Remember when I mentioned K was working on her own project a couple of weeks ago? Well, she finished it and is oh so proud! My clever little girl designed her very own headband pattern.
It is really quite easy and a great way to get your children to create something all on their own. This project is best for a child who has already mastered finger knitting and is ready to move on to four finger knitting, usually around the age of 5 or 6.
K learned how to four finger knit from her teachers but if your child (or you!) would like to learn, there is a really sweet Waldorf verse with instructions that can be found here. *Edited to add that link appears to be having issues. I'll keep it up for now, just in case it works again but here is another great link to my friend Dionne's blog: step by step four finger knitting instructions.*
Now, on to K's pattern, in K's own words, at least from what I can remember - she told it to me earlier and I took notes so I could post it tonight, I added my interpretations in italics. Rav link here.
Four Finger Knitted Headband
First get your ball of thick yarn.
the children use a super bulky 100% wool yarn
Then cast on to four of your fingers. Leave a snake tail long enough so that you can use it to tie the headband together when you are done.
K's tail was about 5" long
Four finger knit until it seems like it is big enough to fit around the top part of your head. Go to a mirror and put it on your head to see when to stop. K's four finger knitted section was about 11" long
When it's long enough, cast off leaving a long snake tail the same length as the first snake tail. Tie the two snakes tails together,and make the knot tight.
What the wrong side of four finger knitting looks like:
What the right side of four finger knitting looks like:
Tah dah! Now it's all done. Put the headband on and dance around!
I hope you enjoyed K's tutorial as much as I did typing it up. If you have any questions about it (remember this is coming from a 5 1/2 year old) let me know and I will try my best to help out.
Happy creating!
