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TEACHING FRIENDS or KIDS to Knit 

If you love to knit, then you know what a wonderful art it is to pass along to countless others.
Lives will be blessed, time will be used wisely, creativity will be enhanced, and sheep will sleep peacefully!

Knitting Poem to teach kids to knit
Knit (to start place yarn in back)

"In through the front door,
Run around the back,
Hop through the window,
Off jumps Jack."

1. Make sure your kids/friends know you are having fun and they will too!

2. Choose simple patterns first.  I recommend teaching them to make a scarf or a baby hat. If you start off with a hard project or one that takes forever, they will likely lose interest. Scarves, while they can take longer, will help the student practice and you can wear a scarf no matter what it looks like! :-)

• Bev's Basic Scarf
• Size 10 knitting needles and (150 yds of worsted weight yarn)
  
• Cast on 15 stitches
• Knit till scarf is 4' long (for kids)
• Cast off and weave in yarn ends.
  

3. Have a box full of yarn with some bright, fun colors and let your child choose the colors they want.  Varigated are great since they won't need to change colors, but they will be using many colors!

4. Knitting needle size is important. I recommend short needles (10" or less) and size 8, 9, or 10 are good learning needles. I made some using wooden dowels for some of my younger students a few years ago.  I took a knitting needle size guide to the hardware store, and bought a dowel in a 'size 8'.  Hubby cut them into 9" increments, and then my daughter and I used a pencil sharpener to 'make a point'.  We then used medium grade sandpaper to smooth them out.  Placed a piece of clay you can bake in each end, and baked them for 15 minutes or so in a 275F oven.   Or these needles below are so darned cute!

5. Keep the lessons short and happy so you don't lose their attention, or worse make them think knitting is boring.

6. Don't expect perfection or even neatness to start. 'Practice makes perfect' or close to it!

7. Showing is better than telling. Demonstrate the skill that you want them to do.  If the student is left handed, have them sit in front of you so they see a 'mirror' image.

8. Put something in their hands as soon as possible. Many teachers have found it easier to begin by giving students a hook or needles with a few rows of crochet or knitting completed. Students learn the basics more easily and then go back and learn foundation chain or cast on, which can be tricky for beginners because of their tension.

9. Children need to know they are doing well. Provide them with frequent progress reports and praise their efforts in many ways.

10. When a child is having difficulty with a skill, show them another method or way if you can.

REMEMBER !  HAVE FUN! 

For links to knitting tutorials CLICK HERE or watch these videos as they are wonderful!

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