I agree with one thing for sure: it depends on the child. (remember Amadeus Mozart)
If a youngster [U]verbalizes an interest[/U] in learning, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Plain casting on, and plain knit stitches (garter stitch).
You’ll find out very quickly if the child [U]does not yet have the eye-hand coordination[/U]. If they don’t, I wouldn’t unnecessarily upset the child by trying to force the issue. I’d say, “Good job! We’ll try some more in summer!” (if it’s winter) If the child is still interested after 6 months has passed, give it a try again.
I’ve had numerous little grandchildren express interest in knitting cuz they see me knitting and want to be like Gramma. I always give them a little lesson. Some could, some couldn’t…and those that could rarely stuck with it for long.
My daughter has been able to do the knit stitch since she was 8 but she is not interested in knitting too much.
The Yarn Harlot, aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, has stated in her books and blog that she learned at age 4. Her grandmothers rule was if you are old enough to learn to read you are old enough to learn to knit.
Decoding reading is harder than decoding knitting. If you can tie shoes also you ought to be able to learn to knit.
I taught my niece when she was about 7 or 8. While she knew the basics, she had almost no skill and it quickly faded. But when she was around 11, she was under the influence of a group from her church and she picked it up again. The calls for more instructions have noe died down, so either she knows most everything she needs to know, or else the hobby has falled from favor again.
DD
I didn’t learn to knit until I was 7, but I learned to embroider when I was 4, and my brother when he was 3 (because he wanted to do everything big sissy did!). It definitely depends on the child.
If they don’t have the coordination to do it on their own but want to learn, you can start by letting them put their hands on the needles while you knit. Knit a simple scarf and talk to them while you do this… both explaining what motions you make while you do them, and just simply talking or telling stories. When they get bored, let them stop.
My mom actually started doing this with her counted cross stitch when my brother was 2. He had to sit still for half an hour at a time for asthma treatments, and that was nearly impossible for him (to this day, getting him to be still is nearly impossible…), but he’s a gregarious type, so mom gave him something to do with his hands: he would sit on her lap, she would place the needle in the hole, and he would pull it through.
The important thing is that the child wants to do it, and that the person doing the teaching is patient and engaged. So what if their first project turns out to be a knotted, hole filled mess?
Jess’s post reminds me of my first project. I was 3, and my grandmother threaded a yarn needle and put a piece of fabric in a hoop. Then I created this piece with different colored yarn randomly stuck in here and there. She had it framed in her living room for years. But I didn’t take up knitting until later.
I taught my granddaughter to knit when she was 6. She is 10 now and sometimes when she comes over, she knits with me, but she doesn’t do any knitting at home. I am always amazed that she remembers how, no matter how long it has been !
Like some of the other posters, I was taught to knit at age 5. Requirement in my mother’s English household. Would think the child must have the dexterity to handle the needles and keep the patterns simple. I am in the process of teaching my grand daughter, age 6, and she seems quite comfortable with the process. Needless to say, also excited about showing her creations off at school.
I was 5. I remember casting on with the finger method and really wanting to learn the long-tail cast on. I also remember the elaborate motion of letting go of the needle to put the yarn over, so my tension must have been awful, but that’s all I can remember. There are no finished masterpieces in the cedar chest from that period, so maybe that’s as far as I got.
The funny thing is that I have no other knitting memories until after I was married and knitted a bulky sweater for my husband, but that wasn’t hard, so I must have done some other knitting throughout my childhood, that I’ve forgotten. My mother did all the knitting for our kids and my mil loved to crochet, so there was no need for me to pick up the needles when I was a young, busy mom.
I didn’t get serious about knitting until I retired at 50. Now I rarely sit down without picking up my needles and I always have at least 2 projects going. (I start my Christmas knitting for the next year before the decorations are down from the previous year.) :knitting:
Haha, that’s my first knitting memory! My grandma taught me to cast on (she actually taught me Longtail) and then went to cook dinner, assuming that I would cast on a few stitches, get bored and watch TV.
Lets just say that my first scarf starts about two feet wide and eventually narrows out to 6 inches.
I am in a similar situation with an 8 1/2 year old. She is very motivated after seeing me knit, but want to jump straight into it. Any teaching suggestions? I feel that I need to start her with a quick/easy headband so she feels like she did something.
A friend of mine who was originally from England was knitting socks at the age of 5… for me that’s a little young but in England in those days, it was normal to teach the little ones, boys and girls alike, to knit quite young.
TEMA
Debbie Macomber was saying (saw her on my Series 600 Knitting Daily TV dvd) that knitting saved her life, and rescued her self-esteem! She stated that she’s dyslexic…so she never learned to read til she was in 5th grade…but she could knit perfectly well…and reading patterns actually helped her increase her reading abilities…plus being able to DO SOMETHING WELL increased her self esteem by MILES!
So, just cuz a person lacks certain natural skill sets due to dyslexia, or are otherwise challenged in those abilities… doesn’t mean they won’t EXCEL in some other areas, especially those that need good motor skills, eye-hand coordination! Good “sense” about how things go together, almost intuitively knowing how it works.
I learned to knit from my grandmother as my mother was left-handed and just confused me. I was 7(or 8) and did 20 rows by 20 stitch squares. As I progressed, the squares got better and better. I made a quilt from all of them. I have sweater that I knitted at 10 and it still fits!! Recently, I went to the local school that has a knitting program for the children. There was a huge group from 4 up to 10. They all have on-going projects and there is two volunteers to help with problems. I offered to help should one of them, not be able to make it.
