From the Knit Picks Website:
This is a two color, one circular needle pattern knit in the round for a thick, double layered potholder. The ridges that can form between needles in one circular needle knitting are not a concern in this pattern because they form the folds for the double layers. And because potholders don’t require a lot of stretch, the tension of the stranding along the back is not critical. Two potholders can be made from the same materials by reversing the border color.

A pattern for a matching frying pan holder is also included to use up remnant yarn.