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Finger Knitting 

Finger knitting is a fun easy activity that young children can master (a five year old taught us).  It is a good introduction to knitting because it is knitting with fingers.  The tension of the yarn affects how loose the loops are.  If the yarn is too tight it is hard to lift loops over the fingers.  If too loose the loops are big and uneven.  As people finger knit they naturally work on getting the loops the same.  Finger knitting shows that knitting is a series of loops.  Knitting with needles will be easier to understand after finger knitting.  

Finger knitting can be used to make headbands and ties.  Our children made mice out of their finger knitting by attaching google eyes and making pipe cleaner ears.  Gluing porous yarn to smooth plastic google eyes is a tough task for glue.  We used STIX-ON-CONTACT by POWER POXY with great success.  It is an epoxy that is less runny than Super Glue and dries quickly.    

Materials:

Yarn

Directions for Finger Knitting:

  1. Tie yarn loosely to the index finger leaving the tail hanging down the back of the hand.
  2. Weave the yarn behind the next finger, in front of the next and so on.  Loop around the pinkie and back.  Repeat the front-to-back weaving until there are two strands of yarn across all four fingers and the ball of yarn hangs down the back of your hand.  The thumb can be included but it is easier to use just four fingers.  Note:    Finger knitting is a loose knit and weaving the yarn tightly will only make it more difficult to lift the bottom loop over the top.  But if the weave is too loose the top loop falls off when lifting the bottom loop over it.
  3. Lay hand palm up on thigh to hold the yarn hanging down the back of the hand in place.  For each finger; lift  bottom loop over the top loop and finger, and drop it behind the hand.  Now, each finger has one loop of yarn on it.  
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until knit is long enough.  
  5. Finish off the finger knit:  All fingers should have one loop on them.  Start from the pinkie finger.  Lift loop from pinkie and put it on the next finger.  Now there are two loops.  Pinch the bottom loop, lift it over the top loop and drop it behind the finger.  Lift the remaining loop off of that finger and move it to the next finger.  Repeat this until there is one loop on the index finger.  Careful not to lose the loop on the index finger cut the yarn towards the ball at least six inches long.  Grab this tail and poke it through the loop on the index finger.  Pull the tail tight.  

Whoola!  You are done.  The knit can be sewn together with yarn and a yarn needle to make a headband or to tie things.

Acknowledgements:  M, Phillips, N.Christensen, D. & E. Bernardoni

Finger Knitting - Copyright 2002 Kids Can Make It, Inc. All rights reserved