Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Get Kids Started with Finger Knitting

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finger knitting craftfoxesI’ve been writing a lot this week over on About about arm knitting, but another great way to knit without needles is finger knitting.

Finger knitting is a good way to get kids started because they don’t have to fumble with needles so it can feel a little easier and still gets them the concepts of making loops and slipping stitches around to make a knit fabric.

Craft Foxes has a good illustrated tutorial on finger knitting, which it calls a boy craft, but it’s a good gateway into regular knitting for all kinds of kids. I may try this on my daughter soon, since she says the knitting needles are too slippery.

Have you done finger knitting with kids or yourself? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Craft Foxes.]

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Comments

  1. I love finger knitting! So glad to see this post! When I was about 7 I made garland by finger knitting for my grandpas Christmas tree and it has been on the tree every year since and I’m 33 now! I was proud and it felt great to see it every Christmas.

  2. Wow! I used to make these as a kid and never knew what to call it and eventually forgot all about it… thanks for the flasback! Now if only my daughter were not fourteen 🙁

  3. We love finger knitting in our house! I taught my son and daughter when they were 5 and 4. They have made many necklaces, scarves, and headbands! We moved onto knitting with needles this oast year, but they always go back to finger knitting because they can do it in the car or anywhere really with no help from me.

Have you read?

Book Review: Magical Woodland Knits

Magical Woodland Knits by Clare Garland is a few years old as I write this, but it’s such a fun book I couldn’t resist sharing it. Step into a magical forest full of realistic woodland creatures including rabbit, deer and squirrel, birds and mice, to name a few.

In all there are 12 creatures, and though they are rather small (the wolf is the largest at 14.5 inches/37 cm tall and 18.5 inches/47 cm long), they are so detailed these are definitely not projects for new knitters. 

One of the smaller projects, for example, is the robin, at 5/5 inches/14 cm long. It calls for nine different kinds of yarn. Sometimes some are held together, while others are worked with on their own. This pattern only includes three pages of instructions, but the print is rather small and in that time there are six different sets of short rows. None of this makes it too difficult for a knitter with experience reading detailed patterns, working short rows and working with multiple strands of yarn at once, but it’s worth knowing going in that even for small projects you’ll need a lot of supplies and time to work on them.

These are also not meant to be children’s toys, as they can include wires and other supports that could be a danger to little ones.

The process photos often look like taxidermy on a tiny scale, with little animal pelts stretched out and tons of stitch markers showing where and how things go together.

The finished animals are so pretty it’s certainly worth the effort to stitch up these creatures. You might be tempted to make all 12 and set up your own forest scene or use them to decorate your Christmas tree. You can check out all the patterns on Ravelry.

Along the way you’ll also find a little folklore about the animals, charming drawings and pretty photos of the finished animals, too. In the back you’ll find some helpful techniques like picking up stitches, making I-cord and working short rows.

About the book: 128 pages, paperback, 12 patterns. Published 2020 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.