching the edges, and then add the cotton squares to the top of the pile, face up.

3. To make a loop for hanging the pot holder, fold a 1 inch x 6 inch cotton knit rectangle in half and bring the short ends together. Insert two short ends 1 1/2 inches in one corner between the stacked layers.

4. Fix all four corners in place, making sure you have "grabbed" both ends of the hanging loop.

5. Thread the needle with 2 yards of Persian wool or embroidery thread. Starting from the corner of the hanging loop, insert the needle under the cotton top layer, and then push down through the hanger and the wool bottom layer of the fabric. Pull the yarn to the bottom of the pot holder and hide the knot under the top cotton layer.

6. Reinforced X stitches through the hanger and all layers of the corner. The stitches should be neat and strong, and can be displayed on both sides of the pot holder. This stitch will secure the hanger and keep the layers in place. It also allows the pin to be removed in this corner, making it easier to hold and handle subsequent steps.

7. Use thread to complete the X stitch from the fabric about half an inch from the cutting edge of the layer, and then start the blanket stitch around the edge of the pan frame. Make sure that every stitch can capture all layers. Keep the corners neat and square by double stitching the first stitch and the last stitch of each side stitch.

8. When you return to where you started, tie an overhand knot near the surface of the material. Move the needle and yarn about 1 inch between the layers to hide it. Cut the yarn on the surface of the pot holder.

9. Use a lot of steam to iron the finished pan rack to make its surface smooth and beautiful.

The interesting fabrics used to support the pot holders are usually easy to find around the house-look at your old clothes, tablecloths, or other items that are no longer in use-or in thrift stores.

As long as the fabric is not polyester fiber or other synthetic fibers that easily melt when heated for a long time, any type of clothing can be used. Just look for the pattern or palette you like.

After you have mastered the top of the single square pot holder, you can create a playful look by stitching various fabrics together. Start with four squares and cut them all into the same size. Cut one of the squares into four shapes of your choice. Use these pieces as patterns to cut other squares into the same shape. Now mix and match shaped pieces like a puzzle to form four complete squares. Use trapezoidal stitch changes or edge-to-edge X stitches to connect these parts together to make a new set of four pot holder tops. Starting from step 2 above, complete the pot holder project.

Reprinted with permission from The Sweater Chop Shop, Storey Publishing, published in 2009.

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Turn your old T-shirt into this reusable dust removal glove. You will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and keep your house clean.

T-shirt yarn can be used in many ways, from knitting blankets to adding decoration to other items. Learn how to make T-shirt yarn to make your own creative and practical objects.

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