Finger Knitting

Magnolia has been wanting to knit like I do for awhile now but I don't think she's coordinated to handle the yarn and 2 needles so I found a solution...finger knitting.  I found instructions on the internet and she took to it right away.  The only thing that can be made with this knitting technique is a chain so we've had to get creative thinking of useful things Magnolia can make.  Baby doll scarves, bracelets, belts and necklaces.  

Here are the steps with a few pictures for finger knitting.

1. Hold the tail with your thumb and lay yarn across you palm.

2. Weave yarn behind the pinky, in front of the ring finger, behind the middle finger and in front of the pointer finger.

3. Continue weaving all the way around the pointer finger and come around behind it, in front of the middle finger, behind the ring finger and in front of the pinky finger.

Your hand should now look like this.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 once more so your had looks like this.  You should have two loops of yarn around each finger, ending with the yarn connected to the ball of yarn over the pinky finger.  This end will need to be secured before going on to the next step.  Magnolia secures it be pinching the yarn between the back of her hand and her thigh.

5. Now it's time to "knit".  One each finger pull the lower loop over the top loop and off your finger.  Once you've done this to all of your fingers, each finger will now only have 1 loop left.  Now it's time to repeat step  2 and 3 so that each finger again has 2 loops.

Secure the end of the yarn once again and repeat step 5 over and over until the chain is as long as you'd like.

Once you are done and before removing the last loops from your fingers, cut the end of the yarn and weave it through the remaining loops still on your fingers.  This will secure the end so that the chain won't unravel once it's completely off your hand.  And that's it!  Fast, fun and a great activity for kids ages 5(ish)+.

These dolls are now ready for the winter temps ahead!