Every girl born before 1938 in Germany had to learn how to
make those in Elementary School - and was graded for this skill!

Worked from one corner in increasing rows and finished off with the type of picot edging Germans call “Mouse teeth”.

Traditionally, made in identical pairs.
Refer to my project page (ravelry name Manfredovna, project name Topflappen) for more color combination suggestions.

Wonder about “half rows” in gauge: “21 half rows = 10.5 ribs”? 2 rows of US single crochet in back loop are called “1 row” or “1 rib” in this pattern.

Why Cotton? It is sturdy and won’t rip or melt.
How long does it take to make a pair? About 4 hours.
How much yarn is needed? 2.5 oz (80 g) a pair.

Pattern available in English and German/Ukrainian.
3 pages black and white with color-your own templates.

How to do the “mouse teeth” picot edging can be seen here in a video by Sandra Moser, or there in a picture tutorial (in this one, the picots are spaced closer than in the potholder, in the potholder, you skip 2)

You make it by chaining 3, then doing a single crochet into the first of that ch3 (= into the third from hook) and now a slip stitch through the fabric where you are attaching it to (the edge of the potholder).

Find instructions in German and Ukrainian over there.