Arm Knitting Tutorial from Flax and Twine

The arm knitting tutorials just keep coming! (See previous roundups here and here.)

This one is a photo tutorial series from Flax & Twine, which starts with casting on, then moves on to knitting, binding off and finishing projects. As usual, these instructions show how to work a knit cowl.

I like this tutorial for all the pictures, and it also offers lots of different yarn suggestions to fit a range of budgets.

Have you gotten into arm knitting? I still haven’t tried it! I’d love to hear how it went for you if you have!

[Photo via Flax & Twine.]

Arm knitting is a knitting technique where you use your arms as the needles to knit a project. Instead of traditional knitting needles, you use super chunky yarn and your arms to create a cozy and unique knit piece. Here are 5 tips for arm knitting:

Use thick yarn: When arm knitting, it’s important to use a thick yarn that can easily slide over your arms. Super chunky yarn works best for arm knitting projects.
Make sure your yarn is smooth: Avoid using yarn that has knots or tangles as it can make arm knitting difficult and frustrating.
Use a slip knot: Start your project with a slip knot to make it easier to get started and to keep your stitches tight.
Keep your stitches loose: Because you are using your arms as needles, it can be easy to knit your stitches too tightly. Make sure to keep them loose so that you can easily slide the yarn over your arms.
Take your time: Arm knitting is a bit different from traditional knitting, so take your time and don’t get discouraged if it takes you a bit longer to complete your project.

Simple Arm Knitting Scarf Pattern:

Cast on 6 stitches using a slip knot
Knit all stitches for 30 inches or desired length
Bind off and weave in ends.

And there you have it, a cozy arm-knitted scarf! Remember to take your time, keep your stitches loose, and enjoy the process.

Next Pattern:

I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve shared any patterns for our circular knitting machine users. I know these devices aren’t for everyone but even though I much prefer knitting by hand, it is kind of fun to crank things out on these machines.

One of the most common early projects for a circular knitting machine is a scarf. Which makes sense, because it’s just one long tube and you can make it as long as you like.

One problem that comes from knitting scarves on the circular knitting machine, though, is that it can be hard to know how to finish the ends of the tube so that it looks like a finished scarf and not a tube of knitting.

If you’re not a knitter or crocheter, the most basic way to finish a circular knitting machine scarf is just by cinching up the ends and maybe adding a pompom to each end to cover up any hole that might still be visible at the end.

But if you have a little knitting or crochet skill or are willing to learn, there are a lot of different options for closing up the ends of a scarf. And this would also be true if you hand knit a tube scarf!

I recently wrote a post over at Our Daily Craft that includes five different ways to close up the ends of a tube scarf:

the simple cinching method mentioned above
sewing the stitches together
three needle bind off
grafting
crochet bind off

Grafting is my favorite because I feel like it gives the cleanest, closest to a seamless look. If you’re a knitter you may already know how to do it but even if you don’t it’s not that hard to learn.

Do you knit tube scarves by hand or machine? I’d love to know how you like to finish them!

Next Pattern:

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