Finger knitting is the act of making a long chain stitch with just one’s fingers instead of a pair of needles or crochet hooks. As a beginner, starting a new craft might be intimidating but once you get the hang of it, you will feel more at ease.
Finger knitting is easy, a lot less complex than it looks at first glance and the process does not take long. It is a craft people of all ages can partake in and fortunately, it does not require special materials to get it done. All one needs are their hands and the wool or yarn of their choice.
Even though one can theoretically use any type of yarn or wool, it is recommended that beginners use bulky yarn since they are nice, chunky, and make the finger knitting process occur smoothly because you would be able to easily see what you are working with.
Once you start to go through the motions, you would see the chains begin to form until you finish knitting your cloth.
Easy Finger Knitting Projects for Beginners
It would be unrealistic to expect a beginner to finger knit a sweater; they have to start with a much smaller and easier project. Here are a few examples of what they can make;
Ear Warmer
A ball of bulky wool or yarn is enough to make this if you want it in one colour. If you want your ear warmer to have different – even contrasting colours – then you can use two balls of wool or yarn.
Get ready to get to work with your hands, and have a tapestry needle handy because you would need it to sew the headband together.
To finger knit an ear warmer, you have to;
- Measure the length from the top of the forehead, through your ears, around the back of your head and back to the starting point. This length here would be the same length each finger knitting cable will be.
- Make about 4 knitted cables and form a thick band that will properly cover the ears.
- Take two of the knitted cables, weave them together with yarn, and connect their loops. Make a knot at one end to hold the yarn firmly in place.
- Connect the third cable to one end of the two attached knitted cables. Add the fourth if you want the ear warmer to be wider.
- Ensure you tie off each end after joining the cables together so they do not unravel. Also, tuck the loose end in and wind them through some loops to keep them from being noticeable.
Necklace
Beginners can also make colourful friendship necklaces. It is an easy project that one can finish relatively quickly. One would only need yarn or wool and pony beads that have little holes in the centre.
Use your discretion to measure a length of yarn that will be sufficient to make the necklace. After finger knitting, the yarn, attach the beads to the necklace for aesthetics and tie the necklace at the back.
Scarf
You can knit this item with your finger especially in an area where conventional knitting or crocheting tools are restricted.
You would get used to the looping process after knitting the first few rows and making the rest of the scarf would be almost effortless.
To finger knit a scarf, you have to;
- Pull out the yarn you want to use and count 10-15 loops. The higher the number of loops, the wider the scarf. You should note that thinner scarves would be made faster than wider ones.
- If you counted 15 loops, take the 16th loop – which would be the working end – and pull it through the 15th loop. This would form a row of stitches. Redo this process with the remaining 14 loops, pull the working end through each loop and repeat this in the other direction when you get to the end of the scarf.
- Continue following this pattern until the yarn in the first skein finishes. Make sure you do not miss a loop because it would be noticeable after making the scarf. At the end of the first skein, cut open the last loop and thread it through upcoming loops to hide it.
- Repeat the above steps with the second skein. Cut loose the first loop, thread it through the loops on the scarf, and keep pulling the working loops through the ones that already exist on the scarf. Keep up with this until you get the desired scarf length.
- When you have achieved your desired scarf length, there will still be a row of unfinished loops. Pull the next loop in the scarf through the farthest loop on one end and repeat this process across the width of the scarf. This would give a braided appearance with the loop and help you finish the edge.
- After, you will cut open the last loops on both sides of the scarf, trim them and thread them through upcoming loops. When done with this step, you will have a finished scarf in your hands.
Snood or Infinity Scarf
Snood scarfs are scarfs that have a tubular shape and sit around the neck. One can say they are long scarfs stitched together to create a loop.
It is very similar to an infinity scarf but snoods usually sit much higher on a person’s neck. They take about half an hour to make.
How To Finger Knit a Generic Cloth Item
- Place the end of the yarn between your index finger & thumb and pinch them together to anchor the yarn while you knit. After, loop the yarn around your pinkie finger and weave it through your fingers.
- Next, completely loop the yarn around your index finger and weave it towards your pinkie finger.
- Create a full loop around your four fingers (thumb excluded).
- Slip the woven row (the bottom row) over the unwoven row (the row on top) from the pinkie finger to the index finger.
- Repeat steps two, three & four and the knitted side would keep flowing down the back of your hand and you can stop when you have reached your desired length.
- Cast off by cutting the yarn and leaving a trail about 10 inches long.
- Pull the yarn through the four loops and pull the loops off your fingers.
- Lastly, tie the tail of the yarn to the closest loop and t