If you want to make your own pot holders, there are several different techniques you can do. Some of them are very ornate and beautiful, and take a long time to make, however others are extremely simple and you can make them in a matter of minutes. It may not be very attractive compared to others, but they are necessary to keep your table from getting the marks made by hot pots.
Cloth pot holders are some of the most common pot holders in the world. In fact many first projects with sewing or knitting involve making a pot holder. If you take a class at your local night school or other teaching facility that involves you making something with your hands, odds are it will involve the production of a pot holder or an ash tray, however ash trays are no longer common as few and fewer people are using cigarettes. Simply begin looking about garage sales and craft stores for the materials you need, and practice. You will probably learn a lot as you are making pot holders, and once you make your third or fourth one, they will probably look just as you intended them to look.
Another kind of pot holder you can make is made out of wood. These can be simply made buy purchasing pieces of lumber such as 2×4 pine wood and cutting them into squares. These squares can then be used to place your pots onto your table without damaging your table. Once you have them cut into squares you can paint them with any design you like. If you choose to paint them you will want to choose a paint type such as tempera that will not hurt you if ingested. You can also you can wood burn patterns into them and display them almost like art.
If you are pressed for time or like to use found pieces when decorating your home, you can make pot holders out of almost anything. Old books with little value are a great thing you can use to keep you table safe from a hot pot. Never use anything made out of plastic, as it will probably met, and can sometimes stain a table cloth, become welded onto the table cloth, or even catch on fire.
Whatever you decide to do, just have fun with it, after all it is your house, and if you do not like it, you can always change it up tomorrow.