beaners Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 My 3 year old and 5 year old have dedicated themselves to learning to knit. (At least for this week.) I have nearly a dozen sets of needles, but I'm thinking none of them are great for small, uncoordinated fingers. Most of my regular needles are the long, cheap, heavy metal kind. I have a lot of double points, but most of those are sock size, and I think my girls would be losing their stitches off the back of the larger ones. Right now my 5 year old is using one of my circular needles because it is lighter than the others, but she's having a bit of trouble keeping the loop out of her way. I'm thinking I need to get something just for the kids. Does anyone have children using those plastic ones? Have your kids had an easier time working with a normal weight yarn and needle size, or a finer yarn and smaller needles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 This is a great and timely question. I know how to crochet and taught DD but now she wants to know how to knit. I don't know how to knit. I was going to surprise her with some needles and get her signed up for a class somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I haven't taught any of my children to knit at the ages of 3 and 5, but I have taught them at 10 and older. I use wooden needles so I taught them with those. The stitches won't slip the way they might on metal needles. They used regular worsted weight yarn, and probably about size 8 straight (not double-pointed) needles. They started with a small square or rectangle for practice, and then made a garter stitch scarf (knit every row) on straight needles. Make sure they have plenty of practice time. It takes a while for older people to get the feel of it, let alone children, and for the tension to be somewhat even. I'm sure there are knitting books for kids but I don't have any. These days I don't even buy pattern books or magazines (though sometimes I check them out from the library). I get most of my patterns at ravelry.com. Another good site with how-to videos is knittinghelp.com. HTH, and happy knitting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Right now we're just working on the knit stitch for a dishcloth to get started. My girls found all the crafty books I've gotten as gifts, and they're oohing and ahhing over sweaters and socks. You've got to learn to walk before you run girls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbeth Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I use wooden needles so I taught them with those. The stitches won't slip the way they might on metal needles. They used regular worsted weight yarn, and probably about size 8 straight (not double-pointed) needles. They started with a small square or rectangle for practice, and then made a garter stitch scarf (knit every row) on straight needles. Make sure they have plenty of practice time. It takes a while for older people to get the feel of it, let alone children, and for the tension to be somewhat even. I'm sure there are knitting books for kids but I don't have any. These days I don't even buy pattern books or magazines (though sometimes I check them out from the library). I get most of my patterns at ravelry.com. Another good site with how-to videos is knittinghelp.com. HTH, and happy knitting! This is great advice. I used to teach knitting. Honestly 6/7 is about the youngest kids I've had success with, but if your kids are really motivated they can likely get the hang of it. Medium sized (7-9) wooden needles in the shortest length you can find would be best. Use worsted weight yarn either wool or an acrylic blend. You need something with a bit of stretch (but not too much) for a beginner. Squares and scarves are great starters. Maybe you could sew a few sqaures together into a doll blanket or pillow if they want a "project". Ditto the suggestion for ravelry.com, there is no need to buy pattern books these days. Knittinghelp.com videos are the bomb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 My DD said the plastic needles were too slippery and were more frustrating than helpful. I would go with bamboo needles, personally, or some other wood. For beginners, I might suggest a short circular needle, like these in one of the shorter lengths: http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Sunstruck_Fixed_Circular_Knitting_Needles__DKPFixedSunstruckNdls.html (I have the multi-colored version of these and love them, but I think the light wood would make it easier to see the yarn.) I knit flat on circular needles all the time, and it's nice because it's harder for the yarn to slip off the back, and then it would also make an easy transition to knitting circular later if they want to. These in the 10" size might also work: http://www.knitpicks.com/needles/Sunstruck_Straight_Needles__DSTNSunstruckNeedles.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I taught my two when they were about 6 & 8. We tried plastic but wood was better for them-- plastic seems to slip around too much, especially if their little hands got sweaty. Also, I second the recommendation for size 7-10ish needles. We tried some big #13s and 15s, thinking they would work better for little fingers like fat pencils supposedly do, but they were a bust. