This is a great project for practicing essential entrelac skills. You will knit backwards and create base, side, and top triangles, left and right-leaning blocks, and attached and unattached I-cord, all of which are used in other projects.

The finished size is not critical--it will depend in part on your felting process and when you decide it is dense enough. Eight or nine inches square is a generous size, large enough to be a practical potholder as well as decorative.

Needles: Because of the loose gauge on felted projects, plastic, bamboo, or other wooden/non-slick needles work better than slick metal ones, as the slick ones are harder to hang onto.

1 US size 11 (8 mm) 24” circular
1 US size 13 (9 mm) 16” circular or double-pointed needle (DPN)
1 US size 6-8 (4-5 mm) 24” circular (used for picking up stitches to finish edges)
1 US size G (4 mm) crochet hook

Notions: Tapestry needle; scissors; measuring tape; medium-sized zippered bag for felting; access to a top-loading washer.

The gauge to which you knit should be very loose for felting projects, as it has to have room to shrink and felt. If you have not done felting before, your fabric will feel ‘stupid loose’, and this is the way it should be.

This potholder can be done in just two colors or as many as ten, so it can be a good way to use up leftovers from other felting projects. It takes about 300-330 yards altogether. Since Lamb’s Pride is heavier, and this pattern uses a double strand, a potholder done in Lamb’s Pride will be much thicker than one done in Cascade, Nature Spun, or other worsted-weight feltable yarns.

When changing colors from one tier of blocks to the next, try not to put light against light or dark against dark, as the differences will not show up well after felting.