My eldest daughter received this French Knitting kit for her 7th birthday. I had never heard of French knitting before this kit came along, but after teaching her (and myself) how to do it, I was really into it.
For everyone like me, who doesn't know what French knitting is, let me explain. Unlike standard two-needle knitting, French knitting uses a "reel" to make a woven tube (or worm) of yarn. French knitting is also known as spool knitting since in the past, people made their knitting reel out of a spool.
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There are actually quite a few variations available now, even children's reels made out of toilet paper tubes and Popsicle sticks.
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Or, you can spend the $6 and just buy the kit! This is what my commercial reel and hook look like (the hook shape on the end of the pegs is really helpful):
Since I had french knitting on my brain, when I stumbled upon this bag of yarn at the thrift store I knew exactly what I could do with it.
The actual process of knitting is really easy once you understand the pattern of where to wrap the yarn and which strands are pulled up and over. There are a TON of tutorials on youtube, and I think this page has the best photo tutorial on basic french knitting.
Once I had my worms made, I decided instead of making butterflies (as is suggested in the kit) I would make daisies.
These would be great on a headband, or even as a pin, but I decided to add mine to the shoulder of a simple tee shirt.
I stitched it down pretty well so it would stay put after washing and drying the shirt.
The finished product:
My 4 year old thinks it is pretty cool.. and I couldn't agree more!
Super Cute!! never heard of French tube knitting, but they are adorable!!
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