How to Knit on a Loom with Kids
Learn how to knit and weave with your kids
Figuring out how to knit with kids can be tricky business. A lot of them don't have the coordination necessary to work those needles. Finger knitting is always an option, of course, as is a store-bought loom. But there's a simple, easy way to start your kids knitting without investing much time or money!
If you have yarn, scissors, and cardboard, it's time to teach your kids how to knit on a loom -- all from the comfort of your own home.
Building the Loom
You'll need a piece of cardboard measuring about 4" square. Carefully measure and mark 1/4" intervals along the top and then snip each mark with scissors (so it's about a quarter inch deep). Also make a small cut on the bottom right corner of the cardboard. This part is probably best done by an adult.
If you're teaching a very young child how to knit, you might want to handle the next part, too. Wrap the yarn through the first notch on the top left, leaving a 6" tail. Wrap the yarn around the bottom and up the front into the same notch. Bring the yarn around the back of the cardboard and into the second notch. Wrap around the bottom and back through the second notch. Keep doing this until you get to the very end, when you'll put the yarn through the notch at the bottom.
Thread a plastic needle with a long piece of yarn. Starting at the right, weave over and under the strands on your makeshift "loom." At the end of the row, wrap the yarn around the back. Begin each row with the opposite stitch you ended the last row with (for example, if you went under the last piece of yarn, you should go over the first piece on your next row). As you knit, push the rows close together so they actually form a knit without huge spaces in between them.
As with learning how to knit, this takes a bit of practice, but it comes around quickly. Once you've filled the entire loom, slip the threads out of their notches and take the purse off the loom. Now you can weave in ends. Turn the purse inside out to get the right side of the pattern. Weave one more piece of yarn around the top of a bag, leaving a 6 " tail on both sides. Tie them to make a drawstring.
And there you have it... a simple solution for how to knit without touching knitting needles!
