Children and Knitting

For months last year, my son expressed an interest in knitting.  I don’t know and frankly I’m not even sure where he saw knitting (no one in our family does it.)

Leading up to Christmas, the discussion about knitting continued so he received one as a gift under the tree.

It was a simple French Knitting set that had a few pieces of yarn, a needle and a pegs.  The set meant that unlike traditional needle knitting, you have a small loop system and makes basically a snake for your finished piece.

However, the small set was the perfect way for him to try out knitting, see if he really was still interested, and if he liked it well enough he can explore it further and add on more supplies.

He’s been doing it for a few weeks now.  I set up the initial stitches and showed him how it worked, but with that, he was off.  There are times when he drops a stitch or doesn’t maintain a consistent tightness to the stitch, but for a 7 year old who has had previous fine-motor issues in the past, it’s become a really fantastic activity.

He’s worked on his first project for the past couple of weeks.  Some days he sits for a long time doing it, other days he does a few stitches and moves on, but he enjoys it.  It’s a quiet activity that he can do anywhere in the house.

A few days ago he finished that project,  scarf for his most favourite stuffie, Mrs. Toucan, which will naturally help keep her warm in the winter.

He was so proud of himself for finishing it and started a new project right away.

We’re happy he has found a new, run activity that he seems to be really taken with.

Now? It makes me want to go and buy a pair of needles and some yarn!

Have your kids tried knitting?