Knitting

Free Patterns, Tutorials and Project Ideas

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.]

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?

Stitch a Simple Sack Hat that Looks Like a Turkey

If your family is the sort to do a turkey trot for Thanksgiving, or even just to take family pictures, you’ll want to get started knitting up some Turkey Sack Hats with this pattern from Underground Crafter. 

The pattern uses super bulky yarn and is rated easy. It’s knit flat but there are a few skills in here around the shaping of the eyes, which includes changing colors, working bobbles and doing a wicked purl 3 together decrease. Twice. 

But that’s all in one row, and the rest of it is pretty simple. The beak is worked separately and sewn on, and the side of the hat is stitched up to make it into a hat. 

What’s great about this one is that it comes in 10 sizes, ranging from newborn to adult large, so you really can make one for everyone in the family. And because it uses super bulky yarn you can knit a bunch pretty quickly if that’s a thing you’d like to do. 

It’s also fun because you could use this base pattern to make different animals or for different holidays. Make it all in orange and stitch on a jack o’lantern face for Halloween, or make a white one that’s a snowman, for example. 

In any style this would also be a fun gag gift for that person in your life who has everything or doesn’t want gifts, or if you do a secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange at work or elsewhere. 

And make sure whether you’re making it a turkey or some other character that you include the pom poms at the top! They’re just so cure and a great way to add a bit more color to the project, and they’re easy to make. (See also: ways to make a pompom with yarn.)

You can grab the free pattern at the Underground Crafter website. 

[Photo: Underground Crafter]