Knitting

Patterns, projects and techniques

Is Your Child Ready to Learn to Knit?

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knit with kids Madame La MarchandeMy daughter is almost three, but she thinks she can knit. She likes to take my needles (usually pulling all the stitches out in the process), rub them together and call it “knitting.” It’s actually pretty cute (cuter than the ball of yarn she destroyed “knitting” me a “coat”), but the truth is she’s still pretty far from actually being able to teach how to knit.

I’ve heard of some people who learned as young as 4, but 5 or 6 seems to be the standard age to teach kids to knit. And of course you can try with the needles, or use a knitting device with knobs (sometimes called a knitting Nancy, a knitting doll or a French knitter, among other things) or teach them finger knitting.

If you’re ready to help your child or someone else young in your life get acquainted with the knitting life, check out these tips and ideas from Craft Foxes. If you ask me, it’s almost never too early to start raising up the next generation of fiber lovers!

Have any tips for knitting with kids? Spill ’em!

[Photo of Knitting with Kids kit from Madame La Marchande, via Craft Foxes.]

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Comments

  1. IT’S 6 MONTHS SINCE I’M TRYING CROCHETING.I MAKE SURE I TAKE SMALL PROJECTS THAT I COMPLETE IN A WEEK, THOUGH TRAINED PEOPLE CAN DO IN FEW HOURS. THIS GIVES ME THE JOY OF COMPLETION AND CONFIDENCE TO TRY MORE.THIS COULD BE A GOOD IDEA FOR KIDS TOO

  2. My six year old grand daughter really wanted to learn how to knit and crochet. I tried teaching her but it was difficult. We tried spool knitting but that was too tiny for chunky hands. Then my daughter discovered finger knitting on the internet. She bought big, soft, thick yarn at Zellers and they started finger knitting.
    They have made a very cute long scarf and are now working on a second.
    I have never heard of finger knitting and I am amazed at how fast and easy it is to do. Please pass this message along to all grandmas who want their grandchildren to learn the value of making useful items with their own hands.

  3. Have you discovered finger knitting? My daughter taught her little girl how to do this from an article on the internet. They bought big, chunky, soft yarn at Zellers and have made a really cute long scarf. What a fun and easy skill to learn that requires no tools, just your fingers.

  4. I have one friend who, when she teaches kids to knit, let them make their own needles as well. She takes dowel rods cut down to size, lets the kids sharpen them with a pencil sharpener, sand them and then make the ends with clay which she “cooks” for them. The kids love it and it makes them really want to use their needles for knitting since they made them too!

  5. I have been teaching my daughter (6) to knit and some girls (9-13) at a camp I attend. I found several little rhymes on various knitting sites that the kids found extremely helpful.

  6. When I teach kids to knit, I find that kids aged 7 or older manage better than younger kids. Also I teach with 2 different colored needles – I think it helps the kids to see the stitches better and makes it easier to explain the process.

Have you read?

Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right? 

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead). 

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry. 

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up. 

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now). 

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults. 

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English.