Remember these? Potholders are a childhood summer camp classic, along with gimp bracelets and popsicle stick God’s Eyes.

My friend Addie, age 10, (whose hennaed hands are pictured here) reintroduced me to the joy of potholder production. I bought a kit from Harrisville Designs and a big bag of extra cotton loops. (Times have changed since the seventies: no more polyester!)

My six-year-old and I are planning to make a box by stitching together five potholders with embroidery thread. At our rate of potholder production, supply is likely to outweigh demand–at which point we’ll be doling them out to every living relative.