How to Teach Children to Knit?

Knitting is fun for all ages. The creative hobby is instant gratification. All you need is knitting needles, yarn, a mentor and later patterns for projects. Online sources are also good mentors. Given the many health benefits of knitting, more and more people are taking up knitting. Besides, learning to knit more knitters are looking forward to teaching their children to knit. Knitting for children is fun and an activity that will bring joy to their lives in the longer run.

The tips and tricks to teach children to knit are not universal. They can be similar but the instructions need to be customized according to the age of the child and interests. To help you teach knitting to the young ones, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Start with the right knitting needles – When you want to teach your children to knit you may want to teach them with the knitting needles you own, but do consider if it’s right for them? You can introduce knitting to children with single-pointed needles or even circulars but see that they hold it properly. Bamboo as a material is very beginner friendly. It is lightweight, affordable, smooth yet grabby to not drop stitches. Many knitting teachers recommend keeping children away from sharp needle tips to prevent accidents. This point is valid only for the very young ones. Once you see the child balance things you can get them circular knitting needles. Leave the double-pointed needles for round knitting after they have had enough practice.

Start with the right yarn – After the knitting needles though must be given to the yarn. You can get them started with some worsted-weight yarn. Bulky yarn can give them stress, especially to their tender wrists and hands. Fine lace threads are a no, till they have some practice and successful projects under their belts. Go stash busting and let them have the leftovers to make their own creation. Many times vibrant colors get them into knitting. Do not go for yarn that they feel allergic to. Lanolin can cause allergies in some kids.

Start with a small project – Many children do not enjoy doing the same thing again and again. So, to make knitting fun, start with a small project. Then can make a dishcloth or a scarf with all knit stitches. They will enjoy the different steps to cast on stitches, knitting a pattern, binding off and more. The completed project will give them the push to do more. And, with time they would love knitting.

Let them rip it too – In knitting, especially beginners will have knitting mistakes on hand. Many children love to rip things and allowing them to frog or rip the stitches is perfectly ok.

Give them time – The most important thing to keep in mind is to give time. Dedicate half an hour to the craft every day. If the time is too tedious, set them up to the task to knit five rows. Children might want to skip a few days, which too is fine. Knitting stays in muscle memory and skipping few days will not damage all the progress they made.

To conclude let’s take advice from Elizabeth Zimmerman’s famous quote “When they hand it to you to fix, do a couple of rows. While you don’t want to do it for them, you can certainly help them along!”

With this in mind introduce yarn crafts to children.