Learn to knit – for children

LEARN TO KNIT – FOR CHILDREN 🤎

Hello. When I was little I loved being given bags of leftover yarn and making things with them. Maybe you think it is fun too, seeing what you can make yourself? Good luck. I hope you enjoy it and that it brings you a lot of joy. Hugs, Anne-T.

A free knitting course for children from about seven to twelve. From the first loop to your own design — and a diploma at the end.

For you who will be teaching it

Most children learn to knit from someone who already knows how. A grandmother, an aunt, a teacher. What is usually missing is not patience, but an order — what comes first, how long to keep going, and what to do when a stitch falls off.

That is what this course is. Ten short chapters in the order they should come, with projects that actually get finished.

And one piece of advice before you start: cosy first, technique afterwards. A child who finds it nice will come back to the needles. A child who has learnt to knit perfectly will not necessarily do so.

How the course begins

This is the text the child meets on the first page.

Welcome!

Now you are going to learn to knit.

You do not need to know anything beforehand. We start with the yarn. Then comes the very first stitch. And then we make things — a bookmark, a hat and scarf for your teddy, and finally a jumper you can wear.

You are going to make mistakes. Stitches fall off the needle. Sometimes there is a hole where there should not be one.

That does not matter. It happens to everyone who knits, every single day. Pigg Pinnsvin helps you when it does.

For every new thing you learn, you get a badge. When you have collected them all, you are a real Knitting Star.

Shall we begin?

The ten chapters

1. Get to know the yarn — what is a ball of yarn, really, and why does yarn feel so different.
   Badge: Yarn Hero
2. How we hold the needles
   Badge: Needle Master
3. The first loop
   Badge: Loop Master
4. Casting on
   Badge: Cast-On Expert
5. The knit stitch
   Badge: Stitch Master
6. My first project — a bookmark
   Badge: Bookmark Master
7. More colours
   Badge: Colour Master
8. The purl stitch
   Badge: Purl Master
9. Make your own design
   Badge: Junior Designer
10. My first bigger project — hat, headband, bag, scarf or cuddly cat
    Badge: Knitting Star

The course ends with a knitting diploma.

The projects

Nine free patterns, in the order they should come. They all use chunky yarn and 6 mm needles — apart from the jumper, which needs a 7 mm circular needle. And they all manage with three things: cast on, knit, cast off.

• The bookmark — the very first one, finished in an afternoon
• A scarf for your teddy — from about age 7
• Hairband with a knot — from about age 8
• Headband — from about age 8, the first thing knitted to measure
• A hat for your teddy — from about age 8, matches the scarf
• My first bag — from about age 8
• The cuddly cat — from about age 8
• Slippers — from about age 9
• My first jumper — from about age 10

When something goes wrong

A stitch falls off. It gets too tight. You lose count. It happens all the time, and it is the most common reason children give up.

Help, it went wrong — five problems and what to do about them.

Equipment to start with

Do not buy much. A soft yarn in a light colour, so the child can see the stitches, and needles that are not slippery — wood is better than metal at the start, because the stitches do not slide off.

Leftover yarn works perfectly well. See where I buy yarn.

And one more tip: several Fretex charity shops sell bags of mixed yarn for a few kroner. For this course they are perfect. The child does not need fine yarn — it needs enough yarn to dare to make mistakes.

Teacher and parent guide

The course comes with a separate guide for the grown-up. It is less about knitting and more about how to teach:

• How to set up a good knitting spot
• That children learn differently, and what that means in practice
• Which equipment makes it easier — and which makes it harder
• The very first session
• Helping without taking over
• Motivation when things stall
• How to praise well
• A ready-made course plan over six sessions
• The most common mistakes, and how to rescue them

There is also a workbook, My knitting book, with one page per chapter — tick boxes, a drawing box and room for your own notes.

When the child wants to go further

These are the simplest patterns I have, and the natural next steps after the course:

• Pure – the dishcloth, a small project in cotton
• The Moss – the beginner's scarf
• The CosyMonday Beanie – the really easy hat
• Little Miss Sunshine – a poncho for children
• Bohemian Flowers jr.

You will find more under Beginner and Children's knits.

If you get stuck on a technique, the explanations with video are in Knittipedia.