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I'm pretty sure the 3 year old is just tagging along and having fun playing with the piles of crafty stuff I usually keep hidden from the kids. The 5 year old is doing pretty well so far though. I think if I can get her some needles of her own she'll do alright. It sounds like bamboo would be better than plastic. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I knit flat on circular needles all the time, and it's nice because it's harder for the yarn to slip off the back, and then it would also make an easy transition to knitting circular later if they want to. That's exactly what I've got my daughter doing right now. I think the loop is also making it easier for the needles to stay in the right position, but at the same time she's occasionally catching it on herself and pulling the stitches off the needle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug's Mom Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 You could wrap rubber bands around one end of the double-pointed needles to keep the stitches from falling off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Needle stops sounding like a real word if you read it or say it enough times. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I taught Rebecca at about 6 with some inexpensive shorter bamboo straights. She's undertaking a bigger project now, and I've let her use my KP Options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 You could wrap rubber bands around one end of the double-pointed needles to keep the stitches from falling off. I might try that for now with one of my bamboo sets. My husband will appreciate it if I make sure this is going to last longer than a week before we start investing in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Make them yourself! We did this one year for Christmas presents and bundled it with a easy beginner pattern and a skein of yarn. http://trulymyrtle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/diy-knitting-needles.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provenance61 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I second making them yourself! Didn't get a chance to check out the above poster's link. But we are lucky enough to have a wonderful HS mom at one of our local libraries who runs a wool/fiber group for kids. Her children are older now, but she has a wonderful Waldorf-like approach. Over the past 6 months she has had the kids doing dying, spinning, felting, weaving (on looms from hula hoops)...and they just started knitting. The kids made their needles last week. She had them cut pieces of thin dowel into 7" lengths using a hacksaw. Yes, even the young kids (my 5 year old)--teaching them safe tool use. Then they sanded and sharpened into a dull point with a pencil sharpener. They then attached balls at the end. And now they are ready to start knitting! The size is great. She also recommends starting them on a very small start to finish project first -- making small squares to use as bookmarks. Then she is going to have them move to a slightly larger square for which she has patterns for them to sew into small creatures (ladybugs, turtles, etc). We are having a great time. So...try making your needles! Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provenance61 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Oooh, just saw the tutorial posted above. Thank you for posting this, it really shows the whole process. Only difference is we used smaller lengths (smaller hands in our group) and wood balls from a woodworking store. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I second making them yourself! Didn't get a chance to check out the above poster's link. But we are lucky enough to have a wonderful HS mom at one of our local libraries who runs a wool/fiber group for kids. Her children are older now, but she has a wonderful Waldorf-like approach. Over the past 6 months she has had the kids doing dying, spinning, felting, weaving (on looms from hula hoops)...and they just started knitting. The kids made their needles last week. She had them cut pieces of thin dowel into 7" lengths using a hacksaw. Yes, even the young kids (my 5 year old)--teaching them safe tool use. Then they sanded and sharpened into a dull point with a pencil sharpener. They then attached balls at the end. And now they are ready to start knitting! The size is great. She also recommends starting them on a very small start to finish project first -- making small squares to use as bookmarks. Then she is going to have them move to a slightly larger square for which she has patterns for them to sew into small creatures (ladybugs, turtles, etc). We are having a great time. So...try making your needles! Amy Ooooh, and weaving! I forgot I had that project tucked away in the back of my mind. It's almost the perfect time of year to do it, because mine uses a piece of a cardboard box with notches cut into it to hold the warp in place. My three year old is able to do over/under on lacing cards, so she might be able to finish a small weaving project more easily than a small knitting project. So far this morning my 5 year old has done another row on her dishcloth, and the 3 year old and I did a row on her project together. I love those wooden needle plans. There might be a few sets for everyone under the Christmas tree this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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